Phonics at Rodbourne Cheney Primary School
Intent
In order to give children the best chance possible to become fluent readers within their time at school, children are taught to use synthetic phonics as a way of working out what unknown words are. Your child will be encouraged to learn letter sounds as well as the sounds of groups of letters, in order to use and apply them to read different words.
Aims
- For children to be able to blend and segment words to support reading and spelling
- To use phonics learning to develop fluency in reading
- To use repetition of texts to develop fluency in reading, spelling and writing
- Hear the children read weekly
- Ensure all children take part in daily guided reading sessions starting in KS1
- Ensure all children have access to a range of books to read in school and at home
- Have a quality text-based curriculum where the children have access to the class book
- That each classroom has a purposeful reading corner
- To teach phonics daily to ensure that children develop fluency in reading
- Follow a well-developed and resourced phonics scheme - Little Wandle
- Use reading records well to communicate with parents.
In phonics, we teach children a number of sounds that can be used in a variety of combinations and are put together to make words. Children learn to recognise all of the different sounds and combinations that they might see when they are reading or writing. Children are then able to use these skills to blend and read words. Our rigorous and systematic approach to phonics starts in Reception and follows a sequence that allows our children to build on their previous phonic knowledge and develop phonic strategies as they move through school. As a result, children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words that they read.
Implementation
Nursery
In our pre-school room, children receive daily phonics sessions which focus on listening carefully to sounds, noticing rhymes and alliteration, developing vocabulary and hearing sounds within words. Children listen to Nursery Rhymes and focus on a new traditional tale every three weeks.
Reception and Year 1
In Reception and year 1, Phonics teaching follows the 'Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme’. Phonics is taught daily in Reception and twice daily in
Year 1
Children in Reception will learn a new sound every day. Children in Year 1 will continue to learn a new sound every day and will review learning in an afternoon session. In Reception, children will complete Phase 2, Phase 3 and Phase 4 to ensure they are ready to start Phase 5 in Year 1. In Year 1, the children will regularly review Phase 2, 3 and 4 and will be taught Phase 5.
Year 2
In Year 2, phonic lessons are taught daily to children where appropriate - following the model of Little Wandle but plugging specific gaps identified through assessment. In Year 2 - Year 6 there are planned phonic 'catch-up' sessions following a set model to address specific reading/writing gaps. These are short, sharp sessions lasting 10 minutes in length and taking place at least three times a week. Children from Year 2 - Year 6 will learn spelling rules through the essential spelling scheme.
Reading Books
Alongside our daily phonics lessons, Reception and Year 1 children will take part in reading practice sessions. Children will be reading in small groups and will read a book with adults in school before bringing it home to read with their family.
Each read in school will have a different focus:
- Decoding
- Prosody - reading with rhythm, stress and intonation
- Comprehension
Children in Year 2 will choose books that are matched to their phonics and decoding ability. These books are all matched to the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds revised programme.
Impact
Through the teaching of systematic phonics, our aim is for children to become fluent readers by the end of Key Stage 1. Children are then able to use their ability to read to develop their comprehension skills and develop themselves as a reader from Year 2 through to Year 6.
Attainment in phonics is measured by the Phonics Screening Check (PSC) at the end of Year 1 and children who did not pass, take it again in Year 2.
Phonics Policy
Learning Resources
If you are a parent and would like more information about how to support your child with phonics at home, please follow this link to find the Reception and Year 1 overview as well as videos of the sound pronunciations, letter formation sheets and other helpful resources.
https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/