Brookvale Primary School

in EYFS and Y1, phonics and early reading are taught through the

"Little wandle letters and sounds revised" ssp 

https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/

What is phonics?

Phonics is making connections between the sounds of our spoken words and the letters that are used to write them down.

Phonics teaching is a vital part of English and provides the foundations of reading and writing. At Brookvale Primary School, we aim to teach children fluent word reading skills and provide a secure foundation in spelling from the earliest opportunity.

Phonics teaching involves showing children the sounds of letters – not the letter names – and how these sounds can be blended together to make words. For example, the word “pot” is a decodable word because the letter sounds can be blended together: p-o-t = pot

However, not all words are decodable and the children will be taught these as “Tricky Words” and have to be able to read them on sight. For example, the word “was” cannot be blended together as the “a” letter makes an “o” sound in the word.

Phonics at Brookvale

At Brookvale Primary School  we use a scheme called “Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised”. This is organised into six “phases” which children progress through as their phonics and reading ability improves.

Children in Nursery will explore the first phase, "Foundations for Phonics" which consists of 2 objectives - "Tuning Into Sounds" and "Foundations for a Love of Reading". 

Phases 2, 3 and 4 will be covered in Reception and Phase 5 is taught throughout Year 1. 

Children receive phonics lessons every day - this is non negotiable!. Lessons are 20 - 30  minutes long and delivered by teachers and teaching assistants who are all trained in delivering the phonics and early reading program. Lessons are fast paced with a low "cognitive load" allowing the children to focus completely on the new sounds and words being taught. 

Phonics is assessed during each lesson and every 6 weeks to ensure children are making progress - those children with gaps will receive additional support through the scheme's "Keep Up" program. Those children in years 2, 3 and 4 who did not achieve the threshold in the Y1 phonics screening check or who have gaps in their phonics/reading skills will receive Little Wandle's dedicated intervention program, "Rapid Catch Up 7+"

"what do children in EYFS and Ks1 think about phonics and early reading?" here's our pupil voice responses!