Phonics
Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English language.
Written language can be compared to a code, so knowing the sounds of individual letters and how those letters sound when they’re combined will help children decode words as they read.
Understanding phonics will also help children know which letters to use when they are writing words.
In order to enjoy reading independently, children need to become fluent at decoding (converting sounds into words and sentences that they can understand).
From April 2021, the Department for Education began validating systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programmes to ensure rigorous and effective teaching and learning of phonics and reading in Early Years and Key Stage 1. We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme, which has been validated by the DfE.
Phonics is taught daily in Early Years, Year 1 and Year 2. All teachers and support staff have completed the relevant training and we have lots of resources to support the children.
Children in these year groups will also participate in small reading group sessions 3 x weekly, using books that are relevant to their individual reading journey. These books, once taught, will be sent home for children to ‘show off’ their reading. Children will have 90-95% fluency in a book before it is sent home, to ensure they build their confidence and love of reading alongside their phonetic knowledge.
Children in EYFS and KS1 be issued with a log in to Collins eBooks on which teachers will assign their reading group book to read on a device at home.
A shared reading book from the library will also be issued weekly, which can be read with your child(ren) at home. This will not be specific to their phonics progression, but relevant to their interests.
More information about how the programme works and how you can support your child(ren) at home can be found on the Little Wandle website on the following link: https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
