Phonics
At St Paul’s CofE Primary School we are committed to ensuring that every pupil will learn to read regardless of their background, needs or abilities. We want children to develop a genuine love of books and thirst for literature and we want them to read books written by a wide range of authors. As your child moves through the school, their reading experiences will change to reflect the increasing level of texts they will read.
We understand that when children make good progress in Reading they also find success in other individual subject disciplines; fluent readers learn more because they can read and gain knowledge for themselves. The ability to read fluently, comprehend and interpret is a prerequisite to success in later life. It is essential that our approach to teaching phonics and reading is accessible to all learners, regardless of background.
Reading
We know that children who read only one book a day hear about 290,000 more words by age 5 than those who don’t regularly read books with a parent or care giver (Logan, 2019). We know that children who read regularly for enjoyment everyday not only perform better in reading tests than those that don’t but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. Therefore, it is our unquestionable duty to read to our children and expose them to the joys of story language while teaching them systematic, synthetic phonics so that children are fluent, independent readers by the age of 7.
Phonics
At St Paul’s we follow the systematic, synthetic phonics programme Little Wandle Letters & Sounds Revised. We take a ‘Phonics First, Phonics Fast’ approach as we believe that letter and word recognition is essential in supporting children with early reading and enables them to access the wider curriculum.
Reading fully decodable books:
Children must read books consistent with their phonic knowledge.
is essential not to use other strategies to work out words (including guessing words, deducing meaning from pictures, grammar, context clues or whole word recognition).
Books must be fully decodable and follow the Little Wandle scheme.
Children need to read books in a progressive sequence until they can decode unfamiliar words confidently.
The resources on the link below will help you support your child with saying their sounds and writing their letters. There are also some useful videos so you can see how phonics is taught at St Paul’s and ideas to support you with helping your child to read at home.
Presentation of the parent workshop, November 2023
PowerPoint for Parent Workshop.pdfFind our full Reception and Year 1 teaching programme overview below to see what your child will learn and when.
Programme overview
Programme-Overview_Reception-and-Year-1.pdfBy the end of KS2 our children will
- have a love for reading and confidently pick up a book to read.
- develop their reading comprehension and decode increasingly challenging new words as they read.
The role of Parents’ and Carers’:
Have a positive impact on their child’s reading.
Should model the importance of reading practice to develop fluency.
Children take home books they have read at school to re-read at home to build fluency.
There are two different types of books that pupils bring home: reading practice and books to share for pleasure known as library books.
Reading at home encourages a love of books, along with developing vocabulary and discussion.
Parents should use voices, expression, discuss unfamiliar vocabulary, talk about the pictures, and predict what might happen next.
Give positive yet informative feedback in the home reading record once a week.
Support your child with reading.
Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a huge impact on their reading journey by continuing their practice at home.
There are two types of reading books that your child may bring home:
A reading practice book
This book has been carefully matched to your child’s current reading level. If your child is reading it with little help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading.
Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise – celebrate their success! If they can’t read a word, read it to them. After they have finished, talk about the book together.
A library book
In order to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. The library book is a book they have chosen for you to enjoy together.
Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read it to or with them. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun together!
Grapheme mats Yr1
Grapheme_mats_phase_2_3_and_5 (Year 1-6).pdfGrapheme mats Rec
Grapheme_mats_phase_2_and_3 (Reception).pdfLetter formation
Letter formation practice sheets 2.pdfGlossary
Phonics-glossary.pdfEverybody read
Everybody-read-leaflet-for-parents.pdf