Left handed children

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I am a teacher undertaking some school based research into our provision for left handed children. Before I begin I would like to find out as much as I can about the experiences of left handed children in schools nationally.

If you have a left handed child, currently in primary school, I would love it if you could take 5 minutes to answer some questions for me. Thank you very much
ahort survey here

my ds is in a state school and we are in norfolk btw :)

ds1 is left handed but is only in pre-school. Would you like me to fill in your survey or is he too young?

Hi I just did the survey.
One thing I have found with my left handed and left footed DS is that I don't think the left footed issue is really considered in PE. My son scoots his scooter the opposite way around to other right footed children and his brother. However he seems to kick a ball with his right foot. I feel this is down to the football sessions and PE lessons where he has copied the teachers example. He is quite average at football but and excellent athlete. He is brilliant on a scooter too so it is definately the taught sports that he is not so good at. He does also struggle with Ict and the keyboard layout and mouse problems. He has not been offered specific left handed writing tools.

I bought ds a writing slope as he had to lean right over as he curls his hand around. This really makes a difference to writing speed and neatness. He has problems with the size of the desks though as he clashes arms with his neighbour. I don't know why they don't sit the two lefties together.

tiredteddy we had parents evening yesterday and my ds3's teacher mentioned that on a sports day they had had (a trip out to a sports centre last weeks) ds3 had very obviously been watching the instructor and all the other kids who had a go before him and was trying to copy what he did and really struggled, luckily his teacher noticed that he was copying and then trying to do things with his right foot, lead with his right foot, kick with his right foot etc. she took him to one side and said he iddnt have to use his right foot and showed him he coudl use his left, he got on much better then!

i dont think he had even thought about what he was doing, it was a very much a subconsious thing that he was doing the same as the other children and as a result was struggling. glad his teacher sorted it tho, he has a new teacher and she does seem much more aware of issues, or that could be that i have drawn her attention to it with recent ukuleyle thing (i got hte teacher to pass on messages to the music teacher who was trying to insist he play right handed)

like i said tho i am left handed and had no issues, i do however write with the paper sideways on, so i am infact writing downwards towards my body, i dont do the hook handed pen hold tho. at school i had to provide my own scissors etc but can use either type and the same with sports. i do remember when playing tennis at school rather than doing a backhand shot i would simply swop hands with the tennis racket as i could play with either hand! the PE teacher didnt like that very much

Equestrian electric tin openers are the way to go! :)

Hockey sticks now ... Grrrr

oh yes sarahslaughter i really struggled with hockey! and also when i was at uni in some classes we had those little desks, atttached to a chair but they only had space for your right arm and for you to write with your right hand, they were sort of an L shape bit of desk attached to the chair? they were a nightmare with being left handed and even more so when heavily preg with ds1!

completed the survey for you on behalf of DD aged 8.

Current school have been useless - she is moving after half-term so we will see if things are any better.

She plays tennis left handed, hockey is right handed for everyone; can use a mouse right handed, as too lazy to keep switching it over; is learning keyboards and wants to do guitar (but using a right-handed version at the moment, suppose could get it re-strung if she want to have a proper go at it).

In school no provision for sitting on the left side of a double desk, or providing instruments. All teachers have complained about her sloping the page at 45 degrees, as I had sugested to her to help with writing. All teachers complaining that she forms letters and numbers the 'wrong' way!

Haven't done survey as LH DS is in Y7 but I don't recall it ever being mentioned at the three primary schools he attended (here & in Australia). He is very into computers and I remember my mum (also a leftie) asking if he used his mouse with his left or right hand but he always uses a laptop so not an issue. It was my mum who thought he might be LH when she saw him feeding himself with a spoon held in his left hand. He never mentions anything about it to us and it doesn't seem to have affected his learning.

....I want to look at standards reached by our left handed children....

do you really believe that there is a difference in standards reached by children between right and left handed children? really?

I appreciate that schools could perhaps be doing more to support lefties (I am one myself and a teacher) but it's not a disability as is sometimes suggested - not necessarily here so please dont get defensive about your own experiences and children please......

oops 2 pleases!

Have completed the survey.

My Dd (6yrs) is left handed, agree with redskyatnight's point re. the spelling sheets, I now cut the sheet up so the list of words is separate.

I just asked about the computer mouse, she said she didn't realise you could swap it so just uses her right hand which she has got used to doing.

I also noticed when she did soccer skills after school she struggled as everything was demonstrated by the right handed coach, as you'd expect of course, it would have been helpful if they'd perhaps pointed out my Dd could try using her other foot, face the other way etc.

Have left-handed DS but he is still in preschool. Do you want me to fill in the survey?

Just wanted to point out something I've noticed from teaching in universities (aside from that those chairs with the tables don't work (as someone has said above)): whiteboards don't work either, so asking left-handed students to do presentations with notes on a whiteboard, or to write up answers to problems etc oftent leaves them rubbing out what they have just written. (I have now adopted a policy of getting someone else to write their notes down as they dictate, but that doesn't always work.)

I have also complete your survey.

My DS is in a state primary school and whilst some provision is made for him being left handed, I find that it all depends on the experience of the teacher concerned.

He does use left handed scissors, but his shredding cutting out has always been messy. I have taught him to sit on the left side of his school desk and this prevents elbows being knocked.

He is a keen sportsman and plays a variety of sports. He tends to hold batting equipment in his left hand (except for cricket when he bowls left handed, but bats right handed - you figure that one out!). Luckily, one of my DS's after school PE teachers is left handed, so if he has any issues he can just copy this particular teacher, or so he tells me.

The other indisputable fact, of course, is that left handed people are more sensitive.

DH is threatening to cry because you said that.
Otherwise, his first response to the thread was "Oh, you mean the gifted people!?"

I filled in the survey with lots of "I have no idea" replies. Honestly, haven't a clue whether they provide any special support (state school). DS2 is y3 and didn't really settle on handedness until .. I am not sure, really. Maybe start of y2? I also don't know which foot he kicks with or throws balls or which eye is dominant (turnip brain moment).

DS3 is starting school definitely left-handed.

I do know that DS2 refuses to even try to use scissors left handed, though; insists on right hand for scissors no matter what. DS3 knows which special scissors are his.

indie year 5 here

Hockey is horrible for DD as it's always the first sport of the year & it spoils her enthusiasm for netball & athletics. She is obviously a sporty person as does very well at gymnastics at her local club. She finds sport incredibly frustrating!

School insist on fountain pens which I feel is wrong for her. I much prefer to use a yoropen as you can see what you're doing so much better.

On the plus side, ICT & music do not bother her. She does it all right handed.

When she was at state school spellings sheets were a constant battle.

filled it in for you, DD is year 5 and has been a leftie since birth reaching for things with only left hand from as soon as she was able. School haven't ever really provided anything except scissors. She has been able to swap sides on tables in most classes only one teacher told her off and I told teacher off! and then it was sorted. She finds white boards a pain in the bum cos she gets messy and hates it, but now she's moved on to pens and books more she's fine, she has a nice pen grip coz she uses a left handed pen we provided for her and her writing is lovely, she doesn't tend to bend the book too much. Spelling as others have said used to be a pain but I spoke to the SENCO about that and now DD and other lefties are provided with opposite way round sheets in every year group. She uses her dads laptop over mine as he's a leftie and has his mouse set up the opposite way round and every computer she uses in school I have been told she swaps round. school now have two computers set up left hand mouse permanently which I think is good.

this is a state school btw

DS3 is a leftie and in yr 1 at private pre-prep in London. As far as I'm aware nothing has been done apart from LH scissors. I have provided a handwriting toggle which helps him write without doing the hook-handed posture. The teacher was so impressed that she said she would ask the school to get them in for all the children as they work for both LH and RH.

Otherwise I'm not sure that anything special happens - he is still using pencils so doesn't smudge anything. When they do ICT it's on laptops with a touch pad (and the same at home). Have no idea whether he's left footed or not but he does enjoy football. He was definitely LH at tennis and I had to tell the coach that a usual forehand was actually his backhand.

Bluerodeo, I have done a lot of reading prior to this and there is a gap in attainment, with lh girls faring worse than lh boys. (obviously many lh children excel too) I can point you in the right direction if you're interested in reading the figures. I'm interested in finding out why.

Watching with interest. Have ds2, a pre-schooler, who is LH. And was concerned when I went into ds1's class that they couldn't find any scissors for one of the left handed girls, and scoffed at her. But atleast they sit the lefties at the side of the tables so they don't knock elbows, which appears more thna they do at some schools!!

Am making mental notes, for things to be 'aware of'. so that I don't miss anything once ds2 starts school.
Obviously, scissors and seating position at desk are more well known issues. will keep an eye on writing and special pencils, or grips. Didn't think about spelling sheets , so thats a good one.
Not sure what the answer to the white board issue is. And not sure if its best to change a computer set up or not.
Any other suggestions of things to 'bear in mind' |?

I have just filled it in with dd1's help (aged nearly 7). She uses a mouse with her right hand so doesn't change position. She puts her arm over the Look COver Write Check words, and tilts her paper round so she can write more easily. If she's bumping elbows with the next person she would move to the other side of them. She is good at gymnastics but uses the opposite arm to start cartwheels etc from most of her friends. It hasn't proven a problem though and academically she is doing very well.