Phonics and Reading At Victoria Dock

At Victoria Dock Primary School we believe that reading is the most important skill we can teach your children. Reading is the key to everything else your child will learn. Our aim is for all of our children to become independent readers who have a real love of reading.

As a school, we follow the ‘Read Write Inc’ approach to learning to read and write. Through this programme, children learn to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension. They learn to form each letter, spell correctly and compose their ideas step by step.

Phonics

In EYFS and Key Stage 1 we teach synthetic phonics and use the Read Write Inc programme to support this. Children learn how to decode words using their phonics knowledge and segment words for spelling. More details can be found on the Read Write Inc programme under the phonics tab on the website. Some children in Key Stage 2 may need to continue to access phonics groups if they need further consolidation and development of their reading skills. These children are identified quickly and placed into groups where they can feel successful. We assess children’s progress in reading regularly so that we can ensure they are in the correct group to enable them to make the most progress. Children may move to a different group if they are making faster progress or may have one-to-one support if we think they need some extra help.

Teaching of wider reading skills

As children progress from the Read Write Inc programme, and move into Key Stage 2, they begin to take part in group reading sessions. These reading sessions are centred on a quality range of age appropriate texts which have been carefully chosen for their challenging themes and vocabulary. The teacher will model a range of teaching strategies and give the opportunity for plenty of talk about books. The children begin to learn essential comprehension skills like inference; prediction and summarising. As their reading develops, children read from a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books and begin to explore how the writer has used language to develop the reader’s interest alongside the use of different layouts and structures.

Reading interventions We have a number of reading interventions that we use if a child is struggling on their reading journey. Children who are struggling are identified early and in conjunction with the SENDCO, interventions are tailored to the individual children’s needs.

Reading for pleasure

Teachers enjoy reading to the children too. Each class teacher chooses a quality text to use as their ‘reading for pleasure’ text. Children are then able to experience a variety of stories, poetry and information books that they may not be able to access themselves. Our teachers are excellent story tellers and model how to use expression and intonation for meaning. This helps to extend children’s vocabulary and comprehension, whilst also supporting their writing.

Alongside phonics book, we actively encourage children to take home ‘real books’ from the class collections that may be of a higher level than they can read on their own. We want children to experience books about all sorts of topics and have the opportunity to share these with parents and families at home.

Statutory testing

In the Summer Term, the government requires us to do a phonics check of all the Year 1 children. The children have lots of practise throughout the year therefore by the time the actual screening check comes around, the children are already familiar with the structure and procedures, and are not aware that they are being tested. The screening check is normally carried out in June and we will let you know in due course how well your child has done.

Year 2 and Year 6 also complete tests in the Summer Term, where their ability to answer a range of questions about a text are measured. Our daily reading sessions prepare the children for this by regularly teaching and reviewing the key skills needed.

Helping your child at home

· Please ensure that you find the time for your children to read aloud to you. Especially in the early stages of learning to read. This is vital in ensuring that your child learns to read fluently and accurately. Once your child can read fluently and accurately encourage them to read to themselves. A little bit every day really helps to increase their reading skills and vocabulary.

· To encourage children to read widely outside of school, we have put together a ‘Recommended Reading’ list for each year group in the school. These lists are available on the website.

· We encourage you to share as many reading experiences with your child as possible. Children really love telling stories! Snuggle up under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate and get lost in a book with them. Make puppets together and talk about the characters. Introduce children to your favourite children’s books. There are so many things you can do-let your imagination go wild!

· Make the most of online reading resources. A list of these can be found on the website.

· Join your local library and encourage the children to explore the range of texts on offer.

· Let your children see you read! If they see you enjoying a book, they will be more likely to pick one up themselves!

Should you have any questions about reading you can contact your child’s class teacher or Mrs Inchbold (Phonics and Reading Lead) using the school telephone number or via class dojo.

Here are a few hints, tips and resources that might help you in supporting reading at home.

Further information:

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