Phonics and Reading

Phonics

We teach phonics using the 'Read, Write Inc.' scheme. The school is supported by the team at Ruth Miskin through training and development support to monitor the progress and attainment of children. You can find out more about 'Read, Write Inc.' here.

Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are taught phonics daily, working in groups based on the sounds that they know and what sounds they need to learn next. Children are assessed half-termly so that we closely track their progress and ensure they are working within the correct group.

Where children require additional support with their phonics learning, we use the 'Read, Write Inc.' scheme's intervention programme.

Children are sent home with books which match the sounds that they are learning. This enables them to consolidate the learning that they have completed in school. We ask that parents read with their child 5 times a week in order to support with this.

CUSP reading

As children progress through the school, we follow the CUSP Reading Curriculum to develop deep comprehension skills. In Key Stage 1, these lessons take place twice a week; in Key Stage 2, they are daily.

Through carefully selected high-quality texts, pupils learn to retrieve information, make inferences, explore vocabulary and develop a critical understanding of what they read. We aim to expose children to a wide range of authors, genres and themes, enabling them to broaden their vocabulary, cultural understanding and love of literature. We have invested in class sets of every book to demonstrate the value of reading and books.

Our intent is for every child to leave our school as a confident, capable reader, equipped with the skills to access the wider curriculum, communicate effectively and reach their full potential.

"It’s like you disappear into the book." Year 5 child.

"Its better having our own books to read. I enjoy it being challenging as we know more about the book." Year 6 child.

"The teachers work on the visualiser and then we work in our books." Year 3 child.

Free reading

When children have completed the 'Read, Write Inc.' programme, typically at the end of Year 2, they become free readers. This means that they are able to choose their own reading books. We use the Accelerated Reader programme to monitor children's progress in reading and ensure that they are reading books of an appropriate difficulty.

When children finish reading a book in the Accelerated Reader programme, they will complete a quiz. The following link can be used to access our homepage for quizzes: Renaissance Learning

How parents can support reading at home

Parents' support in reading with children at home is crucial to the process of developing fluent readers with a love of reading.

Here are some top tips for reading with your child at home:

- Listen to your child read their school reading book regularly at home (ideally daily, or at least 4-5 times per week). Keep it positive and give lots of praise.

- Encourage children to read texts more than once. Ideally children should read ‘Read, Write, Inc.’ books three times to support their comprehension and fluency.

- Try to read to your child regularly at home (even when they have learnt the skills of being able to read for themselves). This could be the book your child has selected for themselves from school, or other texts that you already have at home or from the library.

- Talk to your child about the books that you share together. Point out new vocabulary and discuss the meaning of unfamiliar words. Discuss the stories that you share to help aid understanding of the text.

- Create a calm and positive environment for reading – snuggle up together and enjoy! This will help children to view reading positively.

Useful links for parents

Read Write Inc Phonics: a guide for parents

FREE eBook library for children 3-11 year olds

Accelerated Reader - Staplegrove Church School Login Page