Intent

At Whingate Primary School we recognise reading as a key life skill, which underpins access to the rest of the curriculum. We aim for children to read words and simple sentences by the end of Reception and to become successful, fluent readers by the end of Key Stage 1. The systematic teaching of synthetic phonics, using the Phonics programme Read Write Inc, is given a high priority throughout Early Years, Key Stage 1 and for those children who need it in Key Stage two.

Implementation

Through the teaching of phonics following the Read Write Inc programme, the children are taught the essential skills needed for reading. Phonics is taught daily to all children in Reception, KS1 and to those children who need it in KS2. Phonics teaching is systematic, engaging, lively and interactive.

Staff systematically teach learners the relationship between sounds and the written spelling patterns, or graphemes, which represent them. Across school all the children accessing Phonics receive daily targeted sessions for what each learner needs for them make progress.

Reading practise follows on from the Phonics speed sound sessions where a new phoneme is taught daily. Each book gives the children the opportunity to apply what is being taught in Phonics. Tricky words that cannot be segmented are introduced as red words and these words are taught to be sight read to help fluency. A book is introduced on a three day timetable and then sent home.

Impact

As a result of high quality phonics provision, children make good progress from their starting points. We aim for the children to be ready for the next stage in their education as they transfer through Early Years, Key Stage 1 and into Key Stage 2. We give the children the skills they need to read, building on their fluency to become strong readers.

Read Write Inc at Whingate

Phonics teaching is a vital part of our curriculum. At Whingate Primary School, we aim to teach children reading skills and provide a good foundation in spelling from the earliest opportunity. Phonics is introduced from foundation stage in Nursery and from the very beginning of Reception and is taught throughout KS1 and in KS2 for those children that still need to access it. 

The children are assessed in Phonics every half term and grouped accordingly, this is to ensure they are accessing Phonics at the exact level they needs to be, pinpointing the phonemes and skills they need to be working on to ensure they are making progress.

Reading

The children learn 44 phonemes (letter sounds) and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts. They then learn to read words by blending the phonemes together. The children also practise reading (and spelling) what we call ‘tricky words’, such as ‘once,’ ‘have,’ ‘said’ and ‘where’, these words need to be sight read. When the children are confident blenders, and have a bank of ‘tricky words’ they can sight read, they will read stories showing that they comprehend the stories by answering questions.

It is really important the children learn to say the phonemes (letter sounds) correctly.

Speed Sounds - What phonemes are taught and when

First we teach the single phonemes in set 1. When the children are confident with the set 1 sounds and blending them we move onto set 2. Finally when the children are confident with the set 1 and 2 sounds we teach the trickier set 3 sounds.

Phonics Screening Check

 In the summer term in Year 1, the children will complete the Phonics Screening Check (PSC). Last year at Whingate 87% of the children received a score of 32 or above passing the assessment to acheive age related expectations. We do everything possible to ensure that the children are ready to take the PSC. The assessment consists of words that are real and nonsense words. The words contain phonemes from set 1, set 2 and set 3 in phonics. We will hold a meeting in the summer term to gove all the information parents need to know about the PSC and give them the opportunity to ask any questions they might have.

If you have any questions before then, please speak to Miss Swift the Phonics Leader in school or your child's teacher or follow the link below.

Phonics screening check 2023: information for parents (text only version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)