PHONICS

INTENT - OUR VISION FOR PHONICS

The aim of the phonics curriculum is to teach children to read quickly and skillfully and provide them with reading and writing skills to access other curriculum areas. The systematic teaching of phonics has a high priority throughout Foundation Stage and Key Stage One and we are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers. We acknowledge that children need to be taught the key skills in segmenting and blending to be equipped with the knowledge to be able to complete the phonics check at the end of Year One. We also value and encourage the pupils to read for enjoyment and recognise that this starts with the foundations of acquiring letter sounds, segmenting and blending skills

WHY PHONICS IS IMPORTANT?

High quality phonics teaching is at the heart of early education, securing the crucial skills of word recognition that, once mastered, enable children to read fluently and automatically. Once children are fluent readers, they are able to concentrate on the meaning of the text and make the shift between learning to read and reading to learn. Reading is seen as a skill so essential to access the world around them.. It is important for children to learn letter-sound relationships because English uses letters in the alphabet to represent sounds. Phonics teaches this information to help children learn how to read. Children learn the sounds that each letter makes, and how a change in the order of letters changes a word’s meaning

IMPLEMENTATION – PHONICS PLANNING & SEQUENCING OF KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

In EYFS and KS1 all children receive a daily discrete phonics lessons. We use Read, Write Inc (RWI) materials to support the teaching of phonics, ensuring that we adapt our sessions to meet the needs of all children in class During these sessions’ children practice speed sounds, oral blending and segmenting. Phonics lessons are fast-paced and repetitive in order to introduce, recall and embed learning. At all stages, phonics attainment is assessed, and gaps are addressed quickly and effectively for all pupils with interventions are planned for those children who are working below expected levels. Pupils have regular reading sessions with an adult to ensure pupils are regularly practicing and applying their phonics knowledge. Children are matched with phonetically decodable reading books which match their current phonics ability and they can chose a library book to take home to develop their enjoyment of books. To find out how Phonics is planned & sequenced in order that our children can progress through the building blocks for learning, please click below

ENGLISH policy

Read Write Inc phonics overview

Read Write Inc phonics progression of skills

NATIONAL CURRICULUM PURPOSE OF STUDY

To find out more information about the National Curriculum for this subject & others, please click.

IMPACT OF OUR PHONIC CURRICULUM

Through the teaching of systematic phonics, our aim is for children to become fluent readers by the end of Key Stage 1. This way, children can focus on developing their fluency and comprehension as they move through the school. Attainment in phonics is measured by the Phonics Screening Test at the end of Year 1 and then again at the end of Year 2 for those children who did not achieve the required standard at the end of Year 1.

As a school, we monitor the impact of our phonic provision through regular half-termly assessments, lesson observations, staff meetings, pupil voice and through one-to-one reading.

National data show that children at Porter Croft perform in line with or above National Expectations and that children with SEND or from a social disadvantage are achieving above National expectations

INCLUSION

All ENGLISH lessons/activities are designed and planned to include all children through a range of approaches. Lessons are planned to facilitate the best possible outcome for all children within the class.

USEFUL PHONICS WEBSITES

Read, Write, Inc. – A Guide for Parents
Handwriting Rhymes
Speed sounds chart 1
Speed sounds chart 2
http://jollylearning.co.uk/ - Games and information for parents
http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ - many games to play
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/phonics/play/ - fun games for the children to play