What does Phonics and Early Reading look like?

RWInc daily phonics lessons

We teach with fidelity to the Read, Write Inc. (RWI) programme in a whole school approach to the teaching of phonics. This is a systematic way of teaching synthetic phonics and is a highly successful way of ensuring that children learn to read and write quickly and confidently. From Nursery, children are introduced to our programme for phonics: ‘Read Write Inc’. They are taught to read letters, or groups of letters, by saying the sound they represent and then blend these sounds to form words. Phonics lessons are taught in small groups to ensure that learning is targeted to children’s individual needs. All staff are fully trained and children may be taught in mixed year groups. During daily RWInc , lessons, children are introduced to a new sound daily and practise reading and spelling words. Each RWI lesson is split into three parts: 

1. A speed sound session to learn to read and write Set 1, 2 and 3 sounds
2. Reading a story, practising decoding and comprehension skills
3. Writing task linked closely to the book read that week. These tasks develop vocabulary, spelling, sentence structure and punctuation

(See more information on RWInc under the “our approach” tab)

English curriculum

We have developed an English curriculum using a book-based approach, from Nursery onwards, children are exposed to a wide range of texts that are used to support their understanding of literature and develop their comprehension skills. At the beginning of every English lesson, children are immersed in their focus text through a hook and exploratory point which is aimed at getting children engaged in the text throughout the unit. We choose books to cover a range of genres from a range of diverse authors; the texts we choose allow our children to explore books which are relevant to our school community, include a variety of cultures, ethnicities and faiths through stories and allow our children to see the world from a different perspective.

Through this approach, the children are exposed to high quality texts which aim to stimulate and aid their vocabulary, comprehension skills and understanding of the English language. 

Accelerated reader

When children have completed the RWInc programme of study, they progress onto accessing accelerated reader. Children access a wide range of age-appropriate ebooks on accelerated reader using school devices. Here they are able to read books of their choice and complete reading quizzes based on what they have read and understood. Each term, children complete a star reading assessment to determine their level and monitor progress as well as provide them with a ZPD code which then allows them to select a book from the library reflecting their level of fluency, comprehension and vocabulary.

Library visits

Each class has a weekly library slot where they are able to select a book of choice to take home. During the library visit, children are able to enjoy stories with friends and staff and this supports their enjoyment of reading, making the most of the rich variety of texts on offer. During this time the reading advocate might join and share a story with the children using a story sack.

The library is also open for lunch time visits, for children to use the quiet space, read with friends or change books.

Talk through stories and vocabulary time

From reception – year 2, children are exposed to a wide range of picture books. These sessions happen for 25 minutes daily, during these sessions’ children will get to know the story well and their vocabulary is deepened and extended. Words are chosen that children are unlikely to hear in everyday conversation but are likely to come across in stories, this supports their vocabulary and understanding of each word so that they can use it in their everyday lives. Talk through stories supports our children’s enjoyment and understanding of a range of stories, developing their comprehension skills in an enjoyable way.

Reading advocate

At Colham Manor, we are lucky to have a reading advocate who supports all things reading! Our reading advocate helps to organise reading events such as world book day, author events and organising parents to come in as readers. She runs the library at lunchtimes and is always welcoming to children coming in during sessions, she has also made this space extremely welcoming for the children. Our reading advocate utilises her time wisely to support children with their individual reading needs, this includes: 1:1 reading with story sacks to engage children, tailored support with children in years 2 – 6 to support their reading stamina and fluency and working with groups of children. 

Our reading advocate has strong links with our local community library which she has worked closely with to enrol as many of our pupils as possible. If you would like support with this, please contact the office and request to speak with the reading advocate.

1:1 reading

Children have the opportunity to read books that match their level throughout the week, this allows children to develop fluency when reading aloud. Adults use questioning and discussion to engage children with their understanding and enjoyment of books. Adults use this opportunity to formatively assess pupils, identify their achievements and those in need of additional support.

Whole class reading sessions

As your child develops from the systematic synthetic phonics program (RWInc) they will take part in whole class reading sessions. During whole class reading sessions, children have the opportunity to develop reading strategies and to discuss texts in detail. Reading helps to develop vocabulary, comprehension and information processing skills (see English curriculum page for more information).

Extra support for reading

We have established systems to support some children with improving their reading over time.