DEVELOPMENT
Fortunately, if assistance is put in place, children can catch up
That could impact their fine motor skills, as well as their ability to sit at a desk comfortably and concentrate in lessons. Learning to write also brings aspects of education together – helping children understand how letters sound, as well as what they look like. Miss out on that essential practice and the impact could well be significant. While, encouragingly, the reading skills of year 6 pupils have improved, their handwriting skills have declined during the pandemic.
So, what needs to happen? Some schools are hiring specialist writing experts to help children catch up. Fortunately, if assistance is put in place promptly, the signs are that even children who are some way behind can make steady progress and catch up. This means, all being well, beginner writers will be a feature of the educational landscape for the foreseeable future, well on the way to the excitement of that first pen licence, finally at liberty to (quite literally) blot their very own copybook.
74 AUTUMN/WINTER 2022
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