Phonics

"Phonics is fun because it helps me learn lots of sounds"

At Aspin Park Academy we use the Read Write Inc. (RWI) programme to get children off to a flying start with their reading. Phonics is the ability to convert a letter or a group of letters into sounds that are then blended into a word. Children learn to read accurately and then fluently so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension. At the start of EYFS children learn a simple alphabetic code followed by a more complex code in Year One.

Implementation

We start the systematic teaching of phonics at the very start of EYFS. The children learn to recognise the shape of letters and the sound they make. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children learn to spell. We teach the children simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters.

Children are taught to:

Say the pure sounds ('mmm' not 'muh', 'sss' not 'suh' etc) to decode letter/sound correspondences quickly and effortlessly and use their phonic knowledge and skills to see a letter, or a group of letters and say the corresponding sound. Here is a link provided by Read, Write Inc. to hear the pure sounds.

Say words by sounding then blending (Fred talk) e.g., m-a-t = mat, sh-o-p = shop. Children learn to read words by saying the sounds in a word then blending them together to say the whole word.
Read red words on sight such as ‘come,’ ‘was,’ ‘said’ and ‘you’. These are words where a part(s) of the word is trying to trick the children.
Understand what they read (comprehension).
Read aloud with fluency and expression (a storyteller voice).
Spell quickly and easily by segmenting the sounds in words. Children use ‘Fred fingers’ to say each of the sounds they can hear in a word before they attempt to write it.

Develop pencil control, form letters correctly and acquire good handwriting.

All reading books progress cumulatively, matched to the sounds children are learning and already know. This is so that, early on, they experience success and quickly begin to see themselves as readers. Parents/carers are encouraged to practise reading to their child for at least 10 minutes every day at home.

"Phonics helps me to learn fun words"

Phonics is taught daily to all children in EYFS and Year One. For those in Year Two and KS2 who have not passed the Phonics Screening Check or who have not yet progressed through the RWI programme, they will continue to attend phonics lessons and/or have intervention.

Progress with phonics and the Year One Phonics Screening Check

Each half term the children following the RWI programme are assessed and grouped accordingly to ensure they are always being taught at the correct level to provide challenge. Children who are not making the expected level of progress in phonics receive intervention using either the fast track tutoring programme for children in EYFS to Year Four or the fresh start intervention programme for children in Year Five and Year Six. In the Summer term, the Government requires all Year One children to complete a national Phonics Screening Check. The children who do not achieve the pass mark will continue to be supported with phonics in Year Two to give them the best chance of achieving a pass when they retake the screening check in Year Two.