We teach reading through the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme

Learning to read is the most important thing your child will learn at our school. Everything else depends on it, so we put as much energy as we possibly can into making sure that every single child learns to read as quickly as possible. We want your child to love reading – and to want to read for themselves. 

You can find parent information on the Read Write Inc programme here:

How will my child be taught to read?

We start by teaching phonics to the children in the foundation stage. This means that they learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children learn to spell well. We teach the children simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters. Ask them to show you what these are. The children also practise reading (and spelling) what we call ‘tricky words’, such as ‘once,’ ‘have,’ ‘said’ and ‘where’.

The children practise their reading with books that match the phonics and the ‘tricky words’ they know. They start believing that they can read and this does wonders for their confidence, allowing them to read independently.

The teachers read to the children, too, so the children get to know all sorts of stories, poetry and information books. They learn many more words this way and it also helps their writing ​by allowing them to access a wide range of vocabulary from a variety of genres.

How long will it take to learn to read well?

By the end of Year 1, your child should be able to read aloud books that are at the right level for his or her age. Those children who do not meet this standard are also offered additional support through targeted intervention to enable them to catch up. By the end of Year 2 your child should be taking part in daily whole class reading sessions with their teacher. During these sessions pupils are given the opportunity to secure the core elements of reading including: summarising, vocabulary work, questioning, inference and prediction skills. Although this work begins very early on when the teacher reads to the children and also when the children read their own story book.

How do I know the teaching will be good?

All the staff have been trained to teach reading in the way we do it in this school. The Early Reading Leader & English Leader watch other teachers teaching to make sure that the children are learning how we want them to learn. The children are also assessed every 6-8 weeks to ensure they are in the appropriate reading group and to assist their progress.

What can I do to help? Is there anything that I shouldn't do?

Attendance and punctuality is crucial. Phonics sessions begin daily at 9.05am. Children are taught a new sound every day, therefore, if they miss a day, they also miss the sound. 

Your child will get phonics homework weekly - this will be closely linked to what they are currently learning during their daily phonics sessions. It is important that you read daily with your child and ask them the questions at the back of the book. This helps with fluency, retrieval and inference.Help your child to sound out the letters in words and then to ‘push’ the sounds together to make a whole word. Try not to refer to the letters by their names. Help your child to focus on the sounds. You can hear how to say the sounds correctly here: Parent video: How to say the sounds

Useful Information

Interactive games and online resources:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/phonics/balloon-phonics-cvc-game

https://ictgames.com/mobilePage/spookySounds/index.html

https://ictgames.com/mobilePage/soundSayer/

https://www.phonicsbloom.com/

https://www.teachyourmonster.org/sightwords

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvMyssfAUx0&t=3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R087lYrRpgY&t=2s

If you can find time to read to your child as much as possible, it helps him or her to learn about books and stories. They also learn new words and what they mean. Show that you are interested in reading yourself and talk about reading as a family. Oxford Owl is a super dedicated website for parents with a wealth of helpful advice on synthetic phonics and over 260 free eBooks.

Parents can find out about Read Write Inc on their Facebook page