Phonics
At our school, we are committed to ensuring that every child becomes a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader. We use the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme to provide a consistent, high-quality approach to the teaching of phonics and early reading across the school. Through daily, engaging phonics lessons, children develop the essential skills needed to decode, read with fluency and write with confidence.
In Nursery, children begin to develop the early skills needed for reading and writing through songs, rhymes, stories and speaking and listening activities. The focus is on helping children hear and recognise sounds, develop vocabulary and build confidence in communication.
Our phonics curriculum begins in Reception and continues throughout Key Stage 1, with additional support and intervention provided for pupils who may need extra practice to keep up. Lessons are carefully structured, fast paced and matched to children’s current stage of learning to ensure all pupils experience success and make strong progress.
Children are taught to recognise sounds, blend words for reading and segment words for spelling using a systematic and progressive approach. Alongside phonics teaching, pupils take part in regular reading practice sessions using fully decodable books that are closely matched to their phonics knowledge. This helps children build confidence, fluency and a love of reading from the very beginning of their learning journey.
We place a strong emphasis on early identification and intervention, ensuring that any child who needs additional support receives targeted teaching and extra practice. Staff regularly assess children’s progress and adapt provision to meet individual needs.
Partnerships with parents and carers are highly valued. We provide workshops, home learning activities, reading materials and online support so families can confidently support reading at home. By working together, we aim to give every child the best possible start in becoming a successful lifelong reader.