Phonics and Early Reading
Intent
Phonics (reading and spelling)
At Quarry Mount Primary School, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Floppy’s Phonics, a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Reception and follow the Floppy’s Phonics progression which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.
As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At Quarry Mount Primary School, we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in 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.
Comprehension
At Quarry Mount Primary School, we value reading as a crucial life skill. By the time children move into Key Stage 2, they read confidently for meaning and regularly enjoy reading for pleasure. Our readers are equipped with the tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary.
Because we believe teaching every child to read is so important, we have a Reading Leader who drives the early reading programme in our school. They monitor and support our staff, so everyone teaches with fidelity to the Floppy’s Phonics programme.
Implementation
Daily phonics lessons in Reception and Year 1 (Year 2 in Autumn term)
We teach phonics for 45 minutes a day. In Reception, we build from 10-minute lessons, with additional daily oral blending games, to the full-length lesson as quickly as possible. Each Friday, we review the week’s teaching to help children become fluent readers with a focus on spelling.
Children make a strong start in Reception: teaching begins in Week 3 of the Autumn term. · We follow Floppy’s Phonics expectations of progress:
- Children in Reception are taught to read and spell words using Level 1, 2 and 3 GPCs, and words with adjacent consonants (Level 4) with fluency and accuracy.
- Children in Year 1 review Levels 3 and 4 and are taught to read and spell words using Level 5 GPCs with fluency and accuracy.
Keep-up sessions ensure every child learns to read
- Any child who needs additional practice has regular ‘Keep-up’ support, taught by a fully trained adult. ‘Keep-up’ sessions match the structure of class teaching, and use the same procedures, resources and mantras, but in smaller steps with more repetition, so that every child secures their learning.
- We timetable daily phonics lessons for any child in Year 2 or LKS2 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 Floppy’s Phonics assessments to identify the gaps in their phonic knowledge and teach to these at pace.
- If any child in KS2 has gaps in their phonic knowledge when reading or writing, we plan phonics ‘catch-up’ sessions to address specific reading/writing gaps.
Teaching reading: Reading practice sessions in Reception and KS1
·We teach children to read through 1:1 reading and small group sessions.
These:
- are taught by a fully trained adult
- use books matched to the children’s secure phonic knowledge
- are monitored by the class teacher
The reading practice sessions have been designed to focus on three key reading skills:
- decoding
- prosody: teaching children to read with understanding and expression
- comprehension: teaching children to understand the text.
Ensuring consistency and pace of progress
- Every teacher in our school has been trained to teach reading, so we have the same expectations of progress. We all use the same language, routines and resources to teach children to read so that we lower children’s cognitive load.
- The Reading Leader and SLT regularly monitor and observe teaching; they use the summative data to identify children who need additional support and gaps in learning.
Ensuring reading for pleasure
We value reading for pleasure highly and work hard as a school to grow our Reading for Pleasure pedagogy.
- ‘Stop Drop and Read’ at 3pm every day. We choose books carefully as we want children to experience a wide range of books, including books that reflect the children at Quarry Mount Primary School and our local community as well as books that open windows into other worlds and cultures.
- Every classroom has an inviting book corner that encourages a love for reading. We curate these books and talk about them to entice children to read a wide range of books.
- In Reception, children have access to the reading corner every day in their free flow time and the books are continually refreshed.
- Children in Reception and KS1 have a home reading record. The parent/carer records comments to share with the adults in school and the adults will write in this on a regular basis to ensure communication between home and school.
- The school library is made available for classes to use.
- Children across the school have regular opportunities to engage with a wide range of Reading for Pleasure events (book fairs, author visits and workshops, World Book Day, National Storytelling week, Harry Potter Night, Bedtime stories). We invite parents and carers into to school to share with some of these events.
Impact
Assessment
Assessment is used to monitor progress and to identify any child needing additional support as soon as they need it.
Assessment for learning is used:
- daily within class to identify children needing ‘Keep-up’ support
- weekly in the Review lesson to assess gaps, address these immediately and secure fluency of GPCs, words and spellings
Summative assessment is used:
- every half term to assess progress, to identify gaps in learning that need to be addressed, to identify any children needing additional support and to plan the ‘Keep-up’ support that they need.
- by SLT and scrutinised through assessment trackers, to narrow attainment gaps between different groups of children and so that any additional support for teachers can be put into place.
Statutory assessment
- Children in Year 1 sit the Phonics Screening Check. Any child not passing the check re-sits it in Year 2.
Working in Partnership with Parents
At Quarry Mount Primary School, we want to encourage every child to read with a grown up at home every night. Children who read with their families grow in confidence much more quickly and develop a love of reading that can last a lifetime.
We hold a meeting for Reception class parents early in the autumn term in order to explain our reading schemes, procedures and expectations.
Hints for listening to your child read
- When reading together at home try to make the time relaxed, enjoyable and positive.
- Vary it. Read together, read to your child and take turns or have them read to you.
- Before reading, talk about the cover, the title and the pictures, and discuss what the book may be about.
- During reading, discuss what has been read up to that point and predict what might happen next.