We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school. This enables our children to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. We also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects. Children  are given opportunities to practice and apply phonics skills that they are learning through the use of fully decodable books.

We teach phonics daily. Lessons build from 10-minute sessions, with additional daily oral blending games at the start of Reception, to 30 minute lessons as quickly as possible. Each Friday, we review the week’s teaching to help children become fluent readers.

Our lessons follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised expectations of progress:

• Children in Reception are taught to read and spell words using Phase 2 and 3 GPCs, and words with adjacent consonants (Phase 4) with fluency and accuracy.
• Children in Year 1 review Phase 3 and 4 and are taught to read and spell words using Phase 5 GPCs with fluency and accuracy.

We ensure that any child who needs additional practice is identified early and has daily support with an adult.

We timetable phonics interventions for any child in Year 2 or 3 who is not fully fluent at reading or has not passed the Phonics screening check. These children urgently need to catch up, so the gap between themselves and their peers does not widen. We use the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessments to identify the gaps in their phonic knowledge and the teach accordingly.