Reading / Phonics

Reading
In EYFS and Key Stage 1, we use the Read, Write Inc reading scheme. It is recognised that children who read regularly at home make the most progress in reading. We encourage all children to read books provided by school every evening as it is recognised that children who read regularly at home make the most progress. 

In Key Stage 2, children move on to Pandora Banded Books. With the Pandora Book collection, children can select a book of their choice from an allocated level book band. Children's choice of books are closely monitored by the class teacher to ensure pupils are choosing appropriate books that they will understand and enjoy. Children in KS2 are asked to read for a minimum of 20 minutes each evening. As children get older, many children like to read independently, however, periodic reading aloud enables parents to ask their child questions about their chosen book and therefore encourage reading while checking understanding. We also encourage children to regularly use Reading Plus at home to further enhance reading and develop comprehsion skills. Site code - rpeccle.

Please see the files below for example questions that you can pose to children to encourage reading. 

KS1 Phonics
Our programme of study includes the systematic teaching of synthetic phonics. Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children to hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another. 

Children are taught to:

• Recognise the sounds that individual letters make.

• Identify the sounds different combinations of letters make.

• Blend those sounds together to make a word.

Read Write Inc is taught daily to Reception, Year 1 and some Year 2 children. Children are grouped according to reading ability which is regularly assessed and changed accordingly. In KS2, children access phonics teaching where required.

Please access Read Write Inc: A Guide for Parents to find out more and watch the video below.

We follow the Read Write Inc phonics program and the sounds are taught in the following order.

Children will be taught to sound out and blend multisyllabic words. e.g. midnight, modern, twilight, charming, delay, saucers, brighter, wishing, forest, arrow, chapter, person, model, reptiles.

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar
At all levels, there is an emphasis on spelling, punctuation and grammar as well as vocabulary development. To develop vocabulary knowledge, we focus on raising the profile of reading across subjects, set reading challenges and celebrate events, such as World Book Day and Pyjamarama.

Vocabulary
We use tiered vocabulary to build children’s understanding of written texts.

Tier 1 - High frequency words that are used repeatedly in the course of general conversation e.g. table, happy, baby, chair.

Tier 2 - Cross curricular words appearing frequently across topics and content areas. They are not common words used in conversation. Tier 2 words may have multiple meanings making them an important component of reading comprehension. Tier 2 words are also used to extend Tier 1 vocabulary by providing synonyms for common words e.g. happy becomes ecstatic, shocked becomes astonished.

Tier 3 - Subject specific words which children need in specific subject areas e.g. in science they will learn the words opaque, magnetic, condensation.

Year 1 Phonics Screening
At the end of Year 1, your child will sit a Phonics Screening Test to check their understanding of sounds through their ability to decode and blend real and pseudo (made up) words. The pass rate for this test changes each year and is released after the Phonics Screening is completed. If your child does not pass the Phonics Screening check, they will continue with Read, Write Inc in Year 2 and will sit the check again at the end of Year 2. More information can be found here: Phonics Screening test.