Half of teachers say they don’t spend enough time on handwriting in school, with 20% saying they don’t actually think it is important.

Almost 28% even admitted that they don’t feel confident teaching children how to handwrite properly.

Two thirds of parents are also worried that there isn’t enough time devoted to it in school but a staggering 92% also blame emails and text messages for the decline in writing standards.

Almost 61% even reckon technology could soon wipe out handwriting altogether.

A spokesperson for STABILO, which carried out the poll, says: “Learning to handwrite is the bedrock of a good education; it is a basic skill that as adults we carry through our life allowing us to communicate on a personal level with those around us.

“We would like to see teachers receive more training and support so that they feel more confident teaching the future generation this crucial life skill.”

A spokesperson, from the National Handwriting Association adds: "There is a need for children to develop the sub skills for handwriting at a young age, improving their motor coordination, balance, visual perception and basic hand eye coordination.

“Then children need to be taught handwriting regularly and systematically from an early age and their developing skills continually monitored."

The poll, of 2,000 parents and 1,000 teachers, revealed that 92% of people think teachers should be given proper training to teach youngsters how to write.

And 60% of parents are concerned about their child’s writing skills and believe it is important they sit down with them at home to make sure they spend some time practising it.

But 24% admit they can’t actually do joined-up writing themselves, while 40% don’t think that their writing is neat.

Almost two thirds of people reckon the days of people taking pride in their handwriting are over.

The research also found that people worry that handwriting itself could be on its way out as more than a third say they no longer write thank you notes by hand, instead opting to send a text message or email.

Another 24% also say they don’t bother getting their children to write thank you notes.

Despite this, more than three quarters of Brits say they would prefer to receive a more personal handwritten note over a text message or email, showing that handwriting is more than a skill; it helps people to connect with each other.

The spokesperson for STABILO adds: “We’re pleased that people still see the huge value in handwriting and believe that people just lack confidence in their handwriting style.  This often stems from their school days where they were not taught how to hold the pen correctly and therefore found handwriting a struggle.

“We’d like to help teachers find writing instruments that actively make handwriting easier and therefore more enjoyable.”

A massive 92% of parents believe teachers are too focused on targets and dealing with other pressures to focus on handwriting.

And whereas 20 years ago parents spent three and a half hours writing during school, teachers admit to only spending two and a half hours each day on handwriting tasks.

A quarter of teachers know they don’t spend as much time as they should teaching handwriting skills and two thirds of parents don’t think enough is done to ensure a proper standard of writing.

Over a half of parents believe the decline in children’s handwriting standards is a reflection of the decline in children’s discipline and behaviour.