Phonics
If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books.
At Burgh by Sands School, we know that a strong foundation in phonics is crucial for children to become confident and fluent readers.
Phonics is the method we use to teach early reading and writing skills, and we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme to ensure every child is set up for success.
What is Little Wandle?
Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised is a systematic synthetic phonics programme that helps children learn the sounds that letters make and how to blend them to read words. The programme is carefully structured to provide a consistent approach to teaching phonics, which builds on what children already know and ensures they make progress each day.
Through daily phonics lessons, children are taught:
- The sounds that letters and groups of letters represent (phonemes).
- How to blend these sounds together to read words.
- How to segment words into their individual sounds for spelling.
Phonics in Early Years and Key Stage 1
In Nursery and Reception, children begin their phonics journey by listening to sounds and learning the foundations of blending and segmenting. They progress to learning individual letter sounds, digraphs (two letters making one sound), and trigraphs (three letters making one sound). By the end of Reception, children are blending sounds to read simple sentences and write independently.
In Key Stage 1, children continue their phonics learning, focusing on more complex sounds and alternative spellings for sounds they already know. As they move through Year 1 and Year 2, the focus is on applying their phonics knowledge to reading and writing with increasing fluency and confidence.
Phonics Screening Check
In Year 1, children take the national Phonics Screening Check to assess how well they can apply their phonics skills. This helps us identify any additional support that might be needed to ensure all children continue to develop their reading skills. Children who do not meet the required standard receive extra support and retake the check in Year 2.
Supporting Reading at Home
Reading at home is a key part of our approach to developing confident readers. We send home decodable books that match the phonics stage each child is working on, so they can practice and apply their phonics knowledge. These books are carefully chosen to ensure children can read every word using the phonics skills they have been taught.
We encourage families to:
- Listen to children read daily and talk about the books they are reading.
- Practice tricky words (common words that can’t be sounded out phonetically) to help develop fluency.
- Share a range of other books for enjoyment, to foster a love for reading.
Why Phonics Matters
Phonics is a key part of developing reading fluency, and at Burgh by Sands School, we are committed to ensuring every child becomes a confident reader. Phonics not only teaches children how to read, but it also supports spelling and writing, building the foundations for literacy skills they will use throughout their education and life.
Little Wandle Phonics and Early Reading Policy