Phonics
Phonics Intent
To create an inclusive, inspiring and challenging curriculum, which develops children’s knowledge of phonics, enabling them to become successful readers who develop a life-long love of reading.
In our school, phonics is taught across EYFS and KS1. We do this using the RWI programme of study. This is a scheme which provides a structured and systematic approach to teaching Phonics. It is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers. We teach in this way because research shows that when phonics is taught in a structured way, starting with the easiest sounds and progressing through to the most complex, it is the most effective way of teaching young children to read. According to the DfE (Department for Education), ‘almost all children who receive good teaching of phonics, will learn the skills they need to tackle new words’. They can then go on to read any kind of text fluently and confidently, and to read for enjoyment.
In our school we realise the importance of phonics as it provides children with the building blocks needed to become successful readers. The children are taught how to recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes, identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make – such as ‘sh’ or ‘oo’ and then blend these sounds together, from left to right, to make a word. Children can then use this knowledge to decode new words they hear or see.
Implementation
A quote from English writer Jeanette Winterson sums up our approach to reading perfectly:
'Teach a child to read and keep that child reading and you will change everything. And I mean everything.'
We place significant emphasis upon the development of basic skills and we aim for every child to be reading fluently and with high levels of understanding by the age of 7. Many of our children achieve this even earlier.
In Reception, the children learn the set 1 and set 2 sounds. Then in Year 1, the children learn the 30 sounds, which enable them to read and write a range of words. Children learn different representations of a sound (‘graphemes’), for example ay, a-e, ai. This enables children to become more confident with not only their reading but also spelling and develops skills which are transferrable to their Literacy. In Year 1, there is a greater emphasis on the reading of the sounds, whereas in year 2 this progresses by using the graphemes more in spelling.
Across EYFS/KS1, children have daily phonics lessons which they enjoy. Each session is broken up into different parts including the teaching of a new sound, reading words with the new sound, revision of previous sounds taught and also writing words. Phonics is embedded across the curriculum and the children are encouraged to use phonics to support them in a range of topic work. Phonics is displayed in each RWI area across the school. The children are encouraged to use these displays to support their writing in all lessons across the curriculum.
Home reading books are phonics based and we use the RWI book bag books which ensure continuity with our Phonics scheme. These are at the level of each individual child and match the books the children read in our Phonics lessons. Reading books are changed on a weekly basis. The Phonics leader also prepares and distributes additional phonics packs which contain the sounds that are taught on a daily basis. This allows parents to know what their child is learning, as well as secure the learning from school. Half Termly packs of 5-6 books are changed every half term linked to the reading leader assessments. The Book band books have been match to the Read Write Inc programme.
At Penny Bridge CE Academy we use the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme to teach phonics. The programme is divided up into colour stages. These can be seen below:
Impact
The result of phonics teaching at our school will be that children will have a secure knowledge of phonics, enabling them to become confident readers, making expected progress or more, with a life-long love of reading. Children will be able to apply their phonic knowledge to confidently spell many words either correctly or phonetically using the sounds they have learnt. They will know spelling alternatives for different sounds and be able to apply these consistently.
Children following the programme are assessed using the RWI assessments test at the end of each term. The test identifies the children's progress so far as well as their targets. In addition to this, children in Year 1 are also assessed using a phonics screening check at least twice a year. Regular assessment using the phonics screening test, alongside the RWI assessment test, enables us to group children for phonics/RWI, ensuring the teaching they receive is tailored to the level they are at. The final Year 1 phonics test takes place in June. The check is designed to confirm whether individual children have learned sufficient phonic decoding and blending skills to an appropriate standard. The test consists of 40 words – a combination of 20 real words and 20 pseudo words (nonsense words) for the child to read 1:1 with their teacher. This is carried out by the Phonics leader who has undertaken the phonics testing training and is someone who the children are familiar with. Children who do not pass this in Year 1 will be re-assessed in Year 2, in the same manner. The results of this are reported to parents in the summer
Formative assessment
· Immediate feedback used so that teachers intervene swiftly to help children who are struggling,
· Assessment takes place daily and is used to identify individual needs and to inform future planning ,
· Half termly assessments using Ruth Miskin resources carried out by the Reading Leader,
· All children taking part in daily storybook sessions ( EYFS, Year 1 and some Year 2 children) will be screened half termly using Ruth Miskin phonics set 1, 2 and 3 sound resources using the portal.
The half termly assessments will assess the child’s understanding of:
· Ability to blend and read words (including alien words) ,
· Recognition of high frequency words (red words) ,
· Fluency and accuracy of reading,
Alongside this, leaders monitor teaching and learning through child voice, parental questionnaires as well as book looks and learning walks and using the online app SeeSaw to record evidence of learning. The development of the children in school is also monitored through daily informal conversations.
As a result of our whole curriculum, we expect to see all children achieve well by developing knowledge and skills across the curriculum. This is demonstrated through outcomes at EYFS, Phonics (Key Stage 1), Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
- Children will develop lifelong learning behaviours such as pride, resilience and team work.
- Our children will be able to understand, appreciate and success in modern Britain. Our children will develop a lifelong love of learning through our vision and drivers.
- Our children will be responsible global citizens and courageous advocates through the Christian Values we have instilled in them during their time in school.
- All children will leave our school, fully equipped for the next stage in their learning.