Handwriting In KS2: Expectations For Years 3 To 6

Years 3 To 6 At A Glance

What Are The KS2 Handwriting Expectations?

The National Curriculum expects KS2 pupils to join their handwriting and to make it faster, more consistent and more legible each year. The statutory wording is on handwriting and the National Curriculum. The DfE writing framework adds detail for KS2 teachers.

Once pupils are fluent writers, the framework says teachers should make clear what kind of handwriting suits a task, such as quick notes or a final handwritten version. In other subjects it suggests a gentle route: children write the title and first line in joined writing, and increase the number of sentences week by week.

What Does Handwriting In Years 3 And 4 Involve?

Years 3 and 4 are about using joins routinely and improving quality. The National Curriculum asks pupils to use the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are needed to join letters, understand which letters are best left unjoined, and increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting, for example by keeping downstrokes parallel and equidistant and lines spaced so ascenders and descenders do not touch.

The guidance says pupils should be using joined handwriting throughout their independent writing, and that handwriting should continue to be taught to increase fluency, which supports composition and spelling.

Focus areas include even downstrokes, consistent spacing and tall letters and tails that do not collide. See handwriting joins, cursive worksheets and ascenders and descenders.

What Does Handwriting In Years 5 And 6 Involve?

Years 5 and 6 are about legible, fluent writing at increasing speed, and about choice. The National Curriculum asks pupils to write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed by choosing which shape of a letter to use, deciding whether or not to join specific letters, and choosing the writing implement best suited to a task.

Pupils are also taught to use an unjoined style for labelling a diagram or data, writing an email address, or algebra, and capitals for filling in a form. See handwriting speed and pen licence.

Is Handwriting Tested In The KS2 SATs?

No. There is no handwriting test in the KS2 tests. The KS2 tests cover reading, maths, and grammar, punctuation and spelling, and writing is assessed by teachers. Handwriting counts as part of that teacher assessment of writing.

The DfE says teacher assessment of writing at the end of KS2 is statutory, and that the assessment framework "is not an exhaustive list of criteria and should not be used as a formative assessment tool or a set of criteria for teaching". So use the National Curriculum to plan handwriting teaching, not the assessment framework.

What Does "Greater Depth" Mean For Handwriting?

Greater depth is a level in the writing teacher assessment, not a handwriting standard. Searches for "greater depth handwriting" mostly find guidance about the quality of writing itself.

For handwriting, the curriculum expects legible, joined and increasingly fluent writing that holds up at speed. If a Year 6 pupil's handwriting is secure, it supports every other part of their writing by leaving their attention free for the ideas.

How Can KS2 Children Improve Their Handwriting?

Fix one thing at a time and practise it for a few minutes each day. Five steps:

1. Check the joins. Look for joins that break or letters that do not join when they should.
2. Fix one habit. Pick the most common problem, such as tall letters that touch the line above.
3. Do short timed practice. A two-minute copy of a familiar sentence, then compare.
4. Check posture and grip. NHS occupational therapy advice suggests feet flat on the floor, hips and knees at about 90 degrees, and a desk about 5 cm above the bent elbow.
5. Apply it. Look at handwriting in real writing, not only in handwriting lessons.

The EEF's Helping Handwriting Shine trial found that a targeted eight-week programme for Year 5 pupils gave the equivalent of two additional months' progress in overall writing ability. It ran three 30-minute sessions a week, and is not currently available to schools. See handwriting intervention in KS2.

When Is KS2 Handwriting A Cause For Concern?

Handwriting in KS2 needs extra support when it is illegible, very slow or painful, or when a child avoids writing. The class teacher and the SENCo are the first people to ask. NHS occupational therapy advice says the most important factor is whether the child produces legible writing that lets them show what they know.

The same advice notes that a pencil grip is hard to change after about age 6 to 7, and warns that forcing a grip risks hindering handwriting further. For older children, easy-flow pens and chunkier pencils are options. See dyspraxia and writing and improve your child's handwriting.