Phonics
To develop early reading skills, we implement the Read Write Inc (RWI) phonics. Read Write Inc. phonics is a programme which teaches children how to read and write. There are 44 sounds in the English language, which we put together to form words. Some are represented by one letter, like ‘b’ and some by two (diagraphs), like ‘ar’ in car or three (trigraphs), like ‘air’ in chair. Digraphs and trigraphs we call ‘Special Friends’.
Read Write Inc phonics is a systematic synthetic phonic teaching programme that supports children to read and write. Children learn how to read (decode), spell and comprehend text fluently.
How is RWI taught?
Children are taught the sounds in 3 Sets. This ensures that they will be able to decode and blend the sounds in words with confidence.
Set 1 sounds order: m a s d t I n p g o c k u b f e l h r j v y w z x ch sh th qu ng nk
Set 2 sounds order: ay ee igh ow oo o oar or air ou oy
Set 3 sounds order: ea oi a-e i-e o-e u-e aw are ur er ow ai oa ew ire ear ure
It is important that the children say sounds clearly. This video shows how each sound should be said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCI2mu7URBc
The children will learn a sound a day. The order of teaching these sounds has been especially developed so that children can start reading complete words as soon as possible. Letter names are introduced later in the programme, initially we focus on the sounds that are used so that the children can sound the words. When children say the sounds in words, and then blend to read the word, we call this ‘Fred Talk’.
As children become more confident using ‘Fred Talk’ to read the words, they are encouraged to used ‘Fred in their head’. This is where the children read words silently, in their head, to just say the word. This is an important part of building fluency in reading.
Alongside the teaching of phonics, children are taught ‘red words’. These are words that cannot be sounded out using phonic sounds and therefore need to be learnt by sight. We say ‘You can’t Fred a red’ to help the children to remember these are words that they cannot sound out.
Assessment
Our approach ensures that no child is left behind, and that every child receives the support they need to succeed, following the principle of "Keep Up, Not Catch Up." The children are assessed every half term to identify those who need extra help. Children are then grouped according to their reading level and taught their next steps.
For children who need additional support, we offer short one to one tutoring sessions. These focus on specific phonics gaps and are delivered by trained staff. Children up to Year 3 who need extra support to close the gap and keep up will receive ‘Fast Track Tutoring’ interventions throughout the week. These sessions focus on addressing specific phonics gaps to help them catch up and stay on track. For children in Years 4 to 6 who still require phonics to decode words, they will attend small group ‘Fresh Start’ interventions alongside their whole class Echo Reading lessons. This combination ensures continued support to improve their reading skills and build confidence.
Useful phonics websites:
See the link below for a useful website which explains our phonics early reading scheme in more detail.
It is linked with Read Write Inc, our phonics approach to reading, which is having a real impact on the children’s progress and attainment in both reading and writing.
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/reading/phonics-made-easy
More information on how to help your child with their reading and writing using Read, Write, Inc can be found on the Ruth Miskin website with some helpful videos: