Phonics
At Worth Valley Primary School, we believe that teaching children to read is the most important gift we can give them.We have chosen Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised as our systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programme to teach early reading and spelling.
Phonics is one of the many skills needed to become a reader and writer. We aim to give our pupils the best possible start on their reading and writing journey by teaching them the essential skills and knowledge to decode and encode words independently. At this stage of reading and writing, pupils will use phonics as their first strategy to read and spell unknown words until this becomes embedded and automatic. We provide pupils with opportunities to develop this automaticity through reading practice sessions.
We recognise that the development of spoken language and the enjoyment and comprehension of quality literature go hand in hand to develop a lifelong love of reading. We aim to nurture and develop these attributes alongside the phonics programme.
To find out more about Little Wandle, click the link below.
Supporting phonics at home
In the Autumn 1 term, we held phonics and early reading meetings to share how we teach phonics and reading in school. We also showed parents and carers the books children will bring home and explained how these will support them on their journey to becoming fluent, confident readers with a real love of reading.
It was brilliant to see so many parents and carers there and to have the opportunity to share our fabulous new books and resources. If you were unable to attend the meeting, please click the PowerPoint below to find out more.
Phonics and reading powerpoint for parents
Phonics progression at Worth Valley Primary School
Phonics teaching begins as early as Pre-school and Nursery. We focus on developing children’s speaking and listening skills and lay the foundations for phonics teaching. The emphasis during this time is to get children attuned to the sounds around them and ready to begin developing oral blending and segmenting skills.
The progression in phonics from Reception onwards can be found in the document below:
Phonics progression - Reception/Year1
Useful resources for parents
Phonics curriculum overview
