Does joined handwriting really matter anymore?

From a teacher who is judged on teaching it

Welcome to How to be a Teacher. Every week, I share the expertise of my colleagues and reveal what I’ve learned recently from their 70+ years of experience.

This week, I’m posting an opinion piece. Joined-up handwriting is something we Year 6 teachers are judged on in the UK. And I think that’s total crap.

Enjoy.

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Biologically secondary knowledge and skills are things we haven’t evolved to do naturally, like reading, writing, and math - basically, the things schools are supposed to teach. Those tasks can impose a heavy cognitive load, especially when kids are first learning them - Natalie Wexler (Minding the Gap on Substack)

As I write this, the Easter Holidays are upon us. For many teachers, that means two weeks of pure bliss: time to switch off, take a trip and enjoy the swathes of sunshine we’ve been having.

For others, though, this also signals our steamrolling towards exam season – like my Year 6 students, who have their SATs after the holidays.

For now, my work is done. I’ve put everything into teaching them this year, they’ve got some work to do over the holidays (just a little, we’re not monsters) – they’re ready.

And, in a few weeks, the SATs will be over… which then means the writing moderation is upon us. And I’m a little more nervous for that.

The writing moderation is a hefty process that requires us to analyse multiple pieces of writing for every student and assess their competence in 20+ factors that affect writing quality.

Everything is included: punctuation, spelling and grammar; complex writing features; dialogue; formality; and, most troublesome of all, joined-up handwriting.

I have nothing against judging my students’ handwriting. After all, if I can’t read what it says, I can’t know what their skill level is.

And I don’t mind the expectation that it has to be quite neat – consistent letter height, consistent spacing, consistent formation.

But joined up? Give me a break.

The frustrating thing is that without proof of joined-up handwriting they shouldn’t be graded as expected standard (EXS) writers (unless a teacher can justify that this is an outlying weakness against a backdrop of generally EXS standard writing).

And the number of EXS writers in our year group is the measure of our success.

In short – without it, an external moderator may deem that nothing else counts and we’re judged as not having done our job of preparing their writing skills.

Why isn’t this fair? Beyond Year 6, there is no statutory expectation for students to join their handwriting. Some schools may have a preference or a standard, sure, but it’s not done on a national level and doesn’t affect the performance metrics of the teachers.

Here are other reasons why joined handwriting shouldn’t be an expectation:

- Many of my students have exceptionally neat handwriting without it and attempting to join negatively impacts its neatness.

- Some letters should join and some aren’t supposed to. For many, achieving this requires active thought, distracting them from the content they’re writing.

- Cognitive overload is a huge barrier in writing quality – just ask Natalie Wexler and Judith Hochman (authors of The Writing Revolution). Thinking about your handwriting to this extent doesn’t just distract you from what matters most, it can be seriously stressful.

(One thing I want to make clear here - I am quoting elements of the work of Judith Hochman and, in particular, Natalie Wexler. This doesn’t mean they agree with me on the teaching of joined handwriting; these two are experts in the field of writing instruction and have written extensively about the cognitive load associated with writing. I’m also a huge fan of their work and this is the perfect place to divert you to what they do if you’re yet to discover it.)

The biggest reason for my frustration is that, if there is one area my students struggle to meet consistently in their quest to become a government-approved Year 6 writer, it’s joined-up handwriting. If most can typically produce the rest of the criteria multiple times but don’t achieve the standard of handwriting we’re looking for without constant reminders, repeated writing and visual prompts throughout their writing - and it doesn’t make most of their work any neater - then what’s the point?Yes, I get it – fine motor skills are important, and handwriting is a great way to teach this.

But it’s also unenjoyable for reluctant writers (many of whom spend all day writing as it is) and it’s a distraction for those who love to write. Plus, besides helping children master joined handwriting, I don’t see the need to practice it because it’s not the only way to encourage fine motor skills.

Here are three alternatives I suggest:

1. Drawing – requires the same pen/pencil grip skills and a lot of lengthy pen-paper contact, just like joined handwriting. I sometimes read to my students and have them read along/join in; sometimes, though, I let them doodle when I read. I’d also argue that the combined use of different parts of the brain help recall – my students always remind me what happened last time we read with great accuracy. Plus, there are art lessons for this.

2. Origami – opportunities for this might be few and far between but our school holds Enrichment lessons every Thursday afternoon and I will be running origami as a club next term. Other craft skills are equally useful – sewing, crocheting, you name it. And, again, schools do teach these.

3. Nature – get them outside and using their hands! Climb stuff, investigate small plants, make a daisy chain. The weather is improving and this is an ideal time of year for it.

I’d love to see joined handwriting dropped from the writing moderation grid and replaced with something more like ‘consistent letter heights and consistent spacing’. Something realistic, attainable and fair.

Who’s with me?

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