Intent

At Sneyd Academy Primary, our goal for Phonics instruction is to ensure that every child becomes a fluent, confident reader who can read and understand texts appropriate to their age and developmental stage. We aim to establish a strong foundation in Phonics skills that will enable our pupils to become independent readers who enjoy and engage with a wide range of literature throughout their lives.

The Curriculum

In order to achieve our intent, we will implement a systematic and structured Phonics program that is carefully designed to meet the needs of all pupils. We will use the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds program as a basis for our Phonics teaching, ensuring that children are taught to read and write using phonically decodable texts. We will use a variety of teaching approaches and resources including high-quality phonics books, interactive whiteboards, and other digital resources to support learning.

Teachers will use assessment tools to identify the Phonics skills that children have acquired, and to target their instruction accordingly. We will ensure that teachers have appropriate CPD to develop their knowledge and understanding of Phonics instruction, and to help them to use assessment effectively to identify gaps in learning and provide targeted interventions.

Our approach to Phonics will be set within a rich reading environment that fosters a love of reading and provides opportunities for children to apply their Phonics knowledge and skills in context. We will ensure that children have access to high-quality texts, both fiction and non-fiction, that are matched to their reading level, and that they receive regular opportunities to read for pleasure.

EYFS

In the Nursery phonics is taught daily using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds revised Foundation for Phonics guidance. The focus is on daily oral blending and language development through high quality stories and rhyme. We ensure the full coverage of the seven aspects of phonics.

In Reception children follow the progression within Little Wandle revised programme. Phonics is taught twice daily, including a review session each Friday. By the end of Reception, the children will have been taught phase 4.

KS1

All Year 1 children follow the progression within the Little Wandle revised programme. There are two taught phonics session per day, and the end of year expectation is that the children are secure phase 5.

Year 2 children who have not achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 statutory Phonics Check will continue to follow the Little Wandle programme.

KS2

Any children who are not secure in their phonics learning will continue to be taught in line with Little Wandle Revised Programme

Keep up/ catch up

Alongside continuous daily assessment the children are formally assessed every six weeks using the Little Wandle assessment programme. Heatmaps are used to identify gaps in learning and targeted support is given immediately. Children take part in additional daily practise sessions to ensure that they can recognise sounds and blend with confidence and accuracy.

Any new arrivals to the school are immediately assessed using the placement assessment and recommended support is given.

Pupil Voice

“I love phonics and I love reading, when I came to this school I could not read at all”

Rayan, Year 3

“Phonics helps me to read, I can blend in my head”

Anastasia, Year 1

Reading Practice Sessions 

All children accessing the Little Wandle programme apply their phonic knowledge by using a fully matched decodable book from the Collins Big Cat range.

The children participate in three 15-minute reading sessions each week.

Session 1. Decoding

Session 2. Prosody

Session 3. Comprehension

The reading book is then sent home for deliberate practise and consolidation.

The reading sessions focus primarily on developing fluency and improving the child’s understanding of what they have read. There are 5 phases of books for the children to follow and these are linked directly to their own learning journey, ensuring only sounds that have been taught are evident in the books.