Phonics

 

At Whitehall Park School we have a very clear vision for Phonics. To get every child reading. We do this by teaching Phonics daily through small targeted groups.

Our systematic synthetic Phonics programme is Little Wandle Letters and Sounds.

All staff are trained in this programme and receive ongoing weekly training with the Reading Lead. This model enables all adults to become highly skilled, expert reading teachers that continue to develop their practice. All planning, environments and strategies are completely consistent across the team.

Children are taught a minimum of four sounds a week and apply this within word reading and spelling. Children are assessed every half term by designated assessment leads. The lowest 20% receive daily, systematic interventions by trained intervention teachers. This ensures these children make accelerated progress and no child is left behind. Children receive daily decodable reading sessions in small targeted groups to ensure they are continually applying their phonological understanding. They are then able to take these books home to develop their fluency and confidence.

It is really important that pupils in Reception and Key Stage 1 (years 1 and 2) have a strong phonics programme, we use Little Wandle, which is then linked with decodable reading books. This ensures children are only reading words that they can phonetically decode.Β  As part of Little Wandle, we have decodable reading books which are stored centrally and are given to pupils by their Phonics teacher. These are mapped out systematically each half term so that children are reading books aligned to the Phonics progression. The books found in classroom book corners are not banded but are for interest/pleasure and use by the teachers for story time. Children can also take these home where a parent or guardian can enjoy reading aloud to them. This is a fundamental aspect of developing their engagement and early attitude to reading.