Handwriting help for primary teachers

STABILO teams up with National Handwriting Association to provide teaching resources including downloadable Pen Licence

Posted by Stephanie Broad | August 07, 2016 | Teaching

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• #national-handwriting-association
• #handwriting
• #teaching
• #pen-licence
• #curriculum
• #primary-schools

Writing materials manufacturer STABILO has teamed up with the National Handwriting Association to create a dedicated suite of handwriting resources for primary school teachers.       

STABILO will host the resources on a new web portal which includes work sheets, video tutorials and advice on how to improve children’s handwriting. Suitable for both teachers in the classroom and parents at home, it will also include a downloadable Pen Licence for teachers and schools, with a discount voucher for parents on their child’s first pen.

Angela Webb, from the National Handwriting Association, said: “Handwriting is now part of the National Curriculum and it is crucially important for primary age children to develop handwriting skills early on. Despite the increase in digital technology, handwriting is still an essential skill, not only for presentation reasons, but also because of the benefits to a child's cognitive development. 

"The supply of good quality handwriting resources in the UK which are easily accessible to teachers varies considerably, but they can certainly enhance the writing experience for large numbers of children. 

“Some educators may struggle with best practice in terms of teaching handwriting, because it is not part of the PGCE teacher training in most universities. Despite this, changes to assessments this year mean that children continue to be assessed on handwriting as well on reading and maths.

“We will be working with STABILO to build these resources and we are hopeful they will be helpful to children, parents and teachers alike.” 

Chris Reynolds, UK Director at STABILO, said: “Teachers and parents have fed back to us the need for better resources to help with handwriting. 

“Children are often desperate to achieve in handwriting, but lack the resources for teachers and parents to help them with their development. School schemes such as the ‘Pen Licence’, whereby children receive a certificate when they reach a certain standard and can progress from using pencil to pen, are a great incentive for children. However, parents are often at a loss as to how they can help them reach this standard. 

“Our pens are ergonomically designed to help children improve handwriting and, when combined with the right teaching support, we have found them to be highly effective. It’s for this reason that it made perfect sense for us to start producing the resources ourselves, working closely with the National Handwriting Association.”     

Sign up at: blog.stabilo.co.uk/pen-licence