When do kids switch from pencil to pen??

[WinterHeatWave]

DS is in Y5, in a British school, but we are not in the UK.
His writing is terrible (and spelling, and yes, SENCO is involved).

All school work is done in pencil.
He picked up a biro yesterday to practice his spellings, and WOW, what a difference!

So, at what stage do kids typically switch from pencil to pen in the UK?

Year 3 when they get their pen licence... Yes that's a real thing!

Yr 2/3 here - depending on handwriting. All yr5 write in pen though.

Yr 5 is when they get their pen licence at our school.

It's usually when they achieve their own license. If his writting is really bad they won't let him him use a pen, however, maybe get him to do more writting at home in pen and take it to show his teacher?

#own is pen

Never heard of a pen licence. Maybe not a 'thing' in Scotland. Dd still prefers to use pencil and she's 15. Has to use a pen in exams

Yes they get given an actual licence 😂😂

Pen license isn't a UK thing. To be a UK thing it would have to be UK wide. It really isn't.

Y3 average but they have to get their licence. We're in uk it's definitely a thing!

When I was in an international school the American kids wrote in pencil the whole way through high school and were never forced into using a pen. They thought I was mad for writing in fountain pen.

You get your pen license in Year 4 here

DS is Y4, hasn’t got his pen licence yet. I don’t think anyone in his year has. And his writing is way nearer than his older brother’s already. No idea what is going on there.

We are UK, so the pen licence is definitely a thing. Mine are in an independent school though and I always assumed it was linked to that rather than being nationwide, but I am more thanks likely wrong there.

I'm not sure it's a UK thing, but it does seem to be an English thing. Does your DC's school follow the English system?

My DD got her pen licence in year 3 but some don't get it until year 6. It's all about getting points and once you have a certain amount you get your licence. Licence can also be revoked if they don't maintain neat handwriting.

Mine were year 3-4.
Another " pen licence" thing.

Ok. So generally way before secondary!!!
I've got to go for a meeting this afternoon. Will wander past the Y6 displays, and see if that's pen or pencil.

We follow the English National Curriculum, but I'd be surprised if the government has decreed when pens should be used!!!!

It's a thing. Parts of the UK do it. It is not a UK thing. That implies the whole of the UK have own licenses. They do not.

Why on earth do children need a licence to operate a pen???

What age is Y5?

We had the pen license disaster as well. DD's handwriting is bad in general but a pencil makes it really worth. So we spoke to the school and said that all homework is done in pen and we would practise in pen at home.

DD then had a two week trial period in school to show that the pen really makes a difference and voila, no problems at all.

Age 9-10, Jings

My dc both got their pen licences at the beginning of year 3. Dd1 is in year 6 now and there are still a handful who haven't been given a pen yet.

Fucking hate the pen licence bollocks. Causes 1000x more trouble than it's worth.

Nothing to do with licences. Dont think that's a thing at this school.
Just wondering if it's worth suggesting as a possible intervention, and it sounds like it might be.
Will take last night spelling practice with me today. See if its appropriate to bring up. Thank you.

Pen licence 🤣

Some civil servant had a few lunchtime pints and thought 'let's see if anyone believes this is a thing'

It’s a bloody joke tbf. My son has a pen but is in year two and has severe dcd and has a pen as it flows better. He’s moving on to use a computer soon due to his issues but in some of these schools he would never get a license.
Great way to stigmatise Sen kids IMO.

the pen licence is just a bit of fun from the schools to encourage them to write more neatly and not have to rub words out all the time before they move to ink, not some government sanctioned system.

My older DS has atrocious writing as he has extremely poor fine motor skills. He was the first in his year to be moved to using a computer. He still got his ‘licence’ in the same wave as the majority of his year, because the school doesn’t ‘stigmatise SEN kids’.