Phonics and Reading at Hollinhey

Phonics and Early Reading at Hollinhey

At Hollinhey Primary School and Nursery we believe that for all our children to become fluent readers and writers, phonics must be taught through a systematic and structured phonics programme. At Hollinhey we teach children using the programme Read, Write, Inc. As a school we provide daily engaging phonics lessons that help children to progress in their reading and writing development. Read, Write, Inc teaches children the letters of the alphabet and that they all are represented by a different sound. We further progress onto teaching the children that these can be used in a variety of combinations and are put together to make words. The children learn to recognise all of the different sounds and combinations that they might see when they are reading or writing.

Our Read, Write, Inc phonics teaching starts in the summer term for Nursery and follows a very specific sequence that allows our children to build on their previous phonic knowledge and master specific phonic strategies as they move through school. As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words that they might discover. We have a strong focus on the development of language skills for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

How do we teach phonics

• In the nursery, children follow Read, Write, Inc in the summer term and previous to this they focus on rhyme time and building up phonetical awareness.
• In Reception and Year 1, children follow the progression within the Read, Write, Inc programme. Phonics is taught daily and children are assessed formally at the end of each half term.
• Phonics starts promptly in Reception to ensure the children make a strong start and they are monitored closely using the Strong Start Tracker and teacher are further guided by the ‘Making a Strong Start in Reception’ document.
• By the end of Reception, the majority of children will have been taught up to the end of set 2.
• By the end of Year 1, the majority of children will have been taught up to the end of set 3.
• Children are placed into smaller groups for phonics, dependent on ability so that staff can support where gaps are.
• Phonics sessions last up to 30 minutes in length, with reception lessons being shorter to begin with.
• In Year 2 phonic lessons are taught daily to children, where appropriate, and continue to follow the model of Read, Write, Inc
• In Y3 upwards there are planned phonic ‘catch-up’ sessions to support children who did not pass the Phonics Screening check and continue to need additional support.
• Children in Reception – Year 2 have reading practice included 3 times a week to further support their development. These happen in their phonics groups and books are largely match to their phonetic ability.

How do we assess phonic knowledge?

• In Reception and Year 1, children are assessed formally at the end of each half term, with teachers also making day-to-day assessments.
• These formal assessments are then plotted onto a tracker so staff are able to identify children who may be falling behind or, are making small steps of progress.
• These children are then given additional support at a separate time to phonics. This may be in a small group or 1:1.
• In the first term of reception the Strong Start tracker is used to closely monitor children progress.
• The children in Year 1 sit the statutory Phonics Screening Check in the summer term.
• Children who do not pass the Phonics Screening Check in Y1 will re-sit this in Year 2.

More Information on how we teach phonics:

Set 1:

To begin with children, learn a sound a day. We use pure sounds so that your child will be able to blend these sounds into words.

Set 1 sounds are taught in the following order: m a s d t i n p g o c k u b f e l h  r j v y w z x sh th ch qu ng nk

Set 2:

Once your child knows all Set 1 sounds by sight and sound and uses them to blend to read words, we start teaching Set 2.

These sounds are taught in the following order: ay ee igh ow oo oo (long) ar or air ir ou oy

Set 3:

Set 3 long vowel sounds. Your child will need to learn that most vowel sounds have more than one spelling.

Sounds are taught in the following order: ea oi a-e i-e o-e u-e aw are ur er ow ai oa ew ire ear ure tion tious/ cious

Each set also contain additional sounds.

 Early Reading at Hollinhey

Teaching our children to read and write independently will provide them with the key skills they need to access the rest of the curriculum. Being able to decode a text alone though is not enough. Children need to understand what they are reading and need to be taught key comprehension skills from an early age. We know that good readers question, check and engage with their own understanding and these are some of the skills we seek to develop. Decoding and comprehension need to be taught at the same time.

Early reading book                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Our reading scheme is carefully matched to the RWI phonics programme. The RWI books they receive will only contain sounds the children have learnt and are familiar with.  Children are also encouraged to take a book home from our class libraries to further expose them to different genres and text types.

Reading at home

We encourage children to be reading at home every night, where possible. This can be recorded in your child’s reading diary. Books will be changed twice weekly in KS1. In the EYFS children are given flashcards to further build their knowledge and once children are secure on these sounds they will begin to take books home.

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