The Teaching of Reading and Phonics

Phonics teaching

The school rigorously and systematically follows the phonic programme Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised Scheme. We also supplement this with additional sessions to cover new elements in reading and writing in light of the National Curriculum. The children receive daily discrete phonic teaching at their age-related level in all classes from Reception through to Year 2. In addition to this, phonic intervention groups deliver targeted support for those children working at a lower than expected level from Reception to Year 2.

KS2 teachers use national curriculum expectations and national strategy resource to teach reading and spelling at age related levels across the whole key stage. Children in Key stage 2 who are still not secure of their phonics skills receive Letter and Sounds phonics intervention to address gaps in their phonic knowledge in small targeted intervention groups/1:1. Additional interventions are also available to support when the usual phonics support is ineffective. KS2 teachers and TAs continue to use strategies from Letters and Sounds to support reading and writing in classes. All teachers and TAs have regular training to develop their knowledge of the Letters and Sounds and its application.

Whole Class Reading

All children across both key stages receive timetabled reading sessions each week. A variety of reading schemes are available to the children for example Big Cat, Rigby Star and Oxford Reading Tree. These include a range of fully decodable texts, fiction and non-fiction as well as a wide range of genres and authors.

Southery Academy has recently collated the reading resources, and we now follow the National Book Banding Scheme, which our books fit in to. There are phonics stage linked reading books available, as well as ‘adventurous reading books’ for our first reading bands to encourage children to become aspirational readers. These books are designed to be read with an adult at home, and have some wonderful follow up activities included. At Key Stage 2, teachers use book banded books, short reads and longer chapter books to support the teaching of reading. Teachers also use examples of real texts, such as recipes, news reports and poetry to provide broad and balanced reading experiences.

For children who struggle with their reading, or have struggled with engaging with reading, we have the Project X book scheme, which ties in with the National Book Banding System. These are available in guided reading packs and individual readers to send home. Project X has been proven to be an effective additional reading resource for children who are reluctant to read or struggle with their reading.

All teachers and teaching assistants have received training on reading strategies such as effective questioning techniques, linking questions to the reading National Curriculum objectives and writing assessment comments. For individual and home reading, the children use a range of reading scheme books that link in to the school’s book banding system. Parents are encouraged to hear their children read at home every day, even in KS2, and phonics workshops have been provided to support reading at home for children in Reception/KS1. Children also have access to a well-stocked library where they can choose both fiction and non-fiction texts to take home and share.

Phonics & Reading Assessment

Phonic knowledge is tracked through EYFS and KS1, and used effectively to identify the need for phonic intervention. PIXL Reading assessments and National Curriculum objectives are used to assess reading through KS1 and KS2. In addition to phonics intervention, specific reading intervention is used across KS1 and KS2 to target low level and SEN readers.

Phonics screening takes place in the Summer term 2024 for year 1.

For those children in year 2 who have not met the standard it will be statutory to sit the phonics screening in the Summer term 2024.

If you have any further questions regarding reading and phonics, please contact the Academy and speak to Mr Parrish, English Lead or Mrs Shanks, Phonics Lead.

 

Reading Curriculum Intent

Intent

At Southery Academy, we recognise that Reading is a tool for life. As an Academy, we want our children to enjoy reading and leave as accomplished and fluent readers. If children at our school fall behind for any reason, we endeavour to ensure that they catch up quickly. We further believe that every child should read confidently and fluently before they progress to the next stage of their education.

Implementation

At our academy, we recognise that giving opportunities for children to read is of paramount importance. As a result, children read daily in all lessons. The books that they read are tracked and teachers ensure that each child has a book with the right level of challenge. We are extremely fortunate enough to have parent volunteers and volunteers from the local community, who come to school and read 1:1 with pupils. Phonics is taught from day one in Reception through the use of the Little Wandle scheme. We teach directed whole class reading lessons from Year 1 to Year 6 which have a clear teaching sequence. The lessons are based on Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval and Summarising/Sequencing (VIPERS). Children are exposed to a variety of high-quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts during sessions that are at an age appropriate level. Teacher skilfully adapt lessons so that children of all abilities are challenged to reach their highest potential.

Intervention groups are put in place to support children in KS2 who did not pass the Year 1 phonics screening test. Children are read to daily for at least 15 minutes by their class teachers, using age appropriate books that engage and inspire pupils. Parents are made aware of the expectation of reading at home for at least one hour per week. This is tracked and monitored, with an emphasis on disadvantaged children. A reward system is put in place in order to encourage children to read more. Finally, classroom environments at Southery Academy stimulate and aid children with their reading by providing a space for them to appreciate books.

Impact

Pupils at Southery Academy are enthusiastic about reading - books and classrooms reflect this. A recent pupil voice survey (conducted in April 2024) found that children are happy with how reading is presented at the academy. There are three assessment periods per year, where PiXL is used to compare reading data on a national level. Furthermore, Salford Reading Age Tests are used to measure the impact of interventions throughout the year, and teachers use this data to inform which reading level the children are performing at.

We strive for pupils to move from year to year enjoying reading and developing a love for it.