“Reading is important.  If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you.  Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible.” - Barrack Obama

At Firs Primary School, early reading is taught through the systematic, synthetic phonics programme, Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. We strive to teach children to read fluently, accurately and confidently. We understand that reading is the foundation upon which all other learning is built upon. It unlocks the whole curriculum and enables them to access their learning. At Firs Primary School, we foster a strong foundation in phonics, starting in reception. This enables children to decode efficiently and segment words into phonemes in order to spell words independently.

Implementation

At Firs Primary School, we teach phonics for 30 minutes a day with a review session on a Friday. Four new phonemes and their corresponding graphemes are taught (GPCs) each week and they are used in the final lesson of the week to review the week’s learning. In addition, children will learn tricky words during these sessions. In Reception, the sessions start from Phase 2, during Autumn 1 Week 2. By the end of Reception, the children will have been taught to the end of phase 4.

In Year 1, the sessions begin in the Autumn term with three weeks revision of phase 3 and 4 before learning phase 5, which will be completed by the end of the year. Children in Year 1 will complete the Phonics screening check during the summer term. This statutory assessment is designed by the government to assess how well children nationally have mastered the skill of using phonics. Children who do not meet the required pass mark in Year 1 will receive further support and phonics teaching in Year 2 and they can re-sit the Phonics screening check at the end of Year 2.

The Little Wandle SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) programme is used within Reception and KS1 to provide targeted adaptations to support the progress of children with SEND. These reasonable adjustments ensure that all children with SEND are supported using the graduated approach. The lesson is adjusted by chunking learning through small-step teaching.

During each academic year, parents in EYFS and Year 1 are invited to Phonic Workshops to introduce the teaching approach and to develop their understanding of how they can support their child at home.

Teaching Sequence & Structure

• Daily phonics lessons follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised structured approach, which includes a revisit and review of prior learning, direct instruction of the phoneme—grapheme correspondence, oral blending, word reading and spellings.
• Progressive coverage ensures the sounds and tricky words are taught in a specific order.
• Explicit teaching of spelling is embedded within phonics lessons to ensure skills are systematically developed and practised daily. Children are taught that the number of graphemes in a word always corresponds to the number of phonemes. This greatly aids spellings.
• Handwriting instruction follows a structured approach, ensuring that pupils progress from early letter formation to fluent, joined handwriting by the end of KS2.
• Vocabulary development is prioritised, with explicit teaching of new vocabulary each lesson linking to the focus GPC.

Progression & Assessment

• The Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression framework ensures clear skill development from EYFS to Year 1.
• In Year 2, once the children have sufficient fluency and decoding skills, they will then take part in Ready Steady Comprehension lessons.
• In KS2, children who did not reach the expected standard take part in the Rapid Catch-Up sessions three times a week and continue to access Daily Keep-Up Interventions.
• Phonics is assessed using Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessment criteria, ensuring a consistent and rigorous approach to monitoring progress.
• The Little Wandle SEND programme assessments are administered every five weeks to record the children’s progress and plan next steps.
• Daily assessment of learning also takes place within the KS1 and KS2 sessions so staff can quickly identify any children who are in danger of falling behind and provide the appropriate daily ‘Keep Up’ intervention.

Impact

The impact of our phonics curriculum is evident in:

• Fluent and independent readers who can read most words quickly and accurately, without overt sounding and blending.
• Improved Phonics and Reading attainment
• Parents and carers have a good understanding of how they can support reading at home.
• Consistently strong attainment and progress, measured through termly phonics assessment, Year 1 Phonics screening check, and end-of-key-stage outcomes. The percentage of children who pass the Phonics screening check is in line with the National results.

We measure impact through:

• Termly Little Wandle assessments to track progress each half term and identify next steps.
• Daily Keep-Up interventions assessments every 4 weeks to monitor the progress and impact of phonics interventions.
• Lesson observations and pupil voice feedback to ensure pupils are engaged and progressing.

By the time pupils reach the end of KS1, they will have developed the skills, knowledge, and confidence to succeed as fluent readers at KS2 and beyond.

Below are some useful links:

Reception Autumn 1 GPC pronunciation video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZtjFIvA_fs

Reception Autumn 2 GPC pronunciation video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDu3JAjf-U0

Reception Spring 1 GPC pronunciation video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvOuc7cWXxc