Phonics at Burton Road Primary School

At Burton Road Primary School we teach children to read with fidelity to the Read Write Inc Phonics Program.  We aim to teach all our children to decode confidently so that they are able to comprehend what they are reading and develop a life -long love for reading.

We use the Read Write Inc Scheme rigorously to teach children new sounds and words and the strategy Special Friends- Fred Talk – Read the Word- to decode words.

All our staff delivering the program are highly trained in the Read Write Inc Program.

Children are taught from Reception in small homogenous groups to ensure they are taught at their level. Inclusive management signals and seating ‘spotlight focus children’(children who are making slower progress) in the teacher’s direct line of vision ensures children are all engaged and that we can ensure 100% participation in every part of the lesson.

Information for parents and carers is shared and can be found on the link below

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/units/56

The Program

Progressing within Foundation Stage 2 the teaching sequence follows daily lessons to:

Review – The start of the session reviews previously taught sounds and words.

Teach- Children are taught a new sound following the same sequence daily.

Practice- Children have the opportunity to practise reading the sounds in words including longer words.

Apply- Reading phonically decodable books matched to the groups point and alien words including sounds previously taught.

Staff Training

All staff delivering Read Write Inc Phonics have been trained in RWI phonics.  The Reading Leader coaches staff and has put in place a cycle of CPD, supporting and coaching staff regularly in lessons and running practice sessions to upskill the team. Regular training and outside specialist support is in place to ensure the programme is used to make the most impact.   Read Write Inc Development days provide Burton Road Primary with expert training and coaching within lessons.

In addition, staff have access to the RWI portal to access training videos for the specific areas of phonics they are delivering.

Assessment

Children are assessed during the lessons by their teacher to ensure they are keeping on track with expected progress.  If a child needs further support to keep up, the Reading Leader puts 1:1 tutoring into place.  All children in phonics groups are assessed half termly to ensure they are in the right homogenous groups and making the expected progress. Children in Y5 and Y6 who may need extra support are assessed using Fresh Start Reading and grouped accordingly.

Children with stalled progress Catch up quickly.

The Reading Leader identifies children who may have stalled progress and assesses sooner than half termly.  One-to-One tuition at each child’s challenge point is implemented to accelerate progress. In addition:

Children begin the day with a virtual classroom session.

The daily phonics lesson is taught with these children highlighted as ‘spotlight children’ in the direct line of vision of the group teacher.

In the afternoon, Fast Track tutoring is delivered One- One to include review of reading taught sounds in words.

A daily speed sounds lesson is taught in the afternoon.

Links with Home

Children in the Foundation stage have a story rich diet with stories being read to them alongside provision for storytelling and language acquisition. In Foundation Stage 2, wordless books are sent home building to sounds books which are carefully matched to the sounds taught in the phonics daily sessions. Virtual links matched to the sounds taught are also sent via dojos so children can practise oral blending at home.

As children progress to Ditty books, they will take home a decodable sheet matched carefully to the sounds taught. As they move through the RWI phonics program children then start taking home the phonics books read in the session along with the book bag books for consolidation from red ditty level

In KS1, children take home their phonics book they have been practising during the week, matched to their phonics group.  Alongside this they also take home the book bag book matched to the phonics book read during the week.  These books are both changed weekly.

Ruth Miskin Training & Support Feedback

Burton Road

F = Fidelity to fluency

The school’s phonics programme matches or exceeds the expectations of the national curriculum and the early learning goals. The school has clear expectations of pupils’ phonics progress term-by-term, from Reception to Year 2.

R = Reception – make a strong start

Reading, including the teaching of systematic, synthetic phonics, is taught from the beginning of Reception.

E = Expertise – the school has a strong team to teach phonics and early reading

The school has developed sufficient expertise in the teaching of phonics and

reading.

D = Decodable books carefully matched to children’s phonic knowledge

The sequence of reading books shows a cumulative progression in phonics knowledge that is matched closely to the school’s phonics programme. Teachers give pupils sufficient practice in reading and re-reading books that match the grapheme-phoneme correspondences they know, both at school and at home.

S = Stories

Stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction are chosen for reading to develop pupils’ vocabulary, language comprehension and love of reading. Pupils are familiar with and enjoy listening to a wide range of stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction.

P = Progress of lowest 20%

The ongoing assessment of pupils’ phonics progress is sufficiently frequent and detailed to identify any pupil who is falling behind the programme’s pace. If they do fall behind, targeted support is given immediately.

L = Leaders ensure every child reads in their school

The school is determined that every pupil will learn to read, regardless of their background, needs or abilities. All pupils, including the weakest readers, make sufficient progress to meet or exceed age-related expectations.