Phonics
Phonics Lead - Mrs C Hudson
At Lowerplace Primary School, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Reception and follow the Little Wandle progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.
Vision
At Lowerplace, phonics and early reading is the cornerstone of our entire curriculum. We know that reading is a fundamental life skill and that early reading in particular is essential for our children's future success. Put simply, phonics/word recognition is the bedrock on which all reading development is built.
Initially, we want our children to use their phonics knowledge to segment and blend phonetically decodable words whilst reading non-decodable words on sight (tricky words). However, the ultimate goal is for our children to read with increasing fluency and automaticity. Children should be able to read age and ability appropriate texts with increasing understanding. Children then use their phonics knowledge to write clearly, accurately and coherently. As with the rest of our curriculum, vocabulary plays a prominent role in our vision for early reading, with children being immersed in meaningful vocabulary to aid understanding and language comprehension. Our vision is for all Lowerplace pupils to leave KS1 fluently applying their phonetic knowledge, empowering them to enjoy a wide range of texts that will allow them to unlock a wealth of information and inspire a life-long love of learning.
Aims
Using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme, we ensure that:
- Direct, focused phonics is taught every day in EYFS and Key Stage 1
- Phonics is taught with consistency and fidelity to the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised scheme of work
- Children read from books with the sounds they know (matched decodable books) and take these home to build confidence and fluency
- Staff provide extra practice throughout the day for the children who make the slowest progress
- Vocabulary is an fundamental component in the teaching of early reading
- Building fluency and automaticity is integral to the teaching of early reading
- All children in Year 3 and above can confidently apply their phonetic knowledge (and where this is not the case, a comprehensive programme of support is in place)
- Teachers instil a love of reading and of literature
Reading practice sessions
- Children across Reception and Year 1 apply their phonics knowledge by using a full matched decodable reader in a small group reading practice session.
- Children in Year 2 who need this approach continue with reading practice sessions. This is based on the outcome of assessments.
- These sessions are 30 minutes long and happen three times a week. There are approximately 6 children in a group.
- The sessions follow the model set out in Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.
- In Reception these sessions start in week 4. Children who are not decoding, do a little blending lesson, following the model set out in Little Wandle Letters and Sound Revised.
How we assess phonics
How do we assess phonic knowledge?
- In Reception and Year 1, at the end of each week there is a review session which recaps the learning. There are also whole review weeks (pre-planned and bespoke review weeks to address gaps identified by the class teacher’s ongoing formative assessment). These occur every 6 weeks.
- Children identified in Reception and Year 1 as in danger of falling behind are immediately identified and daily ‘keep up’ sessions are put in place – sessions follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.
- In Reception and Year 1, the children are assessed at the end of every half term using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessment tracker.
- The children in Year 1 sit the Phonics Screening Check in the summer term.
- Children who do not pass the Phonics Screening Check in Year 1, will re-sit this in Year 2.
- Children sit a SATs reading paper at the end of Year 2.
- Children who are in Year 2 and need ‘catch up’ sessions are assessed through teacher’s ongoing formative assessment as well as half termly summative assessments.
There are lots of resources and helpful videos on the Little Wandle website:
Little Wandle Letters and Sounds
Here you will find:
