Do schools take pen licences away?

[Tuesday588]

DD is in Year 3 and was awarded her pen licence a few weeks ago. She's one of the first in her class to get one so was extremely pleased about this and I feel it has been a good confidence boost for her as she sometimes struggles in other areas of learning.

She came home from school upset today saying that her teacher had pulled her to one side and said that her writing isnt as neat in pen and it was in pencil and if it's the same tomorrow that she will be taking her pen licence away and she will need to go back to writing in pencil.

Does anyone or any teachers know if that is a thing? Do teachers actually take pen licences away once they've been rewarded?

Obviously dd is very upset by this and has gone to bed upset. If the teacher has just said this to get dd to try harder with writing in pen then fine but surely as she's only just started writing in pen it will take her a while to get used to it.

I just wondered if anyone had experience with this ? Thanks!

I feel like @RickiTarr's excellent pen-pun did not get enough love.

I’ve just revoked my own pen license at the age of 43. Having spent so much time helping kids find the best pen/pencil to help with their handwriting I’ve come to realise that I need to use a pencil to be remotely neat and not just a regular pencil but one of those really chunky ones for pre schoolers.

It’s been a wonderful revelation quite frankly. I wish schools would focus more on encouraging kids to write with what’s most comfortable for them and achieves the best results rather than aiming for this pen license shite!

Thank you @mynameiscalypso

I bloody hate them, my eldest got hers almost straight away but my youngest has only just achieved hers and she's 9. For me, it's yet another way of singling out children. My youngest is a lefty and finds everything so difficult, writing neatly being her nemesis. Now she has the licence she's been warned if her quality goes down, it will be removed. She's tried so hard for it that now she concentrates so much when writing that she's started to bite her own tongue! They're utterly ridiculous if you ask me.

@landoflostcontent

They didn't call it a pen licence "in my day" but at junior school in the 1950's we were very proud when we graduated to being able to use a pen ( can't think why as we still had inkwells and scratchy nibs) but if our writing was not up to standard the "privilege" was removed and it was back to pencils. At least it wasn't chalk and slates I'll just climb back in my rocking chair...

We were just told to write with a dip pen when we went into Juniors - year 3 and did 'real writing' = joined up cursive writing. Great fun being the ink monitor and filling up the inkwells everyday.

Lot of trial and error and blots but somehow we learnt after a few lessons showing us how. Much more effort went into writing then than now, I think. Presumably to train us up into office workers etc. Having a good writing style was important. Many teachers wrote beautifully.

Printing was not an option. No option to revert to pencil or chalk on slates. Practice making perfect. We weren't allowed to use a fountain pen - not sure why not.

A pen licence? 🙄

kids need to practice with pens, they slide differently to pencils, so its inevitable their writing will probably get worse for while. especially if its a biro. I still struggle to write neatly with a biro, the slippery little fuckers.

It's a crazy concept. Yes all children do need to use a pen by y7 but to take it away is silly. I feel the same about cursive writing. It's an art form and I do not see the link in academic attainment and cursive. Especially as by y7 onwards teachers do look at individual styles of writing as it can help with plagiarism. And by uni it's all on computer and put through a software check.

Some children struggle with pens and even pencils.

That's mad, I've heard of pen licences but only though a thread on here where a different child was upset.

Could you buy her some nice new pens for home and some children's crossword puzzles or something so she can get some practice in without feeling she's practicing?

Does this mean DCs only use pencil before this? I've always given my DC a random selection of pencils, biros, felt tips and crayons and let them choose for themselves. Is this wrong? DD is 6 and has pretty neat writing regardless of what she's using. Never heard of a pen license!!

A pen licence? Whoever thought this one up? What a load of bollocks! Hope they don't have these at my dd's school.

It would be really shitty of them to take it off her, even if her writing is a bit scruffy in pen. Why upset a child over something that they know is not important from an educational point of view when it really is important to the childs confidence and sense of pride.

It wasn't called a pen licence back then, but I still remember the pain of being told I had to go back to writing with a pencil in 1989!

The thing was, I was the only left handed child in my class and my teacher had no real knowledge of how to teach a left-hander to write with a fountain pen. My mum was told to buy me a "left handed pen" but I still smudged my work. My gran offered to send me in with blotting paper but the teacher said no because then every child would want some and it wouldn't be fair.

I went home that night and cried lots. I don't know the details of the conversation that took place between my mum and the headteacher the next morning but by 10am I was back writing in pen and happily using my blotting paper!

Ds(17) still writes with pencils, prefers them. Only time he uses a pen is in exams, or filling in forms.

@lollipopsandrainbows

I bloody hate them, my eldest got hers almost straight away but my youngest has only just achieved hers and she's 9. For me, it's yet another way of singling out children. My youngest is a lefty and finds everything so difficult, writing neatly being her nemesis. Now she has the licence she's been warned if her quality goes down, it will be removed. She's tried so hard for it that now she concentrates so much when writing that she's started to bite her own tongue! They're utterly ridiculous if you ask me.

Your poor daughter. So sad that such a small thing is causing her so much worry. I'm also a lefty and at school I was always given remedial handwriting activities. It really singled me out, made me want to cry and did nothing to help! My writing is still pretty shit but it hasn't held me back in life, I tend to type everything these days anyway!

I’ve sent this thread link to several friends and we are having a good laugh at the outrageous officiousness of some schools. I’d burst the bubble for your DD so she can point out how silly this is to her friends and ruin the whole concept for the school. Like Santa, but no child gets sad.

Good lord. So much wrong with this. We need to (metaphorically) nuke the education system in this country and start again with using actual developmental research on how children learn and how we ensure happy, kind human beings (based on latest figures on how many children are presenting to A&E self harming, we have a lot of improvement to be made).

Pen licence! What the actual fuck!!

@arinah

Forget pen licences, the real devil here is spending 6 years being told to write in cursive, only realise in year 7 that no one cares if your letters are joined up or not, as long as it's legible

After many years of being forced to write in cursive. My writing is illegible. My sister who was a year below me, was not forced and has beautiful neat writing. As do all you much younger colleagues.

Yep. They've caused tears among my child's peers when they've had them in one year and had to re-gain them in new year groups and not done so.

Plus I have a child with motor skills difficulties who will always struggle with handwriting and has been bullied so much by a teacher about improving her presentation and making it "neat" that she's now so terrified she doesn't produce any content anymore (was previously working at age-related expectations with the aid of a laptop to type)

A whatnow! Pen licence? Absurd!

Laughing at @GreyhoundG1rl seriousness 🙄

This is horrible. We don’t do pen licenses; we just give them all a pen at the beginning of year 5 and hope for the best. (Alongside a lot of encouragement, support and handwriting practice!) I have kids who would probably never get a pen licence. And the idea of taking it away is just shitty - she’s in year 3 ffs

My year 3 dd just got her pen licence yesterday. This is a huge thing and every week since y3 started I have had a running commentary of who does and does not have one so far. I feel so sorry for the kids who are not doing so well. DD has also been sad when the weeks pass and she kept not getting one. So divisive and unhelpful.

Apparently we have to right now (urgent, amazon prime) get special Pilot Frixion pens, but only in blue, in time for Monday.

I sincerely hope it doesn’t get revoked again as the upset will be huge and to be honest it’s all bollocks anyway - she’s been using pens at home (or whatever really) since tiny.

The only rule I have at home is no sharpies

@year5teacher

This is horrible. We don’t do pen licenses; we just give them all a pen at the beginning of year 5 and hope for the best. (Alongside a lot of encouragement, support and handwriting practice!) I have kids who would probably never get a pen licence. And the idea of taking it away is just shitty - she’s in year 3 ffs

We start in y3. In the first week they get an assortment of pens(ink and biro, with grip,without) and they trial them out to see which ones are most comfortable and they have the neatest writing in. Then they get that pen to keep.

DS was lucky. Primary overseas where they only had to join up in handwriting lessons (workbook each year). If it was any other subject then handwriting was irrelevant. He only actually wrote joined up for summer term of year 6 in England. Learnt in two weeks for his SATs .

I have never taken a licence away. That's mean. Their writing does take a dip when they first start using pen.
Amusingly a lot of Y3 I have taught called the actual pen a pen licence.