New handwriting resources - Playwrite

9 March 2026

A new suite of handwriting resources is now available to support teachers across Aotearoa New Zealand. These resources are designed to strengthen the teaching of handwriting from Years 0–8 and align with the updated English learning area of The New Zealand Curriculum.

Introducing the Playwrite New Zealand font family

A purpose-built handwriting font family, Playwrite New Zealand, has been developed to bring consistency to modelling and classroom practice. The font family includes four versions to suit different stages of learning:

Playwrite New Zealand Basic
Playwrite New Zealand Basic Guides
Playwrite New Zealand (Cursive)
Playwrite New Zealand Guides (Cursive with guides)

An installation and use guide are also available to help teachers get started.

Updated handwriting guidance and classroom support

To help teachers confidently deliver handwriting instruction, a full set of updated guidance and practical classroom tools is now available. These include:

Updated Handwriting Guidance (Years 0–8) covering progression, teaching strategies, and consistent modelling using the new fonts.
Example plans for every year level (Years 0–8) with an annual sequence of lessons and two example full lessons.
Three editable monitoring PDFs to support ongoing assessment and learner progress tracking.
A full letter formation guide PDF aligned with the Teaching Handwriting guidance.

Aligned to the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC)

All handwriting resources align with the updated NZC content for Years 0–10 English. Together, they support consistent, high-quality handwriting instruction to help learners build confidence, fluency, and strong foundational writing skills.

Access the Resources

You can explore all handwriting activity guides, planning tools, and the Playwrite New Zealand fonts here: Teaching Handwriting.