Policy: Phonics and Early Reading Policy 2024
Subject Ambassador: Mr. C. Storey
Link Academy Councillor: Mrs. K. Norman
Statement of Intent (Phonics):
Our Vision:
A place where our children, adults and community can grow and thrive rooted in Kindness, Fellowship and Confidence.
At Stanhope Barrington C of E Primary School we use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. The programme is a systematic, synthetic approach to teaching phonics, with clear expectations that are laid out term by term from reception to year 2. Integrated into the programme are high quality reading books published by Harper Collins that match to each grapheme the children learn, this ensures that children apply their phonetic knowledge in context through writing and the use of high-quality reading texts. Embedded into the programme are 6-weekly assessment tasks, which allow teachers to identify any children that may need extra support. Phonics is taught twice a day in Years 1 and 2 (moving to spelling in Year 2 for those that have secured the phonetic code), and once a day within EYFS. Children work in fluid groups on a phase/grapheme that is matched to their current need. All our phonics teachers and volunteer readers have received intense training and are experts at delivering high quality phonics sessions. Within Nursery, children work on Phase 1 of Letters and Sounds, where the focus is centred upon developing children’s speaking and listening skills, laying the foundations for the phonic works they will undertake as they begin phase 2. The programme also caters for children in Key Stage 2, ensuring they are provided with intensive interventions that seek to accelerate progress.
Reading at Home
Reading at home is a very rewarding experience for both children and adults and is a great opportunity to spend valuable time together resulting in an improved sense of wellbeing and confidence. To ensure all of our children have this crucial opportunity, a ‘Sharing Book’ is sent home weekly in EYFS and Key Stage 1. The book is selected by the pupil from the school library then taken home to be enjoyed with family and friends. The ‘Sharing Book’ accompanies their own ‘Reading Book’ which are also changed weekly. At Stanhope Barrington we instil a love of reading in each child which they will carry with them for a lifetime.
Phonics and Reading Scheme
We use the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised scheme in EYSF and KS1.
You can find assistance to support your child by accessing the following link: Letters and Sounds – Support for Parents
Phonics Stay & Play – Now the children have settled into life in Reception we decided to invite the parents/carers into the EYFS Unit for them to see how we deliver Phonics. The children taught the attendees how to say the phonemes correctly before completing a number of activities around the unit. We had a fantastic morning, thank you to all the adults that attended.
CVC Words – Check us out! – The children have been showing excellent phonics knowledge using segmenting skills to write CVC words independently. Here the children have identified the phonemes and then used their writing skills to form the graphemes.
Pupil Voice – “I love Phonics!”
Through recent Academy Council monitoring the children illustrated a deep love of Phonics. A selection of the children provided a great insight into how they feel about the subject. Here are some of their responses:
- “I do Phonics every day. I feel good because I can write long sentences.” Esmae
- “I like Phonics because I know all of the phonemes.” Elias
- “I like to practise my graphemes like a ‘p’.” Isla
- “We have lots of jobs to do and you do Phonics in them. We have a Writing Area to write sentences by yourself.” George
- “I have learnt to write all of the graphemes.” Arthur
Volunteer Readers 2024-2025
We have a group of dedicated volunteer readers that come into school to read with the children. Reading regularly with an adult helps children to: build confidence, gain a sense of wellbeing and develop a range of literacy skills. Our volunteer readers are an important part of our school community at Stanhope Barrington C of E Primary School and we are extremely grateful for their time and commitment to our children.
Our volunteer readers are:
| Learning Zone | Staff | Day |
| Amethyst Learning Zone | Angela | Thursday PM |
| Sapphire Learning Zone | Chris Carrie | Tuesday PM Tuesday PM |
| Ruby Learning Zone | Alice Helen Sue | Wednesday PM Thursday PM Thursday PM |
| Emerald Learning Zone | Kathleen Sarah | Thursday PM Tuesday PM |
| Diamond Learning Zone | Kathleen Sarah | Tuesday PM Tuesday PM |
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… – As a school, we are very grateful for the dedication of our volunteer readers, not only do the children enjoy the sessions but they have also created wonderful working relationships. This was portrayed today in the Amethyst Learning Zone as Chris, one of the volunteer readers, came in to share one of her favourite stories. The children were captivated as they listened to a story all about Santa and where he originated from. Story time is such an important part of the day, and using the expertise of Chris allowed the children to listen to alternative adults read. Thank you to Chris, hopefully you enjoyed it as much as we did!
Phonics Screening Results
All the teaching team are very impressed with how much progress the children have made with their Phonics. Every child has made brilliant progress and 19 out of 21 (86%) Year 1 pupils surpassed the Phonics Screening threshold. In addition, 100% of the Year 2 children also passed the threshold. Well done to all the pupils and staff for achieving our highest percentage to date.
Phonics Screening Results
The percentage of Year 1 children that met the expected standard in Phonics | The percentage of Year 2 children that met the expected standard in Phonics | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 77% | |
| 2020 | N/A | N/A |
| 2021 | 76% (in house) | 58% |
| 2022 | 84% | 75% |
| 2023 | 86% | 100% |
| 2024 | 86% | 66% |
