Phonics
Learning Journey
3 i Statement for Reading
Reading Curriculum Statement
Intent
At Wynstream, we recognise how important it is that all children become confident and enthusiastic readers and writers. We believe that phonics provides the foundations required to develop fluent reading and writing. Through daily, systematic and consistent high quality phonics teaching, children learn to segment words to support their spelling ability and blend sounds to read words. At our school, we follow the systematic synthetic phonics programme Read Write Inc. (RWI). This is a complete literacy programme for children who are learning to read. It weaves the teaching of reading, comprehension, writing and spelling together.
We believe that teaching children to read and write independently is one of the core purposes of a primary school. This enables children to access a broad and exciting curriculum. It ensures children flourish as learners throughout their time at our school. These fundamental skills not only hold the keys to the rest of the curriculum but also have a significant impact on children’s self-esteem and future life chances.
Implementation
Beginning with a strong start in Reception, children in EYFS, KS1 and currently Year 3, are taught daily phonics using a synthetic, systematic approach with the RWI Phonics scheme. Children have a decodable reading book to take home that matches the current teaching and their phonic level, so they can consolidate their learning. Currently, from Reception to Year 3, children are taught by highly trained Reading Teachers in groups that match their phonics level. These children are assessed every half term to ensure sufficient progress is made.
Children identified working below age related expectation are supported rigorously with stringent systems to ensure that no child is left behind. Children in EYFS, KS1 and Lower KS2 (Years 3 and 4) are monitored closely and supported with RWI Fast Track Tutoring to keep up rather than catch up. Children falling into this category in upper KS2(Years 5-6), are placed on RWI Fresh Start Tutoring. These children are read with and tutored daily 1:1 by an adult in school who is responsible for monitoring their progress. The school Phonics Lead keeps track of all progress from EYFS to Year 4. The school English Lead keeps track of Year 5-6 Fresh Start progress.
By the end of KS1, children will have started to build their understanding of number along with other areas of maths as required by the national curriculum. They will begin to be able to apply their understanding to a range of simple problems and be confident using a range of physical resources and informal jottings to represent their understanding.
In KS2, our spiralled curriculum provides children with multiple opportunities to consolidate and further develop their understanding of number and the other areas of maths which they have acquired in KS1, through a range of strategies including morning maths, No Nonsense Number Facts, Flashback 4s and arithmetic quizzes in addition to daily maths teaching.
In lower KS2, there is a focus on the recall of times tables and division facts as well as applying their knowledge across all areas of maths to fluency, reasoning and problem solving activities.
In upper KS2, as they apply their knowledge to larger numbers and more complex problems, children create links between different areas of learning and build on their understanding. Number and calculation are vital components of our KS2 curriculum, however, we ensure that all children are exposed to learning across the curriculum, highlighting links between previous and new learning to develop strong links between knowledge and application of skills. Children leave our school with the ability to recall mathematical facts and apply them to a range of situations which are useful in the real world.
Impact
Through the consistent, systematic and daily teaching of the Read Write Inc Phonics programme, our aim is for children to become fluent, confident readers by the end of Key Stage One.
Through the Read Write Inc programme, children will be equipped with the skills to decode unfamiliar words using strategies that they have been taught in their daily lessons. With a firm foundation in phonics, children can then focus on developing their fluency and comprehension as they move through the school and beyond. This leads to a love of reading and children taking pleasure in exploring the rich literary world around them.
