Phonics and Early Reading

Early Literacy Curriculum Statement

We aim to develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing and vocabulary as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject. English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching; for pupils, understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum. Pupils should be taught to read fluently, following a systematic and effective phonics strategy and be encouraged to read for pleasure. We teach and expect pupils to speak clearly and convey ideas confidently using Standard English. This enables them to clarify their thinking as well as organise their ideas for writing. Pupils should develop the stamina and skills to write at length, with accurate spelling and punctuation. 

Statement of Intent

At Barnham Broom CofE VA Primary School we recognise that fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects. We aim to develop pupils’ reading and writing in all subjects to support their acquisition of knowledge. The intent of our early Literacy curriculum is to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child as they move through school. We strive to excite and engage our pupils with books, rhymes and language, therefore, developing a love for sharing stories and becoming lost in their own imagination and creative ideas. We aim to engage pupils in writing, beginning with emergent, experimental writing and then challenge them to apply strategies taught to form words and sentences. 

Reading/Phonics

At Barnham Broom C of E VA Primary School we use Monster Phonics and the 10 monsters to help our children on the road to becoming fluent readers.

We use the Monster Phonics reading guide to help us to decide which books children should be reading. This is done by finding out the furthest GPC (grapheme - phoneme-correspondence) in the programme at which the child’s phonic knowledge for reading is secure- use MP reading assessment and examining success criteria from lessons.

The MP Placement Chart is then used to find the most appropriate reading book. These are then used in Guided Reading sessions so that the children become familiar with the text and then sent home at the end of the week for children to read to their parents/carers.

Implementation

Daily phonics lessons in Reception and Year 1

Our Reception children begin learning how to read from day one by:

Decoding letter-sound correspondences quickly and effortlessly, using their phonic knowledge and skills

Read common exception words on sight

Understand what they read

Read aloud with fluency and expression

Spell quickly and easily by segmenting the sounds in words

Acquiring good handwriting.

Helping your child read also means understanding how letters or phonemes are sounded out. This can be a single letter or a sequence of letters, such as, ai, sh, igh etc. 

Click on the clip below to see how says these sounds correctly.

Clink on the link below to find out more ways to support your child to learn to read.

Helping your child at home

Impact

Assessment 

Assessment is used to monitor progress and to identify any child needing additional support as soon as they need it.

Assessment for learning is used: 

1.  Daily within class to identify children needing additional support

2. Weekly in the Review lesson (usually on a Friday) to assess gaps and these are addressed immediately whilst also ensuring a secure fluency of GPCs, words and spellings.       

Summative assessment is used:

Every few weeks to assess progress, to identify gaps in learning that need to be addressed, to identify any children needing additional support and to plan the Keep-up support that they need.

Statutory assessment

Children in Year 1 sit the Phonics Screening Check. Any child not passing the check re-sits it in Year 2.

Ongoing assessment for catch-up

Children in Year 2 are assessed through their teacher’s ongoing formative assessment as well as through the half-termly Monster Phonics summative assessments.

Ensuring Reading for Pleasure

• We read to children every day. We choose these books carefully as we want children to experience a wide range of books, including books that reflect the children at Barnham Broom Primary School and our local community as well as books that open windows into other worlds and cultures.

• In Reception, children have access to the reading books as part of the continuous provision.

• Children from Reception onwards have a home reading record. This is used to record the books children have read at home and school.

Useful reading comments