Phonics and Reading at Lythe School

Our Subject Leader for Phonics and Reading is Mrs Hutton

The new National Curriculum ensures that all children are taught phonics systematically and Lythe School uses the Read Write Inc. programme of study to introduce sounds and letter formation. This starts by teaching children just one way of reading and spelling the English sounds that make up words; they then move on to reading books that are carefully matched to the spelling sounds that they have just been taught. When children are confident with this, they then learn more ways to spell the different sounds. Children learn a good handwriting style and are encouraged to use their skills to have a go at spelling longer words. There are some great videos for parents on the Read Write Inc. website which describe ways of helping your child at home.

All children undertake the national phonics screening check in Year 1. The purpose of this is to check whether pupils have learned phonic skills as above to an appropriate standard, and to identify any children who need extra help to improve their phonics skills. Read Write Inc. materials are used in Year 2 to help children make accelerated progress where needed.

Once children have completed the Read Write Inc programme they move into Guided Reading in their class – this may be a whole-class or small group approach. Teaching focuses on developing really sound phonic decoding and fluency as an essential basis for good comprehension and teachers ensure that the children have good “reading mileage” – this means that they spend as long as possible each day actively reading words, both in Reading lessons and across the curriculum. Knowledge of vocabulary and grammar are used to support both reading and writing.

Children select reading books to help them find books which will help them develop their reading skills. They are also encouraged to take any book from the library shelves to enjoy – we do not restrict choices as being “too hard” or “too easy,” but encourage children to use their developing skills to tackle these, and families to share and enjoy these books with their children.