Early start to handwriting at Swindon primary school

Nythe Primary School says a pioneering approach to handwriting is working wonders.

Kinetic Letters starts by introducing children to large physical movements for lowercase/capital letters and numbers, which gradually become smaller and more controlled as children develop.
The key to its success, the team at the school say, is on making the learning fun, through exciting stories and adventures, such as following Bounce the Brave Monkey and Skip the Scared Monkey and their friends, as children explore trees, jungles, snowy mountains and magical worlds.
Each adventure introduces children to a different family of letters, helping them learn the correct movements and starting points for letter formation.
Nythe Primary School is seeing a massive shift in culture, with good habits being established from an early age and handwriting becoming an active, memorable and enjoyable experience.
Principal Gudrun Osborn said: “We’re seeing some terrific results from using the Kinetic Letters approach.
"Children join us from as young as age two, and by Reception, many are already able to write their names confidently.
"The crucial part is that, rather than suddenly introducing handwriting in Reception, they are already familiar with the movements, language and routines that underpin letter formation.
"It’s incredibly exciting to see the progress that children and making and the positive impact this has on their confidence, independence and wider classroom learning."