Phonics at Ryvers School 

At Ryvers School we follow Little Wandle Letters and Sounds. It is a complete systematic synthetic phonics programme (SSP) and is based on the original Letters and Sounds. It extensively provides a complete teaching programme meeting all the expectations of the National Curriculum. 

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds is designed to enable the teaching of systematic and high quality phonics. It is taught within a set time period to ensure children have fluent recognition skills by the end of Key Stage One. It also acts as a method of provision for children in Key Stage Two who require supported intervention in their word recognition skills. 

At Ryvers School we aim to enable the children to:

• Access high quality, systematic phonic work as the prime approach to decoding print.

• To experience consistent practice, progression and continuity in the teaching of phonics and spellings throughout the school.

•  Start learning phonic knowledge and skills systematically as soon as children begin Ryvers in accordance with the Letters and Sounds programme.

• Have access to discrete, daily sessions progressing from simple to more complex phonics knowledge and skills.

• Have access to a multi-sensory approach so that children learn from simultaneous visual and auditory activities which are designed to secure essential phonic knowledge and skills.

• Read high frequency words that do not conform completely to grapheme/phoneme correspondence rules.

• Read a range of texts and spell words that are within their reach but are challenging and require decoding skills.

Learning Phonics at Ryvers School

Foundation Stage – Nursery

The Nursery introduce activities within the Nursery that concentrate on developing children's speaking and listening skills which lay the foundations for learning phonics. The emphasis during the activities are to get children attuned to the sounds around them ready to begin developing oral blending and segmenting skills for reading. 

Foundation Stage - Reception

Phonics is taught daily in the Reception classes in twenty minute sessions. These sessions are identified on the class timetables. The children will be learning Phase 2 and Phase 3 phonemes (sounds).  They will be blending sounds together to read words and then begin to read captions and short sentences.  

Key Stage One

Phonics is taught daily in the Key Stage One classes in discrete twenty to thirty minute sessions. These sessions are identified on the class timetables. Children are taught by the Class Teacher in whole class sessions and are supported by Learning Support Assistants. The children will be taught phase 4 and 5 and they will learn to blend and segment longer words. Children who require phonics provision are taken out of class in the afternoon to work with an intervention group.

Key Stage Two

Children within Key Stage Two may be taught discrete daily sessions using the Little Wandle Rapid Catch-up Programme. However, all children will apply and develop their phonological knowledge through the use of Spelling Shed. 

Children who have a lower than chronological reading age are given discrete intervention delivered by a Learning Support Assistant or Teacher. The intervention is recorded on the class provision map and is monitored by the Phonics Subject Leader, Phase Leader and SENDCO.

Phonics Programme Overview 

       Little Wandle Letters and Sounds has a picture pnemonic to help children remember the phoneme/grapheme

During phonics sessions we use sound buttons so we can sound talk and blend to read

Words that do not follow the rules and cannot be decoded are called tricky words. Children are are taught what part of the word is tricky

Learning to Read 

Reading is essential for all subject areas. Positive attitudes to reading and choosing to read have academic, social and emotional benefits for children. 

The ability to read is fundamental to pupils’ development as independent learners. In order to read across the curriculum with fluency, understanding, confidence and enjoyment, children need to employ a key set of strategies:

• Phonic knowledge and skills.

• Contextual knowledge.

• Grammatical understanding.

• Word decoding and recognition.

• Language comprehension.

Reading development is closely linked to that of writing, and reflecting on and discussing texts is key to children’s understanding of how a writer writes and the special relationship between author and reader. It is through critical and imaginative engagement with texts that children are able to make sense of the world and their place in it.

At Ryvers, we aim to enable children to:

• Read and study a range of texts both classic and modern day.
• Develop positive attitudes towards reading, encouraging reading for pleasure and purpose.
• Use reading skills as an integral part of learning throughout school and beyond.
• Read and respond to a variety of texts whilst gaining increased levels of fluency, accuracy, independence and understanding.
• Develop different strategies for approaching reading and be able to orchestrate the full range of strategies.
• Have access to creative storytelling, role play and a wide range of opportunities to explore texts.

Shared Reading:

The children will study a mixture of classics and contemporary literature through shared reading, both with their teacher and each other, during lessons.

Independent Reading:

Children in the Foundation stage begin reading a range of levelled books and work through these at a steady pace; children are assessed each term (or sooner if felt necessary) to identify the correct level of book they should be reading. The focus for the reading is to provide practice, develop personal response, information gathering and most importantly, reading for pleasure. Reading at home independently or to an adult on a daily basis is actively encouraged. All children will be heard regularly in order to PM Benchmark and/or to ensure they are on the correct reading level book.

The role of Parents and Carers

• Have a positive impact on their child’s reading.
• Should model the importance of reading practice to develop fluency.
• Children take home books they have read at school to re-read at home to build fluency
• Reading at home encourages a love of books, along with developing vocabulary and discussion.
• Parents should use voices, expression, discuss unfamiliar vocabulary, talk about the pictures, and predict what might happen next.
• Give positive yet informative feedback in the home reading diary at least 3 times a week

Supporting your child with reading

Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a huge impact on their reading journey by continuing their practice at home. Your child will get a reading practice book. This book has been carefully matched to your child’s current reading level. If your child is reading it with little help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading. Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise – celebrate their success! If they can’t read a word, read it to them. After they have finished, talk about the book together.

Pronunciation of sounds

Phonics in Reception Parent information session 

Helpful videos 

Resources to use at home