Reading and Phonics

Phonics

Children are taught systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) from Year R following the Little Wandle Letters & Sounds Revised programme in daily lessons.  We use a multi-sensory approach which includes rhymes, phrases and pictures. Children are able to blend sounds into words to learn to read as well as segment words to write.  For further information about how we teach phonics and reading, see the presentation link below.

Reading books from Collins Big Cat are matched to the Little Wandle Letters & Sounds Revised phases so that children can practise the phonics they are learning in school at home.   Each child will read their reading practice book three times at school, following a focus of decoding, prosody and comprehension.  This book will then go home so that they can build their fluency and confidence. 

Once children's phonics knowledge is secure, a variety of different books are available to them.  As well as books, we have an e-library platform that every child has access to.  In addition, a variety of different sharing books are used from our school library.  Children read a variety of fiction, poetry and non-fiction books.

In the Juniors, we build on the foundations taught in reading through the Little Wandle Letters & Sounds Revised programme. Many children will have completed the programme and will continue their learning through applying their phonics in their writing and learning to read more widely. Other children may continue the programme, following one of three strands depending on which is most appropriate for them. These children will continue to have daily phonics sessions as well as reading matched decodable books, which focus on decoding, prosody and comprehension. This book will then go home so that they can build their fluency and confidence.

Reading Spine

A reading spine is a core set of books that children will engage with throughout their time at school.  We have created personalised reading spines for each year group, which we review regularly to ensure that we continue to offer our children a text rich curriculum.  Through creating these reading spines we can ensure that each child experiences a range of high quality texts and authors during their time at school and helps to foster a love for reading in our children.

Reading for Pleasure

Reading is at the forefront of everything we do. We understand that reading has a huge impact on the education of our pupils; therefore, we actively encourage Reading for Pleasure. Pupils have opportunities throughout the day to read: whether it is during our ERIC (Everyone Reading In Class) time; within our library sessions, where pupils can choose a book of interest to them or outside at lunchtime. 

Reading For Pleasure - Why is it so important?

"Children who read for pleasure.... do significantly better at school than their peers." Institute of Education 2013

"The wider power of reading is to open children's minds and hearts to other lives and points of view." Miranda McKearney OBE

How do we support our pupils to choose the correct books? 

Our pupils use the Five Finger Reading Rule to support them in choosing the correct book at their level. 

How can you help at home?

We encourage all our pupils to read at least 5 times a week at home. This helps them to become fluent readers and develop their confidence in reading, allowing them to make progress across the whole school curriculum. 

Reading lots helps children to: 

• make excellent progress and understanding of what they have read

• increases general knowledge 

• improves vocabulary

The videos below are a great 'how to' guide in supporting your child with reading at home. 

You can find further resources and information from the Open University: Reading for Pleasure.