Phonics and Early Reading
Phonics & Early Reading
High quality phonics teaching lies at the heart of our early education, securing the crucial skills of word recognition that, once mastered, enable children to read fluently and automatically. Once children are fluent readers, they are able to concentrate on the meaning of the text and make the shift between learning to read and reading to learn. Reading is seen as a skill so essential to access the world around them.
In school we follow Essential Letters and Sounds to teach phonics. We aim to ensure that all children are fluent readers by the time they leave KS1. All adults involved with teaching phonics have attended a detailed training programme on the delivery of Essential Letters and Sounds. Our reading scheme in Reception and Year One is entirely decodable, using Oxford University Press reading materials which are expertly matched to the Essential Letters and Sounds Scheme.
These books include titles from:
- Hero Academy
- ORT Phonics
- ORT Traditional Tales
- ORT Songbirds
- Story Sparks
Phonics & Spelling
The Essential Letters and Sounds Scheme is used to teach phonics and spelling. We begin teaching an awareness of sound and sound identification in Nursery and as children show readiness. All pupils in Reception begin Essential Letters and Sounds in the September of their Reception year. They continue on their phonics journey throughout Year One and into Year Two, with the aim of leaving KS1 as fluent readers, secure in word building and recognition.
All adults in school use the same consistent, concise language about sounds and spelling when teaching.
Consistency of time and resources are applied very effectively to support the teaching of daily phonics. The discrete teaching of phonics and reading has become a natural and everyday part of every aspect of the curriculum.
Progress in phonics is monitored half termly, including lesson visits, assessment gathering and pupil progress discussions. Progress of all pupils is tracked using ELS materials.
‘Keep up’ Rather than ‘Catch up’
Pupils in EYFS and KS1 are given additional support if required to master their phonics through targeted intervention. Pupils in KS2, who have gaps in the phonics, continue to be supported through timely and effective intervention and decodable readers for older pupils.
