Reading and phonics
At Acre View Primary School, we are committed to the delivery of excellence in the teaching of Phonics.
We aim to develop each child so that they are able to read fluently and develop a love of reading that will stay with them all their lives. We believe that children need a solid foundation in reading if they are to achieve in all areas of the curriculum.
The skills taught in school help pupils to unlock their potential, build their confidence, develop new skills, and become confident readers which has a significant impact on children’s future aspirations. The use of phonics is one of the many skills needed to be able to be a reader and writer.
We encourage a love of reading at Acre View Primary school and this includes: well stocked library, DEAR time, visits to local libraries and book shops, visiting authors and other exciting reading activities and events throughout the year.
Our reading and phonics lead is Ms S Goodwin
We use the following Phonics programmes and Reading schemes:
Read, Write Inc. Phonics scheme (RWI)
Read, Write, Inc. Phonics is the chosen scheme at Acre View Primary School.
RWI Phonics is taught on a daily basis to children in Key Stage 1 and those who are below age-related expectations in Key Stage 2. Pupils complete RWI reading and writing activities on a 1:1 or small group basis as ability levels and individual needs can vary greatly. The timings of lessons are personalised as some pupils require short breaks to self-regulate between tasks. Assessments are carried out every six weeks to ensure progression and identify/target gaps in learning.
Read, Write, Inc. has a large collection of lively story books and non-fiction books, both of which are phonetically decodable. These are closely matched to pupils' increasing knowledge of phonics and ‘tricky’ words and, as children re-read the stories, their fluency increases.
Other resources to support our pupils include:
- Picture Sound Cards; Green and Red Word Cards
- Picture Friezes; Simple and Complex Speed Sound Posters
- Phonics practice quizzes and activities
Read, Write Inc. Fresh Start
Pupils in Y5 and above who are reading below age-related expectations and have gaps in their phonic knowledge access Fresh Start lessons on a 1:1 or small group basis. Pupil progress is tracked every six to eight weeks, which ensures all pupils are working at their full potential and sustaining expected progress.
Ready, Steady Comprehension
The ‘Ready, Steady Comprehension’ scheme is followed to expose the children to a variety of diverse, challenging and thematic texts, including: fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
It provides a clear teaching sequence to reading sessions that explicitly teach reading skills and strategies in a cumulative way through evidence-based approaches. The units have been constructed so that the entire statutory curriculum for reading is covered. In EYFS and KS1, the Steps to Read texts are provided for whole class shared reading led by the teacher.