What is Phonics?
Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English language. Children's phonics journey begins in Nursery, focusing on discrimination of sounds and is then taught through a systematic synthetic phonics programme called Little Wandle Letters and Sounds in Reception and Year 1 revised.
Children in Nursery follow a programme of Phase One phonics focusing on discrimination of environmental, instrumental, body and voice sounds. They listen and join in with a range of rhymes and rhythms before starting to orally blend and segment words. Click here for the Nursery phonics overview.
Phonics lessons are delivered daily in Reception and Year One, with planning structured to ensure that children have the opportunity to review, teach, practise and apply their learning. Year groups work closely to ensure that there is consistency and progression in planning, practice and provision, both within and across each phase. In Year Two, children continue to be taught phonics through daily phonics and spelling lessons.
Opportunities to apply their phonic knowledge and skills, both when reading and writing are planned for and reinforced through areas of provision in Early Years.
In addition to phonics lessons, Reception and Year 1 children engage in reading practise sessions each week, reading the same book 3 times to embed vocabulary and develop fluency and comprehension:
Session 1: Focusing on phonics and decoding
Session 2: Focusing on developing prosody (fluency)
Session 3: Focusing on building understanding and comprehension skills
Across Key Stage One, children also continue to apply and develop their phonic knowledge and skills through daily English lessons and also Guided reading sessions in Year 2.
Through regular, ongoing assessments in lessons and half termly assessments, no child is left behind. Focused support is delivered in class or through additional individual or group sessions, to enable children to catch up and keep up. Any child in Year 2 and Lower Key Stage 2, needing additional support with phonics, are identified and targeted for keep up/ catch up sessions.
Programme overview: Click here
Whole class planning for each term in Reception and Year One by clicking on the links below:
Reception:
Year One:
Children with additional needs may follow an adapted plan to meet their specific needs.
Our Reading Programme:
In Reception and Year One, we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds revised phonics programme. This is a carefully structured Systematic synthetic phonics programme, designed for all children to succeed. In Reception and Year One, reading books are organised to ensure that the texts that children read, are at the right level of challenge and contain only the sounds and words that they have been taught.
In Year 2, once children have reached the expected level in phonics, children read other phase 5+ reading scheme books to consolidate knowledge and skills and to broaden understanding and develop fluency and comprehension. We encourage children to read a range of texts, both fiction and non-fiction, including poetry, plays and graphic novels.
In Key Stage 2, once children are confident, fluent readers and have accessed many of the more challenging texts in the scheme, they can choose their own books and follow their interests, supported by teachers to choose the appropriate level and range of texts. Children in Key Stage 2 have access to an online reading library called SORA.
Example lists of appropriate, quality texts are given to children in Key Stage 2 to support children in their choice of reading materials.
Supporting your child with phonics
We believe that parents play a key role in supporting their child on their reading journey. From phonics briefings in Reception and Year One to reading engagement briefings for Key Stage One and Two, our aim is to empower parents to support their child with reading and phonics.
To be confident, fluent readers, it is vital that children read regularly and often, both at home and at school. Children are expected to read daily at home, including online reading. Children take home one reading scheme book a week, plus a ‘read together’ book of their choice in Reception and Year One.
For children in Reception and Key Stage One, we encourage the re-reading of texts for enjoyment, to develop fluency and build comprehension. As adults we know all too well the comfort and enjoyment we get out of reading a familiar book!
Click on the links to access this year’s phonics presentations for Reception and Year One and the new Little Wandle Letters and Sounds PowerPoint presentation for 2022.
