Phonics and Reading
We are committed to inspiring children to develop a passion for books and a widespread love of reading. We want the children use their joy of reading to enable them to access texts that interest them and engage them with the wider world.
We teach high quality phonics sessions in the EYFS and KS1 so that children are quickly able to decode words and make a flying start on their reading journey. We teach phonics systematically using the Letters and Sounds Programme. This means that we teach the sounds and letter combinations in a specific order. The children move through the phases set out in the Letters and Sounds Programme as their phonetic knowledge develops. There are 6 Phases set out in Letters and Sounds, starting in Reception and ending in Year 2. To summarise, Phase 1 begins in Nursery, Phases 2, 3 and 4 are taught in Reception and consolidated in Year 1. Children cover Phase 5 in Year 1 and Phase 6 in Year 2. Daily lessons are 20 minutes in length and are lively and interactive. They follow the following structure- revisit prior learning, practise a skill, teach new learning and apply the skill. Rigorous interventions are put in place as necessary, to help the children make rapid progress. Children in Year 1 take part in the national phonics screening test.
Our early reading books are phonetically decodable and link to the phonics phase that the children are working on. They are organised by book band colours. School staff regularly assess children to ensure they are reading at the right level. Children read fiction and nonfiction from published schemes such as the Oxford Reading Tree, Jelly and Bean and Pearson Bug Club. Children can also access online reading through Bug Club which offers them an exciting, personalised reading experience.
As children progress with their reading they become ‘Rainbow Readers.’ Our children read across all genres and are able to choose books from an exciting range of authors and titles. Rainbow readers also have their own Bug Club log on for online reading. This offers high quality texts with linked comprehension.
All children learn to develop their comprehension skills and discuss their opinions and interpretations about a variety of texts during weekly guided reading sessions.
We have plans afoot to redesign our reading challenge for children…watch this space!
Children read daily at home and we are extremely appreciative of our families who support their children in developing good reading habits. We are also very grateful to our reading helpers who volunteer in school to assist the children.
We have a wonderful school library that is stocked with a great selection of classic and new titles and a wide range of genres. All children use this weekly.