Early Reading and Phonics

At St Michael & All Angels, we aim to provide effective Phonics and Early reading provision from the very start of EYFS to ensure that children foster a true passion for reading for pleasure and enter Key Stage 2 with the ability to access the wider curriculum with confidence. To show our commitment to this we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds revised programme.

Daily phonics lessons

We teach phonics for 30 minutes a day. In F2, we build from 10-minutes lessons, with additional daily blending games, to full-length lessons as quickly as possible. We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sound Revised expectations of progress.

·        Children in F2 are taught to read and spell words using Phase 2 and 3 GPC’s and words with adjacent consonants (Phase 4() with fluency and accuracy.

·        Children in Year 1 review Phase 3 and 4 and are taught to read and spell words using Phase 5 GPC’s with fluency and accuracy

·        Children in Year 1 review Phase 5 GPC’s and complete The Bridge to Spelling where they learn the underpinning concepts of spelling.

·        Children in Year 2 continue on the Little Wandle Spelling programme. This programme provides a seamless link from the core Little Wandle programme to teach spelling in Year 2.

·        Children in Year 2 firstly secure their phase 5 knowledge and learn foundational skills for spelling before moving onto the Little Wandle spelling programme units to ensure they are confident spellers.

·        All phonics and spelling lessons follow the same structure of: revisit and review, teach and practice, practice and apply.

Any child in F2 and Key Stage 1 who needs additional practice has Daily Keep-up support taught by a fully trained adult.

Teaching Early Reading

Reading practice sessions take place twice a week and are taught in small groups by fully trained staff. The books that children read are matched to their progressions through the programme allowing them to build confidence and fluency.

·        Each reading session had 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:

Ø Decoding

Ø Prosody: teaching children to read with understanding and expression

Ø Comprehension: teaching children to understand the text

Further information can be found on the Little Wandle website including: Videos and resources to support phonics, information on how we teach phonics, reading practice sessions and how best to help support your child’s reading journey at home.