PenwickStart the free assessment
Free 3 minute assessment · no account needed

Know exactly where your child’s handwriting stands.

Three minutes of short writing tasks on an iPad or Android tablet, with a stylus or just a finger. Penwick reads the actual pen strokes and gives you a teacher-style report with a plan built around what your child needs next.

Start the free assessment In your browser · no account, no download
Ages 5 to 9·Finger or stylus·No scores out of ten
A child writing a cursive sentence on the four-line stave on an iPad
Letter shapesSecure
Pen down hereThe curly family all start in the same place
Free three-minute assessment
No account, no email, no card
Every lower-case letter and join recorded by a real teacher
No account, no email address

See your child’s handwriting improve

Separated letters that drift above the line become joined writing that sits on it. The point is not neatness for its own sake. It is writing that keeps up with what a child wants to say.

BeforePrinted one at a time
AfterJoined, and on the line
Joined upLetters connect instead of being drawn one by one.
ConfidentNo pausing to work out where a letter starts.
FasterWriting keeps up with what they want to say.
What you get, three minutes later

The report, exactly as it prints

Levels, not marks. Each area is secure, growing, or the one thing to start with. Nothing in it is written to be shown to a seven year old as a score.

Handwriting report · page 1 of 2 Maya, age 7 Six short tasks, written with a finger
Assessment complete
The line STARTING POINT

Maya forms her letters confidently and is starting to join them up. Her writing sits a fraction above the line, and settling that one habit will unlock her joins and her sizes at the same time. Her plan starts there.

Work on this first Letters are not sitting on the line Her shapes are good. Fixing this one habit settles her joins and sizes at the same time.
What the teacher’s eye sees
Letter shapesSecure
Tails below the lineSecure
SpacingSecure
Joining lettersGrowing
Letter sizesGrowing
Sitting on the lineFirst target
Three levels only, never a mark out of ten. Nothing in the report is written to be shown to a seven year old as a score.
Her writing beside the model
Jayne’s model
Maya, age 7
Rendered from the actual strokes she wrote, not a photograph, so the difference is easy to see.
An eight week planTen minutes a day, starting at the target
Reassess whenever you likeWatch the levels move
Why it has to be the app

A letter can look right and still be built the wrong way round.

On paper you would never know. Penwick watches the movement, so it can tell you the a is being started at the top instead of the middle, which is the reason the joins keep failing three letters later. A photograph of the finished page cannot show you any of it.

Start the free assessment
The letter a with its starting point marked
Pen down here The curly family all start in the same place. Start them anywhere else and the letter still looks passable.
While your child writes, Penwick tracks six things: formation, size, start points, slant, joins, spacing.

Set up takes about two minutes

These are the actual screens. Then you hand over the tablet, and the three-minute assessment starts.

Choosing who is learning today on an iPad
1 Who is learning todayUp to four children on one family subscription.
Setting your child's age, writing stage and style on an iPad
2 Age, stage and styleMatch the joined-up style their school teaches.
Choosing a buddy and an ink colour on an iPad
3 A buddy and an ink colourTheir choices, so the app feels like theirs.
Inside the app

Ten minutes a day, on proper lines

The letter path home screen on an iPad
A clear path, letter by letter The plan from their report, laid out as a path they can see themselves moving along.
Sentence practice on the four-line stave, on an iPhone
Daily practice on proper lines Trace, then copy, then write freely. With the guides fading as they get surer.
The games menu, unlocked by writing, on an iPad
Games earned by writing Sky Writers, Word Toss and the story quest. Every one opened by written words.
Jayne Davies, primary teacher
Lower-case and joins, recordedNot drawn from a font
Recorded by a teacher, not drawn from a font

Your child traces a teacher’s hand, not a font

Every lower-case letter and join in Penwick was recorded by Jayne Davies, BSc PGCE. A qualified primary teacher since 2001, writing at teaching pace. That means the rhythm is right, not only the outline. Curriculum styles are covered as a setting, so you can match whatever their school teaches.

The cat sat on the mat.
Ages 5 to 9, in every major school joined-up style. She also tutors ›
The reward layer

Writing is what unlocks the games.

Never the other way round. The gate opens when the words are written well, so the practice is the price of the adventure rather than a chore beside it. An eight-land story quest, two mini-games, and nothing that can be bought or skipped.

19 stars earnedBlue Dragon land Gate open“let me pass” written well
The eight quest lands and their dragons, on an Android tablet
Writing 'let me pass' to open a quest gate, on an Android phone Write to passThe words open the gate
Story Quest on an Android tablet · the writing gate on an Android phone
Free guides

Written for parents, by a teacher

No jargon and nothing to sign up for. If you only read one, read the first.

My child's handwriting is messy: 8 things to look for, and what each one meansThe eight things a teacher looks at first, and which ones actually matter.Read it ›Continuous cursive vs precursive: which one is your child's school teaching?How to tell which one your child's school teaches, in about a minute.Read it ›What the national curriculum actually asks for, year by yearWhat is expected in each year, in plain words rather than policy language.Read it ›UK handwriting schemes explained, and why they disagree with each otherNelson, Letter-join and the rest, and why they contradict each other.Read it ›

All parent guides ›

What it costs

Letters and joins are free forever.

The assessment, every lower-case letter and every join cost nothing, with no account and no email address. A family subscription unlocks the words, sentences, stories and the Story Quest, and every plan starts with 7 days free.

Free £0 The three minute assessment, every lower-case letter, and every join. No account, no email address, no date of birth.
Founders yearly · places 1 to 25 £29.99 a year 7 days free, then two months cheaper than paying monthly. Your founders rate is locked for life while you stay subscribed, whatever we ship later. The founders rate rises as places go: yearly £29.99, then £34.99, then £49.99. After the hundredth place the standard price is £59.99.
Founders monthly · places 1 to 25 £2.99 a month 7 days free, then month by month. Cancel any time in your app store, no questions and no hoops.

One subscription covers every child in the family. Billing and the 7-day trial are handled by Apple or Google, never by us, and the exact price is always the one your store shows at checkout.

Three quiet minutes, and you will know.

Open it in your browser, hand over the tablet, and read the report with a cup of tea. Free, no account and no email address. Settings lists everything that leaves the device, and every one of them can be switched off.

Start the free assessment In your browser · no account, no download
Get the app Penwick is on the App Store and Google Play. The assessment above runs in your browser today, no download needed.
Ages 5 to 9 · Finger or stylus · Letters and joins free forever
Penwick Joined-up handwriting practice for ages 5 to 9, matched to the style your child’s school teaches. No account, no email address, no date of birth.
Product The report Set up in two minutes Story Quest
Parents Parent guides AboutTutoring with Jayne Support
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