The educator supports children to:

• explore mark making in different contexts
• recognise writing as a form of communication, distinct from drawing
• understand the links between oral language and writing
• learn the mechanics of letter and number formation.

As children’s confidence, understanding and skills develop, educators teach them to:

• form letters and numbers with increasing accuracy and fluency
• write for different purposes (such as labelling a picture, writing a shopping list or card)
• practise the skills needed for fluent transcription Transcription is the physical act of putting words on paper. It is the result of two main skills: handwriting and spelling..

This approach can support children’s early literacy and physical development outcomes.

Evidence indicates this approach can have a positive impact on children’s literacy outcomes. However, it is important to note that:

• the evidence base is relatively small
• it mainly focuses on transcription Transcription is the physical act of putting words on paper. It is the result of two main skills: handwriting and spelling. skills (such as handwriting and spelling)
• most of the studies include children aged four- to six-years-old.

We recommend exploring this evidence in more depth before making any changes to practice. The recommendations below are likely to be most relevant for those working with children at the upper end of the EYFS age range.

Based on the evidence, educators should:

• provide direct instruction when teaching early writing
• demonstrate how to form letters
• encourage children and help them set goals
• provide feedback so children can use mistakes as learning opportunities.

We recommend using this approach as one part of broader early literacy teaching. Evidence indicates this is likely to be more effective than teaching one skill (such as handwriting) in isolation.

It might also be important to support children by sounding words out.

Evidence indicates that direct instruction, demonstration and feedback are important for positive early literacy outcomes.

Practices educators can use during this approach include:

• Demonstrating: showing children how to do something. For example, the educator encourages children to watch them write the letter ​‘m’. They say ​‘my pen starts in the middle of the line. I go straight down to the line, then back up again to start the first curve’. They talk the children through the direction of their pen strokes to form the letter ​‘m’
• Using mistakes as learning opportunities: providing feedback to help children see where they have gone wrong so they learn from mistakes. For example, a child has used a name card to write their name. The educator sensitively encourages them to identify the differences between the two. Gently, they say, ​‘I think you started in the middle of the card. That probably made it tricky to fit all of the letters in order. Let’s try again. Can you show me where you will start?’
• Providing prompts and cues: using verbal or physical cues to remind children of relevant information. For example, the educator uses directional arrows to help children form letters correctly
• SegmentingBreaking spoken words into their individual sounds.: breaking spoken words into their individual sounds.
  For example, the educator sounds out ​“m‑a-t” so that children can hear each sound and write the matching graphemesA grapheme is a letter or group of letters that represent a sound. For example, ​‘s’ in ​‘sun’ represents the sound /​s/​and ​‘sh’ in ​‘ship’ represents the sound /​sh/​.
• Encouraging practise: ensuring that children have opportunities to practise what they have learned. For example, the educator encourages children to create a sign or label for their den.

In some studies, educators encouraged children to practise through:

• multi-sensory experiences to promote letter formation (such as ​‘writing’ using fingers in the air, or in the sand tray)
• using EdTech​‘EdTech’ includes many different approaches and devices, from robots to interactive apps and games, to support children’s learning. as a tool for practising letter formation and receiving immediate feedback.

Evidence indicates this could be effective for supporting children’s letter formation. However, it is also important for educators to help manage children’s screen time.

Educators should consider how to use their provision to encourage mark-making. For example, by providing developmentally meaningful resources and tools. They could also organise the environment to support mark-making and writing.

Practice knowledge indicates that discussion is likely to be an important part of this approach. Mark-making and writing can be difficult for children. It is important that educators sensitively encourage children and develop their motivation to mark-make and write.