George Grenville
Academy
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Phonics
Intent
At George Grenville Academy, our intent is to ensure that every child develops the essential early reading skills needed to become a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader. We use the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised systematic synthetic phonics programme to provide a consistent, structured approach to teaching phonics from the beginning of Reception. Through carefully sequenced teaching, children learn to recognise grapheme–phoneme correspondences, blend sounds to read words and segment words to support spelling. We aim to ensure that all children, regardless of their starting points or individual needs, develop the strong foundations in reading necessary to access the wider curriculum and enjoy a lifelong love of reading.
Implementation
We implement Little Wandle through daily, highly structured phonics lessons that follow a carefully planned progression of sounds, words and skills. Children are taught to pronounce phonemes accurately, blend to read and segment to spell, with regular opportunities to revisit and consolidate prior learning. Reading practice sessions use appropriately matched books that contain the phonics correspondences children have been taught, enabling them to develop accuracy, fluency and comprehension. Children who need additional support are identified through regular assessment and receive targeted keep-up sessions to help them secure their learning. Staff use consistent terminology, routines and teaching approaches, supported by ongoing professional development, to ensure that phonics teaching is effective and that every child is supported to make progress.
Phonics is taught as a whole class but smaller groups might also have extra lessons for support
Impact
Through the consistent implementation of Little Wandle, children develop the knowledge and skills needed to read words accurately, fluently and with increasing confidence. Regular assessment enables staff to identify gaps in learning, respond promptly to individual needs and monitor progress over time. Children become increasingly able to apply their phonics knowledge when reading unfamiliar words and developing their spelling skills. As their fluency improves, they are better able to focus on understanding, discussing and enjoying what they read. Our ultimate aim is for all children to leave Key Stage 1 as confident, fluent readers who can access the wider curriculum successfully and are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
Supporting your child at home
Click on the link to access some games to support your child with their phonics.
Click on links to access high frequency word lists.
Reading At Home
To start with, children will be given a phonics book which matches their exact understanding of the phonics code. Children will also have access to a self-chosen library book that they are encouraged to share with their parents and carers. The more children practise reading each day, the better readers they will eventually become so we really encourage our children to read each evening. For every 5 reads the children complete, they receive a sticker and small prize. When they have mastered phonics, they will move onto the Big Cat Collins reading scheme.
Please click on the links below for our recommended reads:
Or why not visit the Book Trust who provide monthly recommended updates?
Progression Map
Please click here to view our progression map for Phonics