Phonics
Intent
‘If a child memorises 10 words, the child can only read 10 words. But if a child learns 10 sounds, the child will be able to read 350 three-sound words, 4320 four-sound words and 21650 five-sound words.’
Martin Kozloff
At Bader Primary School, we strive to ensure that all children become successful, fluent readers by the end of Key Stage One. We believe this is achievable through a combination of strong, high quality, discrete phonics teaching, combined with a whole language approach that promotes a ‘Reading for Pleasure’ culture.
High quality phonics is an important part of the word decoding skills required by children to develop higher level, whole language and comprehension skills. This approach is in alignment with our belief that; we first ‘learn to read’ and then ‘read to learn’. We have three key intentions within Phonics at Bader:
- Fluency – Children can read fluently with a good understanding of what they are reading.
- Skills – Children develop skills of segmenting and blending.
- Enthusiastic – Children are enthusiastic readers who gain a life-long love of reading.
Implementation
At Bader Primary School, we recognise reading as a key life skill, which underpins access to the rest of the curriculum. We are passionate about ensuring all children become confident and enthusiastic readers and writers.
In EYFS, children need to develop their speaking and listening skills, vocabulary development and the process of word recognition to enable them to become confident readers. Children in EYFS will be exposed to a language rich environment and will share quality stories, songs and rhymes to help them develop a love of reading. Children will become successful, fluent readers by the end of Key Stage 1 and develop a lifelong love of reading as they move through school. We believe that Phonics provides the foundations of learning to make the development into fluent reading and writing easier.
Impact
At Bader Primary, we use a rigorous assessment procedure to ensure children’s progress is closely monitored. The impact of of the curriculum is seen in:
- Consistent high standards which are in line with national and local averages, in 2022 we achieved an 83% pass rate with an 86% pupil premium pass rate.
- Engaging sessions taught by all members of staff which are regularly monitored by the Phonics Lead.
- High quality Little Wandle resources used to ensure fidelity to the scheme and a systematic approach supports all learners.
- Parents and carers are guided throughout their child’s phonics journey through videos and home learning activities to develop a love of reading at home.
- Children at risk of falling behind are quickly identified and supported through additional keep up sessions
- Reading is intertwined with phonics through an additional three reading sessions carried out on an afternoon. Each week, the children will develop decoding, prosody and comprehension skills.
- Assessments are carried out every half term, ensuring all children are suitably challenged.