Touch typing means typing without looking at the keyboard, with the fingers resting on the home keys (A S D F and J K L 😉 and each finger responsible for its own keys. How quickly a child learns depends on a few things.

• Age. We recommend starting from age 8, when hands are big enough and attention spans are long enough.
• Practice. Little and often works best, with a weekly class plus a few minutes at home.
• Motivation. Games, badges and seeing their speed go up all help.
• Learning differences. Children with dyslexia or dyspraxia (DCD) may need a little longer and a more tailored approach, and they often benefit the most.

A rough guide for a typical learner

• Bronze (about 15 WPM): around 10 hours of practice.
• Silver (about 25 WPM): around 30 hours.
• Gold (about 40 WPM): around 70 hours, when typing is clearly faster than handwriting.

Tips to speed things up

Keep fingers on the home keys, don’t look down (a keyboard cover such as a Speedskin helps), focus on accuracy before speed, and take short breaks.

Learning with Searsol

In our after-school classes, children learn with experienced tutors using Typewiz, our online typing programme with games, avatars and Bronze, Silver and Gold badges. Children can keep practising at home between classes.

Try it free. Book a free 1-hour trial class at your nearest centre: searsol.com/find-centers/ or call 01 630 3384.