A nurturing environment, inspiring achievement

Phonics (reading and spelling)

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At Conifers Primary School we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. We teach reading using the ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds’ programme, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Reception and follow the Little Wandle  progression until children have competently mastered all of the knowledge and skills contained within the programme and have become competent readers. Phonics teaching continues throughout KS1 and into KS2 for those children that require it.

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At Conifers, we model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

 

Comprehension

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We recognise reading as a crucial life skill. By the time children leave us in  Year 6, they read confidently for meaning and regularly enjoy reading for pleasure. Our readers are equipped with the tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary. We encourage our children to see themselves as readers for both pleasure and purpose.

Because we believe teaching every child to read is so important, we have a dedicated Phonics Leader who drives the Phonics and early reading programme in our school. This person is highly skilled at teaching phonics and reading, and they monitor and support our reading team, so everyone teaches with fidelity to the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds  programme.

 

Daily phonics lessons

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   ● We teach phonics for 25-30 minutes a day from Reception-Year 2. Each

      Friday, we review and assess the week’s teaching to inform planning and          to help children become fluent readers.

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   ● We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised expectations of            progress:

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    ➢ Children in Reception are taught to read and spell words using Phase 2          and 3 GPCs, and words with adjacent consonants (Phase 4) with fluency            and accuracy.

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    ➢ Children in Year 1 review Phase 3 and 4 and are taught to read and spell         words using Phase 5 GPCs with fluency and accuracy.

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   ➢ Children in Year 2 review Phase 4 and 5 and are taught to read and spell        words using alternative GPCs with fluency and confidence.

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Teaching reading: Reading practice sessions three times a week

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    ● We teach children to read through reading practice sessions three times a        week. These:

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    ➢ are taught by a fully trained adult to small groups of approximately six           children

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    ➢ use books matched to the children’s secure phonic knowledge using the           Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessments and book matching         grids on pages 11–20 of ‘Application of phonics to reading’

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    ➢ are monitored by the class teacher and TA, who rotates and works with           each group on a regular basis.

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     ● Each reading practice session has a clear focus, so that the demands of           the session do not overload the children’s working memory. The reading           practice sessions have been designed to focus on three key reading skills:

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   ➢ Decoding

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   ➢ Prosody: teaching children to read with understanding and expression

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   ➢ Comprehension: teaching children to understand the text.

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    ● As a school, we continue to teach reading in this way for any children            who still need to practise reading with decodable books. This is in addition        to whole class reading lessons which are taught from Year 3-6.

 

Home Reading

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    ● The decodable reading practice book is available online and children are        encouraged to read and share this book at home to ensure success is              shared with the family. The class teacher will inform you of the book that          they are reading and this will be written in reading record books each            week.

 

   ➢ Reading for pleasure books (library books) also go home for parents to            share and read to children.

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   ➢ We use the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds parents’ resources to  engage        our families and share information about phonics, the benefits of  sharing        books, how children learn to blend and other aspects of our provision,            both online and through workshops.

 

Ensuring consistency and pace of progress

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    ● Every teacher in our school has been trained to teach reading, so we              have the same expectations of progress. We all use the same language,          routines and resources to teach children to read so that we lower                  children’s cognitive load. Teachers are monitored, coached and receive            frequent training to ensure all teaching is of a consistently high standard.

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   ● Weekly content grid, map each element of new learning to each day,             week and term for the duration of the programme.

 

   ● The Phonics Leader regularly monitors and observes teaching; they work           alongside the teacher to use the summative data to identify children who         need additional support and have gaps in learning.  Interventions are             planned accordingly to ensure these gaps are filled as quickly as possible.

 

Ensuring reading for pleasure

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We value reading for pleasure highly and work hard as a school to grow our Reading for Pleasure pedagogy.

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   ● We read to children every day. We choose these books carefully as we             want children to experience a wide range of books, including books that         reflect the children at Conifers and in our local community, as well as             books that open windows into other worlds and cultures.

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   ● Every classroom has an inviting book corner that encourages a love for           reading. We curate these books and talk about them to entice children to         read a wide range of books.

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   ● In Reception, children have access to the reading corner every day as part       of their continuous provision and the books are continually refreshed (after       an adult has shared it with the class).

 

Children from Reception onwards have a home/school reading record book. The parent/carer records comments to share with the adults in school and the adults will write in this on a regular basis to ensure continued communication between home and school. Parents/carers are also encouraged to discuss their child’s reading progress on the playground before and after school.

 

   ● As the children progress through the school, they are encouraged to write       their own comments and keep a list of the books/authors that they have           read.

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   ● The school library is made available for classes to use on a weekly basis         and their teacher will be able to inform the class of their library day where       they part take in a library lesson.

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   ● The school library is open during lunch times for children to visit, where           they will be able to change their library book and have a quiet area to           read.

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   ● Children across the school have regular opportunities to engage with a           wide range of Reading for Pleasure events (book fairs, whole school               reading competitions and national events).

 

Assessment

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Assessment is used to monitor progress and to identify any child needing additional support as soon as they need it.

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   ● Assessment for learning is used:

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    ➢ Daily within class to identify children needing Keep-up support.

    ➢ Weekly in the review lesson to assess gaps, address these immediately             and secure fluency of GPCs, words and spellings.

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   ● Summative assessment is used:

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    ➢ Every six weeks to assess progress, to identify gaps in learning that need         be addressed, to identify any children needing additional support and to         plan the Keep-up support that they need.

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For children needing phonics keep up sessions, summative assessment takes place every three weeks.

 

Statutory assessment

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Children in Year 1 sit a statutory Phonics Screening Check in the summer term. These assessments are submitted to the local authorities and parents/carers are informed of the results. Should children not pass the Phonics Screening Check, they have an opportunity to sit the Screening a year later when they are in

Year 2.