'Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.'

Margaret Fuller

Phonics

 Our Phonics Curriculum

The teaching of phonics is the first steps on our children's Read It! journey.

At St Paul's CE Primary School we aim to provide high quality teaching and learning experiences which result not only in the children becoming skilled and fluent readers, but also in them developing a lifelong love of reading. 

At St Paul's, we are a Read Write Inc school.

Read Write Inc (which is a Government approved phonics scheme) is a systematic approach to teaching and developing early reading . Our children are immersed in an environment which is rich in sounds and vocabulary right from the first day in Reception, which ensures that they are prepared with the necessary resources and strategies for reading from the very start of their learning journey.

Throughout the Read Write Inc programme, children learn the English alphabetic code: the 150+ graphemes that represent 44 speech sounds. They rapidly learn sounds and the letter, or groups of letters, they need to represent them in three sets of Speed Sounds Lessons. Simple and enjoyable mnemonics help all children to grasp the letter-sound correspondences quickly, especially those who are at risk of making slower progress or those who are new to learning English. This learning is taught and consolidated every day. High frequency words that are not phonically regular are taught as 'tricky' words (we call these Red Words) and are practised frequently. 

Click here to see the Read Write Inc sounds and the order in which they are taught in.

Click here to see the Read Write Inc letter formation mnemonics.

Click here to see the Read Write Inc Red Words.

Once children in Reception class have learnt the Set 1 Speed Sounds and can blend words made up of these sounds, they can then start to read Red Ditty Books and then Storybooks. These lively phonic books are closely matched to the children's increasing knowledge of phonics and 'tricky' words so that, early on, they experience plenty of success. Repeated readings of the texts support their increasing fluent decoding. 

A thought-provoking introduction, prompts for thinking out loud and discussion help children comprehend what they are reading.

Children read each story three times. On the first read, children focus on accurate word reading; the second, on developing fluency; and the third, on comprehension. Fluency and comprehension increase with each repeated reading.

Our children love the consistent and systematic approach to teaching and learning and look forward to their daily lesson of Read, Write, Inc with Fred the Frog!

All pupils in Reception and Key Stage 1 are assessed each half term by the Phonics Reading Leader, Miss North. The children are then put into groups based on their reading ability and phonic knowledge. Ongoing assessment means that groups are constantly adjusted to ensure the best progress for each child. If we find that a child is in need of additional support, timely intervention is put in place to ensure that they 'keep up and not catch up'.

Once children have completed the Grey Storybooks (usually at the end of the Autumn term in Year 2) they then access daily Whole Class Reading lessons.

Click here for more information about how we teach Whole Class Reading.

Click here  to find out more about our EYFS and Key Stage 1 home reading programme.  

Click here  for information about our home reading programme for Key Stage 2.

For further information about the teaching of Read Write Inc and for advice on how you can support your child at home, you can watch these parent  tutorials by following this link:

Read, Write, Inc Information for parents/carers

Click on the following links for more parents/carers information on how to help your child with phonics at home. 

Read Write Inc Parent Booklet 1

Read Write Inc Parent Booklet 2

How We Teach  Phonics

Click on our documents below:

Read Write Inc Policy

Intent, Implementation, Impact Statement

Read Write Inc Yearly Overview

Read Write Inc Progression Map

Read Write Inc Speedy Words Progression Map

Phonics Screening Check

In the Summer term of Year 1 all pupils complete the Phonics Screening Check. The screening check comprises a list of  40 words, some of which are real and some which are nonsense-words (pseudo words). Your child will read each word on a one-to-one basis with a teacher who they know. Pseudo words allow the assessment to focus purely on decoding phonic knowledge.  As pseudo-words are new to all children, they do not favour those with a good vocabulary knowledge or large sight word memory.

Here is an example of a pseudo word;

 

                                           

 

The words in the screening incorporate phonics skills acquired by the children in both Year 1 and Reception. It is conducted in a quiet room without distractions. The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) release a new check each academic year.

 

To view a Phonic Screening Check assessment paper from a previous year please click here.

The National threshold of achievement in the phonics screening check is usually 80% or 32/40, however this can change each year. Those children in Year 1 who do not meet the assessment threshold will receive additional support and then complete the screening again during the Summer term of Year 2.

 

In order for your child to become comfortable with the process, he/she will take part in practise checks throughout the year and will practise pseudo words daily during his/her Read Write Inc lesson.

 

If you have any other questions regarding the check please ask your child's class teacher.