Should children still learn to write by hand?

Parents are told that writing by hand is vital for their child's growing brain, and that screens are eroding it. We sort the viral headlines from the solid evidence, and find the real benefit belongs to one group above all: children still learning their letters.

Your child's fussiness for food is mostly inherited, and most of the things parents try in order to fix it make it worse. Find out why young children refuse food, why it is rarely a parent's fault, and the unglamorous method that genuinely changes how they eat.

Barnsley

Summer Lane Primary

Academy sponsor led · ages 3–11
Part of HCAT

Year 6 results

Reading, writing and maths

This school –

Barnsley –

England 63%

Share of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/25.

Year	School	Local area	England

There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when the tests were cancelled. What do SATs scores mean?

Inspection

What Ofsted found

Not judged overall, report published 05/03/2025

Most recent check, 21/12/2023: School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next.

Ofsted stopped giving a single overall grade in 2024 and moved to report cards in November 2025. Older grades and new report cards aren't directly comparable.

Read the full report on Ofsted's website

When should a child begin to train, and why the old fear was wrong

Should children still learn to write by hand?

How children learn to like food

Summer Lane Primary

Reading, writing and maths

What Ofsted found