Phonics

Phonics Curriculum Statement

Intent

At Woodford Valley it is our intention for all children to have consistent high quality teaching of phonics which enables them to become successful fluent readers and confident writers. We value reading and spelling as key life skills and as such, make phonics a high priority. We want every child to learn to decode quickly and accurately so that reading becomes effortless.  Alongside this, they will learn to spell Tricky words and to apply spelling rules. We understand how important it is for children to be able to apply their phonic skills in all curriculum areas.

Implementation

At Woodford Valley, we follow Lesley Clarke’s Letters and Sounds Phonics programme with fidelity in Reception and Year 1 classes. Year 2 use Phase 6 from the same scheme, examining alternative graphemes making the same sound. This is taught discretely on a daily basis using the recommended four part phonics structure. The programme follows a multi-sensory approach with built in interventions to help children ‘keep up’ rather than catch up. Regular assessments ensure that specific gaps are quickly identified and targeted.

The scheme resources, such as flashcards, word mats, mnemonics and songs are used and displayed across the year groups to support all children in their learning. All teaching and support staff receive full training in order to roll out the programme as effectively as possible.

We are particularly mindful of our lowest 20%, whom we monitor closely and provide additional resources for use at school and home. These children receive regular interventions, either 1:1 or in small groups, to help them practise and consolidate their phonic knowledge.

Reading books are fully decodable and are matched precisely to the phonic phase and phonemes taught that week.

Impact

Our children will make progress through the different phases of phonics in line with year Group expectations as well as from their own individual starting points. They will become confident and resilient in tackling unfamiliar words by applying learnt knowledge and skills to segment, blend, read and spell words. Our children will have an increased recognition of tricky words and high frequency words when reading and apply these when writing. They will develop the confidence and motivation to read and spell, which will have a positive impact on the progress they make in all areas of the curriculum.

More information about the content of this programme can be found here: Lesley Clarke Information for Parents

Useful links:

Phonics Policy

Articulation of phonemes

Presentation to Parents February 2023