Phonics

Phonics and Early Reading is the first step in the journey for your child learning to read and write. We begin teaching of Phonics in EYFS through the Read, Write Inc. Phonics Scheme by teaching children to recognise and write a particular sound and developing this into blending sounds together in words, ultimately teaching your child to read. This is continued into Year 1 and Year 2 as children are assessed against their phonics knowledge at the end of Year 1. There is additional help for parents on the parents tab of the Ruth Miskin Website, which company behind Read Write Inc.

Ruth Miskin Parents Tab

To support your child with learning phonics your child is given a Speed Sound Book to take home. They have a copy of all the sounds and the sound is dated when your child has been taught it. Sounds are taught daily so we ask that these books are returned to school every day. If you can support your child by practicing them at home, it will help them. These Speed Sound Books also have a page with the sound formation on it, you may wish to practice how to write the sound as well, but correct letter formation develops more slowly and will take longer to secure.

The links below are made by Read, Write Inc and are there to support your child with their sounds. These can be used alongside the Speed Sound Books with your child to help them at home. 

• What is Read, Write, Inc Phonics?

• How to say the sounds

• Reading the stretchy sounds with your child

• Reading the bouncy sounds with your child

• Reading the digraphs with your child

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

At the end of Year 1, all children take a Phonic Screening check. This is a check done in school to look at the phonics your child knows and their ability to accurately apply them in words. There is information from the DfE that can be found below in addition to a video from RWI to help you find out more. There is also a useful link to take you to an online screening check practice. 

• phonics_check_leaflet_2013_.pdf

• Phonic Screening

• Phonic Check Free Practice

Reading

Knowing the sounds and being able to apply them to words is only half of the journey for your child as phonics is the foundation for your child learning to read as well. Reading is a big part of life and to support your child in their fluency and comprehension we ask children to read each night with you. Reading at home with your child is very important and should be enjoyable!

In school there are two types of books that a child in EYFS and KS1 will bring home,  these are ‘Reading for Pleasure Books’ which are books that you can share with your child. These will not necessarily have just sounds that your child knows, but can be changed when they have been shared. Your child will also bring home two Read, Write Inc Books at the end of each week which are closely matched to the sounds your child is learning in school. There is a small, black and white paper book which is the same as the one your child has been reading in school that week, along side that there will be a Book Bag Book which is an additional book linked to the paper book your child has been reading. The repeated reading of these two books is key for your child to develop their fluency and speed of reading which will support them in their comprehension development.

More information about it's importance can be found below but we do have some incentives in school to help support.  Children are always rewarded with plenty of Dojo points that they can save up to spend in the Dojo Shop!

• Why read to your child?

• Things to think about when reading with your child

In addition to word reading, questioning your child’s understanding of the text would support them greatly in their comprehension skills as this displays that they have understood what they have read.

Spelling and Handwriting

Learning how to form letters is a key part of the Read, Write Inc. Phonics Scheme as good letter formation is the starting point for your child to learn to write, this is something that is worked on from EYFS right through the school, with the aim being that your child learns to join by the end of Year 3. In addition, learning the sounds supports your child learning how to spell, again targeting the sounds they are learning. In KS1 and KS2 we also use Spelling Shed to supplement the teaching of spelling providing online games to reinforce your child’s spelling learning.