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St Joseph the Worker

Catholic Primary School

Phonics and Early Reading

We are now using Little Wandle, Letters and Sounds Revised.

 

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised is a complete systematic synthetic phonics programme (SSP) developed for schools by schools. It has been extensively revised to provide a complete teaching programme which meets all the expectations of the National Curriculum and enables children to apply their learning and become fluent readers.

 

Phonics begins in Reception with a daily session working on the grapheme–phoneme correspondence and blending to read. Daily phonic sessions continue into Year 1 and the Autumn term in Year 2.

 

Throughout the phonics programme, progress is tracked and monitored closely to identify children who require ‘keep up’ sessions.

 

These short sessions will be specific to individual needs and will take place throughout the school day.

 

Children will continue to receive ‘keep up’ interventions if needed until they have a secure knowledge of the phonic phases 1-5.

 

 

 

 

Books Coming Home

 

 

Supporting your child with reading

 

Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a huge impact on their reading journey by continuing their practice at home.

There are two types of reading book that your child may bring home:

A reading practice book. This will be at the correct phonic stage for your child. They should be able to read this fluently and independently.

A sharing book.  Your child will not be able to read this on their own. This book is for you both to read and enjoy together.

 

Reading practice book

 

This book has been carefully matched to your child’s current reading level. If your child is reading it with little help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading.

Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise – celebrate their success! If they can’t read a word, read it to them. After they have finished, talk about the book together.

 

 

Sharing book

 

In order to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. The sharing book is a book they have chosen for you to enjoy together.

Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read it to or with them. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!

 

 

 

 

For parents - Books coming home (link opens in new window)

 

Phonics and Early Reading Policy

Pronunciation phrases

Phase 2 sounds taught in Reception Autumn 1

This Phase 2 sounds taught in Reception Autumn 1 video is designed to help support learning at home.

 

Phonics Screening Check

 

What is the phonics screening check?

The phonics screening check is a quick and easy check of your child’s phonics knowledge. The national phonics screening check is taken by all Year 1 pupils in the country. It is a short, statutory assessment to ensure that children are making sufficient progress in the phonics skills needed to read words. It helps the school confirm whether your child has made the expected progress.

 

The phonics check comprises of a list of 40 words that children read one-to-one with a teacher. The list is a combination of 20 real words and 20 pseudo words (nonsense or non-words) which rely purely on using phonics to decode and read. The pseudo words have been made up and will be shown with a picture of an imaginary creature to help identify them. Mrs Freire-Norman will administer the check and it will take approximately 10 minutes per child. The children will largely be unaware of it being a test and have already participated in several practice ones this year.

 

Who takes the test and when?

 

The Phonics Screening Check was introduced by the Government in 2012 for all Year 1 pupils across the country. All Year 1 children will be required to take the test during the week beginning 12th June. Any Year 2 children that did not achieve the expected level last year will also be required to retake the test.

 

Reporting to parents

 

All schools must report results of the check to parents. We will also confirm if your child has met the standard threshold. This information will be included in your child’s end of year report. Children who do not achieve the expected level will be required to retake the test in Year 2.

 

How the results are used

 

Results from the check will be used to analyse and track our school phonics performance and will be made available for Ofsted to use in future inspections.

 

How can I help my child to prepare?

 

  • Read as often as possible to and with your child. 
  • If your child is struggling to decode a word, help them by encouraging them to say each sound in the word from left to right.  Access the Little Wandle website to find more information. (see link below)
  • The 'For Parents' section provides videos of how to pronounce the Phase 2 and Phase 3 sounds and how we teach the reading of words. 
  •  See below for examples of past phonics screening assessments.

 

 

Further information

For further information, please contact Mrs Freire-Norman

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