Phonics

At Glebe Primary School we believe that all children should have the skills to support the building blocks to independent reading. We promote and value reading as an enjoyable activity and a key skill for life long academic achievement.

All schools are required to adopt a systematic synthetic phonics programme (SSP). We have selected the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised Programme to teach children phonics, early reading and spelling which meets all the expectations of the National Curriculum. Please click here to visit SSP.

Daily phonics lessons are timetabled for all pupils in Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Phonics skills are an essential first step to the development of early reading. Children are taught to identify the letters and sounds of the alphabet at the earliest part of the learning journey within the nursery. Children begin to decode words using the Little Wandle sequence as a first step to early reading.

In phonics, we teach children that the letters of the alphabet represent a different sound, that these can be used in a variety of combinations and can blend together to make words. The children learn to recognise all of the different sounds and combinations that they might see when they are reading or writing.

These skills enable the children to read any unfamiliar words that they might discover. We also model these strategies during shared reading and writing sessions across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on the development of language skills for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

How we teach phonics

Children in the Nursery follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised ‘Foundations for Phonics’ guidance. The focus is on daily oral blending and language development through high quality stories and rhymes.
In Reception and Year1, children follow the progression within Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme. The lesson consists of revision of previously taught sounds, teaching new sounds, including oral blending followed by practising and applying the sounds learnt.
Phonics is taught daily for 30 minutes and there is a review session on a Friday.
By the end of reception, children will have been taught up to the end of phase 4.
By the end of year 1, children will have been taught up to the end of phase 5.
In Year 2 phonic lessons are taught daily to children where appropriate – following the model of the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme but plugging specific gaps identified through assessment.
In KS2 there are planned phonic ‘catch-up’ sessions following a set model to address specific reading/writing gaps. These are short, sharp sessions lasting 10 minutes in length and taking place three times a week.

Reading practice sessions

Children across Reception and Year 1 apply their phonics knowledge by reading a matched decodable reader within a small group reading practice session.
These sessions are 15 minutes long and happen three times a week. There are approximately 6 children in a group.
The sessions follow the model set out in Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.
The children then take the same levelled book home the following week to practise skills at home.

How we assess phonic knowledge

Children identified in Reception and Year 1 as not making the expected progress are identified and ‘keep up’ intervention sessions are timetabled to support children.
In reception and year 1, the children are assessed at the end of every half term using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessment tracker.
The children in Year 1 sit the Phonics Screening Check in June in the summer term.
Children who do not pass the Phonics Screening Check in Year 1, will re-sit this in Year 2.
Children who are in Year 2 – Year 6 and need further ‘catch up’ sessions are assessed through teacher’s ongoing assessment.

Phonics

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