WR-PLD-01: Programme Overview

# WR-PLD-01: Programme Overview

Level: All Levels
Notes: 1 hour. Why Write Right, NHA framework, 5 levels, expectations. All staff.
Publication: PLD Pack
Status: In Progress
Type: PLD Material

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🎯

**Session Details**

**Duration:** 1 hour | **Audience:** All staff | **Delivery:** Write Right Lead

**Materials needed:** This guide, P-Checks poster, sample student work, programme handbook

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---

## Session Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

- [ ]  Explain why systematic handwriting instruction matters
- [ ]  Describe the NHA Framework (P-Checks and S-Factors)
- [ ]  Identify the 5 levels of Write Right and their target year groups
- [ ]  Articulate their role in programme implementation

---

## Session Outline

| **Time** | **Section** | **Activity** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 5 min | Welcome & Context | Why we're here |
| 10 min | Why Handwriting Matters | Discussion + research evidence |
| 15 min | The NHA Framework | P-Checks & S-Factors deep dive |
| 15 min | The 5 Levels | Programme structure walkthrough |
| 10 min | Your Role | Expectations & non-negotiables |
| 5 min | Q&A + Close | Questions, next steps |

---

# Part 1: Why Handwriting Matters

## 🤔 Opening Discussion (2 min)

> Ask participants: *"Think of a student who struggles with handwriting. How does it affect their learning across subjects?"*
> 

Collect 3-4 responses. Common themes: slow work completion, reluctance to write, low self-esteem, difficulty reading own notes.

---

## The Evidence Base

### 🧠 Cognitive Benefits

- Handwriting activates **unique brain regions** not engaged by typing
- **Motor memory** reinforces letter recognition and spelling
- Writing by hand improves **reading comprehension**
- Note-taking by hand leads to **better retention** than typing

*Source: James & Engelhardt (2012); Mueller & Oppenheimer (2014)*

### 📚 Academic Impact

- Students with fluent handwriting **write more** and **write better**
- Illegible handwriting **costs marks** in assessments
- Slow handwriting creates **cognitive overload** — students focus on forming letters instead of composing ideas
- **Automaticity** frees working memory for higher-order thinking

*Source: Medwell & Wray (2008); Graham et al. (2000)*

---

## The Problem We're Solving

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⚠️

**Current State Analysis**

- Inconsistent approaches across year groups
- Some students reaching KS2 with poor letter formation habits
- Limited systematic intervention for struggling writers
- Handwriting not consistently reinforced across subjects
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✅

**Write Right Solution**

- **One consistent approach** from Nursery to Year 6
- Evidence-based framework (NHA)
- Clear progression with exit criteria
- Built-in intervention triggers
- Whole-school accountability
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---

# Part 2: The NHA Framework

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📖

**National Handwriting Association (NHA)**

The NHA is the UK's leading authority on handwriting education. Write Right is built on their research-validated framework that separates handwriting into **Process** (P-Checks) and **Product** (S-Factors).

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---

## P-Checks: The Foundation

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🔑

**P-Checks are environmental factors we MUST get right before teaching begins.**

If P-Checks are wrong, students will develop bad habits that are hard to correct later.

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### 🪑 Posture

- Feet flat on floor
- Back supported
- Fist-width from table edge
- Non-writing arm stabilises paper

**Check:** Can students maintain this for 10+ minutes?

### ✏️ Pencil

- Dynamic tripod grip
- ~2cm from pencil tip
- Relaxed fingers (not white-knuckle)
- Pencil rests in web of thumb

**Check:** Does grip allow smooth movement?

### 📄 Paper

- Tilted towards writing hand
- Offset to writing side
- Left-handers: top-right corner down
- Right-handers: top-left corner down

**Check:** Can student see what they write without twisting?

### ⚖️ Pressure

- Even, moderate pressure
- No indentations through paper
- Smooth flow across page
- Consistent line weight

**Check:** Can you feel grooves on reverse of paper?

---

## 🎬 P-Checks in Action

### Activity: P-Check Practice (3 min)

> **Facilitator:** Ask everyone to sit as if they're about to write. Walk around and check each P-Check. Point out common errors you see.
> 

**Common errors to highlight:**

- Feet wrapped around chair legs
- Hunched shoulders
- Paper flat/straight
- Death grip on pencil

---

## S-Factors: The Skills Sequence

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**S-Factors are the sequential skills students develop over time.**

These build on each other. You cannot skip ahead — each skill depends on the previous ones.

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| **S-Factor** | **What It Means** | **When Taught** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Shape** | Correct letter formation — right start, direction, finish | Levels 1–2 |
| **Space** | Consistent gaps between letters and words | Levels 2–3 |
| **Size** | Consistent x-height, ascenders, descenders | Level 3 |
| **Sitting** | All letters correctly positioned on baseline | Level 3 |
| **Stringing** | Joining letters fluently (cursive) | Level 4 |
| **Slant** | Consistent forward angle | Levels 4–5 |
| **Speed** | Appropriate pace for task (automaticity) | Level 5 |
| **Style** | Personal, legible handwriting | Level 5 |

---

# Part 3: The 5 Levels of Write Right

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**Key Principle: Mastery, Not Age**

Students progress based on skill mastery, not year group. A Year 2 student who hasn't mastered Level 2 stays there until ready. A Reception student who's mastered Level 1 moves to Level 2.

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---

## Programme Structure Overview

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    WRITE RIGHT PROGRESSION                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  LEVEL 1          LEVEL 2          LEVEL 3          LEVEL 4        │
│  Ready to Write → Letter Learners → Positioning &  → Joining       │
│                                     Pre-Cursive      Journey        │
│  (Nursery-Rec)   (Rec-Y1)         (Y1-Y2)          (Y2-Y3)         │
│                                                                     │
│                                                          ↓          │
│                                                    LEVEL 5          │
│                                                    Fluent Writers   │
│                                                    (Y4-Y6)          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

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## Level Summaries

### 🌟 Level 1: Ready to Write

**Focus:** Physical readiness

**NOT** letter formation yet

- Gross & fine motor development
- Hand dominance
- P-Checks habits
- Pre-writing patterns

**Exit:** Can trace all patterns, developing tripod grip

### 🔤 Level 2: Letter Learners

**Focus:** Correct letter formation

- 4 Letter Families (Curly-C, Long-Line, Bounce, Zig-Zag)
- Formation patters (verbal cues)
- Exit flicks (pre-cursive)

**Exit:** All 26 lowercase formed correctly from memory

### 📐 Level 3: Positioning & Pre-Cursive

**Focus:** Consistency on the line

- Sky-Grass-Earth zones
- Baseline sitting
- Word spacing
- Exit strokes refined

**Exit:** Consistent size, spacing, sitting on line

### 🔗 Level 4: Joining Journey

**Focus:** Cursive joins

- 4 join types
- Break letters (pen lifts)
- Joined word writing

**Exit:** All basic joins fluent, cursive used consistently

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🚀

### Level 5: Fluent Writers

**Focus:** Speed, style, automaticity

- Speed development (Y6 target: 15+ wpm)
- Personal style within legibility
- Pen transition
- Cross-curricular application

**Exit:** Fast, legible, automatic joined writing ready for secondary

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---

## The Cosmos Letter Families

| **Family** | **Movement** | **Letters** | **Lead Letter** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 🌀 **Curly-C** | Anticlockwise curve | c, a, d, g, q, o, e, s, f | c |
| 📏 **Long-Line** | Top-down start | l, i, t, u, y, j | l |
| 🏀 **Bounce** | Down-up-down arch | r, n, m, h, b, p, k | r |
| ⚡ **Zig-Zag** | Diagonal lines | v, w, x, z | v |

---

# Part 4: Your Role

## Whole-School Non-Negotiables

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🚫

**These must be in place in EVERY classroom:**

- [ ]  P-Checks poster displayed and actively used
- [ ]  Correctly sized furniture for students
- [ ]  Formation patters used consistently (no variations)
- [ ]  Left-handed support in place
- [ ]  Handwriting expectations applied **across all subjects**
- [ ]  Regular timetabled handwriting sessions
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---

## What's Expected by Role

| **Role** | **Responsibilities** |
| --- | --- |
| **All Teachers** | Attend PLD, implement daily sessions, P-Checks every lesson, track progress, apply expectations across subjects |
| **Teaching Assistants** | Support P-Checks, deliver interventions, reinforce formation patters |
| **Year Group Champions** | Peer support, feedback collection, attend Impact Team meetings |
| **SLT** | Learning walks, fidelity monitoring, resource allocation |

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## Consistency is Everything

### ✅ What to Do

- Use the same formation patters every time
- Check P-Checks at the start of every writing task
- Give immediate feedback on formation
- Celebrate progress
- Apply handwriting standards in all subjects

### ❌ What NOT to Do

- Invent your own way of teaching letters
- Skip P-Checks "because we're busy"
- Accept poor formation "because the content is good"
- Let standards slip in other subjects
- Rush students to the next level before mastery

---

# Part 5: What Happens Next

## Implementation Timeline

| **When** | **What** |
| --- | --- |
| **This week** | WR-PLD-02: P-Checks Deep Dive |
| **Next week** | WR-PLD-03: Letter Formation Mastery |
| **Following weeks** | WR-PLD-04, 05, 06 (see schedule) |
| **August** | Classroom setup, go-live readiness check |
| **September** | Full implementation begins |

---

## Resources You'll Receive

- [ ]  **Write Right Programme Handbook** — full curriculum details
- [ ]  **P-Checks Poster** — for classroom display
- [ ]  **Formation Patter Cards** — verbal cues for each letter
- [ ]  **Level-specific worksheets** — ready to use
- [ ]  **Assessment trackers** — for progress monitoring

---

# Q&A + Close

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**Discussion Questions**

1. What concerns do you have about implementation?
2. Which P-Check do you think will be hardest to maintain consistently?
3. What support do you need to feel confident?
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## Key Takeaways

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**Remember These 3 Things:**

1. **P-Checks first** — Get the environment right before teaching letters
2. **Mastery over speed** — Students progress when ready, not by age
3. **Consistency everywhere** — Same approach, every classroom, every subject
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---

## Session Evaluation

> **Facilitator:** Ask participants to complete the PLD feedback form before leaving.
> 

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**Next Session:** WR-PLD-02: P-Checks Deep Dive

**Date:** [Insert date]

**Duration:** 1 hour

**Focus:** Practical setup and monitoring of Posture, Pencil, Paper, Pressure

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