Phonics and Early Reading

Reading is an integral part of our curriculum and is a key driver for most subject areas. Our children are exposed to a range of high quality texts from a diverse selection of authors to expand their reading experience. We ensure leaders and all staff prioritise reading. Reading is taught in many different ways and opportunities to discuss reading preferences are built in to foster a love of reading. This love of reading is shared by staff who regularly model good reading and keep up to date with current authors and texts to ensure that our reading diet is varied, current and representative of the communities we live in. Our content is sequenced and supports progress, where children begin to fall behind plans are immediately put in place to ensure they catch up quickly.

Phonics is taught from the beginning of reception (Day1) or Nursery if attended by pupils. All books are phonetically decodable and we ensure we train all staff to ensure they are early reading experts. At SWP we use the Read, Write Inc Phonics Programme, a comprehensive phonics teaching programme centered around an accessible and inclusive teaching approach. Evidence shows that working together fosters a sense of social inclusion for pupils and boosts the performance of those that may be progressing more slowly. It is one of the DfE’s approved systematic synthetic phonics programmes.

The programme has a strong focus on teaching children to know and remember more. Children are taught daily, in small groups, from Reception upwards. The small groups children are in ensure that all children are taught at their appropriate level, which results in good progress being made. The RWI programme supports the teach simply model:

Review/ Revisit- Previously taught sounds and words are continuously reviewed and revisited at the beginning of every RWI Phonics lesson.
Teach Simply – Children are taught a new sound following the same sequence daily.
Practice Thoroughly- Children have the opportunity to practise reading the sound in words, including multi-syllabic words.
Apply- Children apply reading their new sounds in alien words and in closely matched, phonically decodable books.
Assess- Children are regularly assessed by the Reading Leader. Teachers assess throughout the lesson to check that children understand. ‘Spotlight children’ (children who are not making as much progress as the rest) are sat in the focus of the teacher, to ensure they don’t get left behind.
Although our intention is for children to ‘keep up’, not ‘catch up’, if the Reading Leader identifies that any children are falling behind, plans are immediately put in place to support catch up. If needed, children are also assessed in KS2. Children in Foundation Stage- to Y4 have RWI Phonics lessons, where needed.
Please click on the link below to see how we want children to progress through the RWI programme each half term and what we expect them to know by the end of Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2.

RWInc Phonics Progression

Phonics and Early Reading

Review/ Revisit- Previously taught sounds and words are continuously reviewed and revisited at the beginning of every RWI Phonics lesson.

Teach Simply – Children are taught a new sound following the same sequence daily.

Practice Thoroughly- Children have the opportunity to practise reading the sound in words, including multi-syllabic words.

Apply- Children apply reading their new sounds in alien words and in closely matched, phonically decodable books.

Assess- Children are regularly assessed by the Reading Leader. Teachers assess throughout the lesson to check that children understand. ‘Spotlight children’ (children who are not making as much progress as the rest) are sat in the focus of the teacher, to ensure they don’t get left behind.

Please click on the link below to see how we want children to progress through the RWI programme each half term and what we expect them to know by the end of Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2.