How should we teach name-writing?

Children can and should learn to write their name even without being systematically taught the GPCs within it. We recommend providing each child with a model of their name to trace over. Go further by interacting with your children as they learn!

Talk in basic terms about the shapes and direction of the letters in their name, for example, ‘curved, straight, up, down’. Talk, too, about the sounds different letters make. As a minimum, every child should know the initial sound of their own name.

Once they know this – and they can copy their name independently – they’ll be in a great spot for starting Reception!