Reminder - Red Nose Day - Friday 15th March

Phonics

At Waulud Primary School, we teach phonics using a linguistic phonics programme called Sounds-Write.

This programme is successful in teaching children to read and spell because it starts with what all children know from a very young age – speech sounds. Then, using a very systematic approach, it teaches them how these sounds are coded within our writing system.

The four key concepts children need to learn are:

  1. Letters are symbols that represent sounds
  2. Sounds can be spelled using 1, 2, 3 or 4 letters
  3. The same sound can be spelled in different ways
  4. The same spelling can represent different sounds

The three keys skills children need to master are:

  1. Blending
  2. Segmenting
  3. Phoneme manipulation

Children in our Foundation Stage begin with the Initial Code where they practice all 3 key skills whilst learning the 1:1 sound-spelling correspondences and securing their understanding of key concept 1. This builds up trust in a truly reversible system, enabling them to decode and encode a wide range of words and sentences. At first, children learn to read and write simple one syllable words with a CVC structure. Complexity of word structure systematically builds up so that children apply their code knowledge to monosyllabic words with up to 6 sounds.

Once the Initial Code has been mastered, children continue to practice all 3 key skills whilst learning Extended Code which explores key concepts 2, 3 and 4. Learning of the Extended Code is a lifelong process – we all continue to develop our understanding of this code whenever we encounter new words. Whilst learning the Extended Code, children read and write monosyllabic and polysyllabic words at an age-appropriate level.

Based on much educational and cognitive research, the Sounds-Write programme uses a multisensory approach using an apprenticeship model. At Waulud, we recognise the importance of the methods and practice of teaching (the pedagogy) we choose to use in enabling pupils to know more, understand more and remember more. Sounds Write is first and foremost a training programme, and therefore all of our phonics teachers are fully trained to teach the Sounds Write phonics programme.

Reading at Home

Children who are accessing phonics teaching across the school, will take home a weekly fully decodable phonics book to match their developing phonics knowledge. We encourage pupils to re-read this book daily. Regular, repeated reading of the book will ensure that children develop fluency, comprehension and truly ’embed’ their phonics skills. Click on these links for information about daily activities to do with the decodable phonics books to support your child in becoming a fluent reader:

Decodable Phonics Books – How to Help at Home – Reception 

Decodable Phonics Books – How to Help at Home – KS1/KS2 

The children will also take home a  50 Book Challenge book  reading for pleasure book to read independently or share with an adult at home as either a shared reading experience or a bedtime story.  We chose 50 ‘brilliant to read aloud’ books for each year group. Listening to someone else read is extremely important for all children as they learn so much from adults modelling how to read with fluency and expression. As children become fluent readers, they will be able to begin to read the 50 Book Challenge texts independently. 

 

Click here to read our Phonics Policy

Click below to see our Phonics Long-Term Curriculum Map:

How to support your child with phonics at home:

Click on the images below to access two free Sounds-Write courses for parents and carers where you will learn how to:

  • help your child take their first steps in reading and spelling;
  • understand how to help your child build, write and read simple cvc (consonant, vowel, consonant) words;
  • understand how to correct your child when they make a mistake in their reading or writing simple words;
  • have a basic understanding of how phonics works.

Part 1 covers the Initial Code Units 1-7. Part 2 covers the Initial Code Units 8-11.

This video will teach you support you with precise pronunciation of the sounds that your child is learning: