“There are so many stages that need to be gone through before a child is at a stage when they are ready to sit and write at a desk,” explains Jo Atkinson, research fellow in the school of psychology at Leeds University and lecturer in the school of applied health professionals at the University of Bradford.

Speaking on the latest episode of Tes Podagogy, she explains in detail how complex a skill handwriting is and why the way EYFS professionals and primary teachers facilitate its development is crucial to a child’s eventual success.

“As adults we take it for granted, we think it is an easy skill. But beneath that it is a very complex skill involving many areas of the brain and body,” she explains.

So how should we be teaching a child to write? She details all you need to know.