PenPals for Handwriting is our handwriting series.
Handwriting develops gradually through a series of clearly defined stages, each building on the skills developed in the previous one.
The PenPals programme identifies five key stages that provide a clear structure for this progression, starting with preparation for handwriting in the early years, where children develop gross and fine motor skills through mark making, patterns and early letter formation.
This is followed by securing correct letter formation in the early stages of Key Stage 1, before moving on to learning how to join letters while focusing on size and spacing.
In Lower Key Stage 2, children consolidate these joins and work on improving legibility, consistency and overall quality, including managing break letters. Finally, in Upper Key Stage 2, pupils practice writing with greater speed and fluency and begin to develop a personalised handwriting style suited to different purposes.
To access author videos and free supporting materials (including samples), please visit our website.
Please find below a comprehensive table to help you through the different resources.
| Component | Purpose & Content | How / When Used | Key Notes |
| Interactive Downloads (Requires installation, Nursery to Y6) | Digital resources for use on an interactive whiteboard, for whole-class teaching, covering fine and gross motor skills. Includes Penpals warm-up gym, letter formation, modelling and practice, for children to follow along with. | Designed for a 15-minute weekly session. Handwriting should also be revisited for 5 minutes daily on the remaining days (YouTube walkthroughs supported) | Perpetual product – no renewal required. Compatible with all Windows software. Not compatible with Mac computers, Chromebooks or Linux. The whole class interactive materials are useful to help deliver the lessons, but if budgets are tight then using the teacher book for lesson delivery and practice books for consolidation of the skills would work well for your school. |
| Practice Books (KS1 & KS2) | Activity books designed to support independent practice in the classroom, following a whole-class teaching session. | Used as part of main teaching for 15 minutes after whole-class teaching. | Can be used following the activities in the Interactive Downloads. Can be used individually, one between two or in small groups with a TA. The books are not designed to be written into, so separate paper is needed for the written exercises (e.g. lined paper workbooks). |
| Workbooks (Reception, KS1 & KS2) | Additional write-in practice, including GPS (Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling). | Extra 10 minutes after Practice Books ,if time allows, or used on a different day. | Packed in 10s. Workbooks start at Reception (Foundation 2), which has 3 books (Workbook One for pattern making, letters introduced in Two and Three). |
| Teacher Books | The most foundational part of the scheme. Contains all lesson planning needed for teaching. | Used for planning and delivering lessons and activities. | The teacher books are the most foundational for delivering the PenPals scheme as they contain the lesson plans, scope and sequence for each year group, enabling you to start children’s handwriting at the appropriate point, which may not always be their year group. Consistency across the school is the key with handwriting so it would be better to buy teacher books for all years, rather than invest your budget in all resources for one year group. Includes photocopiable masters at the back of the book. |
| Intervention Books (Y1–Y6) | Additional practice and assessment for pupils at risk of falling behind. | Used flexibly for targeted support. Can be used for different year groups depending on needs of the pupil. | One book each for Y1–2, Y3–4, and Y5–6. Photocopiable. |
| Penpals Font Download (Requires Installation) | Consistent handwriting font (Sassoon). Includes: Sassoon Penpals, Sassoon Penpals Line, Sassoon Penpals Joined, Sassoon Penpals Joined Line, Sassoon Penpals Tracker | Used across lessons and displays. | Sasson Font designed specifically for young children, developed alongside educators and children to mirror natural handwriting. |
| Supplementary Resources (Whole school) | Consistent and visual reinforcement. | Used across lessons and displays. | Includes poster pack, alphabet wall frieze, pen licence cards (pack of 200). |