Early Reading – Synthetic Phonics

When children join our school, in Nursery, they begin to learn about sounds around them and learn about stories and the pleasure of reading. In Reception, they begin to use synthetic phonics to learn to read words. The name Synthetic Phonics is used – not because it is made up language but because words are broken up into the smallest sounds. Although there are 26 letters in the English Alphabet – there are 44 phonemes – or sounds made by these letters. Our children are taught to decode these sounds so that they can start to read (decode) and spell (encode) at the same time. Our children, from Nursery to Year 2, have a dedicated time, each day, specifically dedicated to the teaching of phonics. This is in addition to listening to children read and reading to our children so that we immerse them in literature from an early age.

There are many recognised schemes for teaching phonics; the one that we use at Belvedere Infant School is: DFE accredited Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programme. All of our children follow this scheme and all adults in Early Years and Key Stage One have undertaken specific training to deliver this programme effectively.

Letters and Sounds is split into 6 phases and the programme finishes, for most children, at the end of the Autumn term, in Year 2. A Phonics screening check is carried out with all children nationally in the Summer Term of Year 1. Children who do not pass this screener in Year 1, have additional support to help them successfully pass in the summer Term of Year 2.

Teaching Early Reading – Nursery – Year 2 Autumn Term

Foundations for phonics in Nursery

We provide a balance of child-led and adult-led experiences for all children that meet the curriculum expectations for ‘Communication and language’ and ‘Literacy’. These include:

• sharing high-quality stories and poems
• learning a range of nursery rhymes and action rhymes
• activities that develop focused listening and attention, including oral blending
• attention to high-quality language.

In the Spring Term, Nursery also begin to take part in phonic lessons where they continue to focus on phase 1 listening skills, as well as exposing the children to the 26 letters and sounds in the alphabet. These lessons are planned on a weekly cycle and ensure the children are well prepared to learn and consolidate grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) and blending in Reception.

Daily phonics lessons in Reception,  Year 1 and Year 2 (Autumn term)

In these year groups, we teach phonics for 20/30 minutes a day and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised expectations of progress:

• Reception: are taught to read and spell words using Phase 2 and 3 GPCs, and words with adjacent consonants (Phase 4) with fluency and accuracy.
• Year 1: review Phase 3 and 4 and are taught to read and spell words using Phase 5 GPCs with fluency and accuracy.
• Year 2: review phase 5 phonics (Autumn term)

In Year 2, children continue with the reading practise groups in the Autumn term. They then transition over to Accelerated Reader. If children are not secure with their phonics, they will continue with this practise.

Assessment of Phonics

Regular teacher 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:
  • daily within class to identify children needing ‘Keep-up’ support
  • weekly in the Review lesson to assess gaps, address these immediately and secure fluency of GPCs, words and spellings.
• Summative assessment is used:
  • every six 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.