Phonics and Early Reading
Following the DfE's publication of validated systematic synthetic phonics programmes, Chelford CE Primary School has implemented the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revise programme as a way of structuring the progression of pupils' learning in phonics and early reading.
As part of the programme, all staff have received extensive training in the delivery of phonics using the Little Wandle approach and the school has invested heavily in resourcing lessons and providing a fully-decodable reading scheme to support pupils' early reading.
Phonics lessons take part on a daily basis in Reception and Year 1 and are led by our skilled and experienced early years practitioners. In addition, children also enjoy sharing books in small groups during reading sessions. These sessions take place three times each week; children share the same book on each occasion which provides opportunities to explore a range of reading skills during each session.
The following documents outline our approach to the teaching and learning of phonics and early reading:
Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement
phonics and early reading intent implementation and impact.pdf
Reception - Weekly Unit Plans
reception weekly planning phonics.pdf
Year 1 - Weekly Unit Plans
Reading Sessions
As part of the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programme, children aim to practice reading three times each week. These reading sessions are specifically aimed at developing decoding, prosody and comprehension skills as outlined below.
Session 1: To begin, session 1 involves children reading aloud the text, working on their decoding and blending skills. This helps to build pupils' fluency. Children will also encounter 'tricky' words that will have been introduced in earlier phonics lessons, thus providing the opportunity to recap and apply their learning when reading aloud. Staff pay close attention to pupils' narration and provide intervention to deal with any misconception and provide encouragement and support for pupils.
Session 2: During session 2, children work on developing their prosody. Staff model the use of expression and intonation, which enables the reader to show their comprehension of the text. Children enjoy experimenting with different voices and varying the tone of their diction to add meaning to their reading.
Session 3: In the final session of the week, children take the opportunity to discuss the text in greater detail with the member of staff. They answer direct and open questions, make further predictions and reflect back on the text in order to extract increased meaning. Developing these critical skills early in a child's reading journey enables them to embed good habits so that they continue to consider the meaning of the texts with which they engage. Reading for meaning is a key part of our strategy for developing confident and competent readers as children move through school.