pen licence

[glam71]

Do all schools do pen licences? When are they normally issued? My dd is in year 4 and still waiting. Mostvof the class have them

I didn't know they were 'licences' but yes at ours they make a big overblown song and dance about pens.

But in the end all they do is single out those who have no pen. Wow. Nothing like a lesson learned is there?

My dd didn't get a pen until yr6 fgs when they ran out of reasons not to award it. Honestly her writing was fine and she tried and tried to be whatever they wanted to qualify.

Still I'm sure the despotic old boot in yr 5 who held out on her for a damn pen must've had her reasons

Dd3 is left handed and has only just recently improved her handwriting. Mostly due to the fact that her new English teacher, has taken the time to work with her. During yr4 at her first school, every child in her class had a pen licence, and she didn't. She was most upset, and it wasn't until I approached her teacher, the week before the end of summer term, that she gave her one.
Terrible way of pointing out a flaw IMO.

My DD got hers this year in year 3. Her handwriting was not the neatest but in order to get her pen license she got her handwriting in order pretty soon.

why do they have to use pencils anyway?are 5 yr olds not trustworthy with pens?dont think ive used a pencil since school.

so as usual nothing like real life then!thought so.

If they'd had these when I was at school I'd have taken my finals in pencil!

As dh cheerfully pointed out today dd (age just 3) has nicer writing than me. I practiced for years and years to try and get nice writing but for some reason I just can't do it. I never write now so it doesn't really matter.

Not sure how much it would have bothered me. I am / was what is nowadays known as G&T so by Year 6 was accepted to be better at maths than our class teacher (including by the class teacher) so I would have known that my skills lay elsewhere. But I think it would have still been hard to be the only one still in pencil.

I assumed this was a piss take thread, but it's real .

I'd never have received my 'pen licence' then.

yes,its called spellcheck!

I think pen licences are ridiculous and in my middle son's case led to him starting secondary school without having ever used a pen in school. His writing is still terrible. Children should be able to choose and use a range of writing implements to find what suits them best and practice.

I pointed this out to my youngest son's teacher and said it doesn't help them in the long-term and they (Year 6 teachers) ought to be thinking about life beyond primary for their kids. She more or less shrugged and said, "it's a useful incentive".

My ds never used a pen in school until secondary either,and yet now he has to write in pen . I fail to see how this helps children like my son who struggle with their handwriting. Surely they need more practise using a pen.

We have them. Not entirely sure how left handed children are meant to use ink pens (DS's had would smudge over the top of any wet ink) - his current teacher says biro is OK, but he may well get a bit of a thug of a teacher next year, who may not allow it.

It's a bit hard on the ones who struggle with co-ordination through no fault of their own.

Ds1 left primary school without ever getting his pen licence. He has problems with fine motor skills, so his handwriting is barely legible at the best of times. It's unlikely to ever be neat.

It's utterly pointless setting targets that a child has no chance at ever reaching.

I think it's really daft these days to make a massive thing out of handwriting. I can't remember the last time I did a page of writing - surely touch-typing is far more important now. Though maybe when this generation is working it will all be voice recognition stuff at work.

Never heard of a pen licence and I am a school governor!

Highlander I have been scanning rather than reading everything - so sorry if someone has already answered your question but wondering if these have already been tried? they do versions for right handers and left handed writers, pen, pencil and various. afaik they're in most supermarkets - which is where we stock up If this doesn't work, all kinds of other stuff. what colour ink works best?

never heard of it.

At DS and DD's school they have 'pen practice' in Y2 where they do specific exercises using fountain pen, but the bulk of their work is done in pencil. This is preparation for the move to the 'Junior Wing' in Y3 where all work is done in fountain pen.

Good grief, is this crap still going on? I thought it went the way of the cane.

There is no way I'd allow this in my classroom. Not only poor teaching, but what a waste of time faffing around. My kids use mostly pencil, but we use pens for some exercises. I have a few tubs of different types of pens I put on the tables so kids can try different types. It's very informal. I couldn't have any fair 'licence' system. I have a child with CP who uses a tablet, a child with ASD who will only write in green (who cares!), and another child with juvenile arthritis who will never produce a page of neat handwriting. I don't care what they write with as long as they are learning.

ous have it. dd is hypermobile and will not stand a chance without extra occcupational therapy.

My daughter's primary school had pen licences. She worked throughout Year 4 to get a pen licence and was rather frustrated at the end of the year when she was one of five who didn't get one. Their Year 5 teacher told them they'd all have to start off again working towards a pen licence, and this time she was the third to get hers and kept it constantly for two years.. Her writing isn't the best, but it's certainly not the worst. She was fairly good at English and was one of two to be selected to go to a writers session with an author outside school, so doesn't make sense to me.

DS in yr4 has not got his pen licence yet, possibly because he writes likes a spider who's hit the bottle. The first half dozen in his class were given out in assembly last term.