Phonics

We teach phonics through the Read Write Inc. programme which teaches children to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension. They learn to form each letter, spell correctly, and compose their ideas step-by-step.

Intent

At Priddy and St Lawrence’s, we strive to teach children to read effectively and quickly using the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme (RWI) which includes teaching synthetic phonics, sight vocabulary, decoding and encoding words as well as spelling and accurate letter formation. We introduce our preschool children to the scheme during the Summer term before they are due to start school. This gives children the best possible start for learning to read in preparation for Reception. Children then continue with Read Write Inc until they have worked their way through the whole reading scheme, usually this is during Year Two. Read, Write, Inc. lessons in Reception and Key Stage 1 are taught daily and we support our most vulnerable readers with extra one–to–one teaching every day.  Children with gaps in their phonic knowledge, reading, writing or fluency in Key Stage 2 will also be supported through high quality Read, Write, Inc. teaching and intervention. We believe that teaching children to read and write independently, as quickly as possible, is essential. This opens up the rest of the curriculum and also has a huge impact on children’s self-esteem and future life chances.

Using the RWI phonics program we teach children to:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• write clearly and accurately by applying their phonic knowledge

Implementation

We start by teaching children to read and blend the first thirty Set 1 sounds. Once they have learnt this skill, they start reading stories and texts that have words made up of the sounds they know. This means that they can embed and apply their phonic knowledge and start to build their reading fluency. Once secure, children learn Set 2 and Set 3 sounds and then read texts with increasingly more complex sounds and graphemes. Throughout this process there is a focus on comprehension, reading with expression and reading for pleasure. Children are taught in small groups which reflect their phonic knowledge and reading fluency. Every 6 weeks we assess children so that they are taught in a RWI group which matches their phonic knowledge. We make sure that pupils read books that are closely matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics and ability to read ‘tricky words’; so they experience early reading success and gain confidence that they are readers.

To support the development of Reading and Writing at Priddy and St Lawrence’s we have:

• daily phonics sessions, where the children learn new phonemes, improve their ability to segment and blend sounds, and their ability to  apply this knowledge into their reading and writing.
•  daily storybook lessons where children will read the same book several times to build up fluency and comprehension
• All children on the RWI scheme will bring home a RWI reading book that is appropriate for their reading ability and is changed

         regularly. All children are also able to take home a library book of their choice, to have it read to them by a parent. We expect

         families at home to share these books with their child daily and to make comments in their child’s reading record.

•  All children are read to by their teacher, daily.

 Impact

We are able to measure attainment in phonics using the Year One Phonics Screening tests Reading results from National Assessments at the end of Key Stage One can also be used. By listening to the voice of the children it should be clear of their love of reading, developing fluency and their knowledge of authors and key texts/stories they have enjoyed. Subject and school leaders monitor the impact of our curriculum provision in phonics through rigorous monitoring, that includes listening to the voice of our children.

Parental support

 Ten top tips from Read Write Inc

1. Saying sounds correctly This is really important when you are helping your child to learn the sounds. Just remember not to add an uh to the end of the consonant sounds – so say mmm not muh, lll not luh, etc. because then later it’s easier to blend the sounds together to make words.

 2. Linking sounds to letters Encourage your child to make a link between the sound and the written letter shape. Start with the sounds in your child’s name and then look out for them in signs. The sound m in McDonalds is always a good starting point too!

 3. Sounds represented by more than one letter Some sounds are represented by more than one letter such as sh inship, ch in chat, th in thin, qu in quick and ng in sing. When you’re out and about point out examples of these to your child too. You might see them in posters, signs, or leaflets.

4. Practise, practise, practise Build up a knowledge of the letters and sounds quite quickly with your child and keep practising so that it becomes automatic. Keep reminding ‘Do you remember when we were talking about the sound ch...?’, or ‘Oh look! There’s a big t (sound) on that poster!’

5. Putting sounds together to read simple words Say the sounds c-a-t to read cat, sh-o-p to read shop and s-t-r-ee-t to read street. If your child gets stuck and is struggling to blend the sounds, say the sounds yourself, quickly, until your child can hear the word! Only beginner readers need to sound out every word as they read all the time. But, they will still need to work out new and long words.

6. Tricky words Some everyday words in English have tricky spellings and can’t be read by blending. Imagine trying to read the word said or does by blending each letter! These are sometimes called high frequency tricky words, or Red words. These words just have to be learned by sight and flashcard-type games are a good way to practise these.

7. Reading books Schools using a synthetic phonics scheme are likely to be sending home decodable books. This means the books contain mostly words that children can read by sounding out to get them off to a good start with independent reading. After your child has read a page, you can read it aloud again, to make sure that the story is enjoyed and understood.

8. Using pictures Pictures are great for sharing and talking about a story (which is really important too!) but don’t encourage your child to use pictures to guess the words that they don’t already know.

9. Writing letters Teach your child how to write the letters as the letter sounds are learned. And don’t forget to show your child how to hold the pencil correctly too!

10. Lots and lots of books! Carry on sharing and reading lots and lots of stories and information books to and with your child.

Further parent information and guidance can be found online: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/

Reading and Writing