We follow the Little Wandle revised letters and sounds scheme.
As you will know from our recent phonics meeting for parents and carers, the school has introduced a new phonics programme this year which we are very excited about and are sure will help your child develop the phonetic knowledge they need to become confident, happy and fluent readers.
Please find below additional information regarding our phonics scheme – Little Wandle.
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.
There are two types of reading book that your child will bring home:
- A reading practice book: This will be at the correct phonic stage for your child. They should be able to read this fluently and independently.
- A sharing book: Your child will not be able to read this on their own. This book is for you both to read and enjoy together. This enables their passion for reading to soar and give them a love of reading that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
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.
Sharing book
To encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. The sharing book is a book they have chosen for you to enjoy together.
Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read it to or with them. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!
How do we teach phonics in school?
All children in Reception and Year 1 are taught daily phonics lessons. These sessions usually take place in the morning and follow the Little Wandle teaching program.
How are my child’s phonics skills/ reading abilities monitored in school?
In Reception and Year 1 we timetable Reading Practise Groups three times a week. Each group, of up to 6 children, spends 20 mins with a highly trained adult exploring how to decode the book in the first sessions, how to read with fluency and expression in the Prosody sessions and finally checking their understanding of the text in the Comprehension sessions.
Does my child have access to decodable reading books in school?
To meet the demands of our new phonics programme, we have invested heavily as a school in the matching Harper Collins reading books for both the main Little Wandle programme and the Rapid Catch-Up programme for ages 7+. This means all children are given books that match their phonic ability and enable them to be successful at reading, in turn developing their love of reading for pleasure. Children explore a new phonetically decodable book every week in their group reading sessions. An appropriately levelled phonics book is sent home with Reception and Year 1 children every week for them to read at home.
For children that need that extra bit of support we have invested in the Rapid Catch-Up programme which helps close the gaps for children in the spring term of year 2 and above. Any child identified as not meeting ARE in Reading is assessed on the LW Rapid Catch-Up Assessment and entered onto the programme if needed. This involves group and 1:1 sessions to close the gaps in their grapheme knowledge and support them in meeting the expected standard for their year group. Any child with a SEND, who would struggle with cognitive overload from the pace of the Rapid Catch-Up programme, is assessed on the SEND assessment and the best SEND pathway and planning is selected for them accordingly.
Programme Overview: Please find the overviews below for Reception and Year 1.
Programme Overview Reception And Year 1
Please use the links below to revisit the work covered during phonics sessions and to help your child with their phonics at home. The more practise they have, the more confident they will be.
Header: Phase 2 sounds taught in Reception Autumn 1
Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZtjFIvA_fs&t=1s
Phase 2 sounds taught in Reception Autumn 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDu3JAjf-U0&t=2s
Phase 3 sounds taught in Reception Spring 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvOuc7cWXxc&t=1s
How do we teach blending?
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL5YUCPyC5I&t=2s
How we teach tricky words:
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTC0PbtmeUA
Videos and resources to support Year 1 Phonics Learning
How do we teach phase 5?
Link: https://vimeo.com/743021918
A quick guide to Alien words!
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtoJZMVgy1I
Other documents to support your child’s learning at home:
Reception- Pronunciation Guides
Link: Pronunciation Guide Autumn 1
Link: Pronunciation Guide Autumn 2
Link: Pronunciation Guide Spring 1
Year 1:
Link: Year 1 Sounds
Link: Capital Letter Formations
Please visit the following webpage for full details on which tricky words your child will be learning in school and how we teach them.
https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/#tabnametabHowWeTeach
Follow this link for more information: https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
Download the below Parent Support Slides - presented by our Phonics Leader, Miss Hill, at our Parent Phonics Training sessions in the first week of Autumn second half term 2023.