How we teach Reading

As a school we follow ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds’. Little Wandle Letters and Sounds is a systematic, synthetic phonics (SSP) programme.

We teach phonics to children in Nursery, Reception and Key Stage One daily. This is based on the previous Letters and Sounds but heavily revised.

Children in Reception are taught to read and spell words using Phase 2 and 3 GPCs, and words with adjacent consonants (Phase 4) with fluency and accuracy.

Children in Year 1 review Phases 3 and 4 and are taught to read and spell words using Phase 5 GPCs with fluency and accuracy.

Any child who needs additional practice has daily Keep-up support, providing smaller steps with more repetition, so that every child secures their learning.

Support for Parents

Please click on the link below for information about our new phonics scheme. You will find useful videos showing you how to pronounce the sounds. In particular, notice how the children don’t add an ‘uh’ sound at the end, so they say: ‘t’ not ‘tuh’.

There is also information about how to help your child remember how to write their letters and say their sounds.

www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/for-parents

Find our full Reception and Year 1 teaching programme overview here to see what your child will learn and when.

Reception & Year 1: Reading Practice in school

Children in Reception and Year 1 have reading practice sessions twice a week, when they will read the same book. The first time we work on decoding (sounding out) the words and the second time we work on prosody (the patterns of stress and intonation), reading with expression, and comprehension. We read the books twice at school because we want to develop the fluency.

The more they see words, the quicker they begin to read them automatically without having to sound them out.

A Reading Practice Book – Collins Big Cat range

The following week the children will then take home the book they have read twice in their reading practice sessions to read at home. Books are in colour bands and are carefully matched to your child’s current reading level. If your child is reading it with very little help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading. Listen as they 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.

Year 2

Children will continue reading the Big Cat books in Year 2 until they are secure in their knowledge of Phase 5 phonics and are reading these books fluently. They will then move onto turquoise banded books to read at home. Please make sure either you or your child writes in their planner each time they read. The children will then be further supported with their spelling and taught different spelling rules.

Knowledge Progression