At Stephenson Memorial Primary school reading is central to our curriculum. Our aim is to provide all of our children with the skills needed to become independent, fluent and passionate readers. The key to reading success is through systematic synthetic phonics, which is taught through daily Read Write Inc lessons. These lessons teach the children to decode sounds, blend them to form words and apply their skills to encourage fluency and comprehension.
Children begin their journey to reading in our little 2s setting. They are exposed to a wide range of stories and begin to take part in phase one activities. These help to develop the children’s awareness of the sounds around them and in turn improve their listening skills. Their journey continues into nursery where children progress through all of the phase one aspects with the aim of being able to hear sounds in words by their final term. It is then that they match their awareness of the sounds to the corresponding letters.
When the children move into reception they continue to learn new sounds and begin to read storybooks closely matched to their developing phonic knowledge. The sessions are fast paced and interactive to ensure the children make rapid progress. They begin to write confidently and learn to spell using the sounds they know. Their progress is assessed regularly and they are grouped according to the level they are working at.
The scheme continues into year one where as well as progressing through the sounds the children are well prepared to take part in the phonics screening check. They are encouraged to sound and blend as a technique when reading and to apply their phonic knowledge in their writing. Children will continue to access phonics lessons in year two and three until they have completed the Read Write Inc program.
Children who still require further phonics in Key stage two take part in Fresh Start sessions, an intervention following on from the Read Write Inc scheme which teaches them to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension.
If you would like to find out more, watch the videos below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXOJUPNVnLc
https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkXcabDUg7Q&feature=emb_rel_pause