Intent

At St John’s, we use the Read Write Inc. (RWI) phonics programme to ensure that every child becomes a confident, fluent, and enthusiastic reader. Our intent is to provide a systematic and consistent approach to the teaching of phonics that gives all children the best possible start in their reading journey.

We aim to:

• Ensure all children learn to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension
• Develop children’s confidence, enthusiasm, and enjoyment of reading from the very beginning of their school life
• Equip children with the phonic knowledge and skills needed to decode words independently
• Provide high-quality, consistent teaching through a structured programme that supports both early readers and those who need additional intervention
• Promote reading as a gateway to learning across the curriculum and as a lifelong skill

Implementation

We implement our phonics programme through daily phonics lessons taught to ability-based groups. Children begin RWI as soon as they start in Reception, learning to recognise and blend the 44 sounds of the English language. Pupils are regularly assessed and regrouped every six to eight weeks to ensure rapid progress and targeted support.

All staff involved in delivering RWI receive regular, high-quality training and coaching to ensure consistency, fidelity to the programme, and strong subject knowledge across the school.

Key elements of our RWI implementation include:

• Daily phonics sessions, including speed sound lessons, blending, and reading storybooks matched to each child’s phonic level
• Systematic teaching of phonics alongside handwriting, spelling, and early writing skills
• Regular 1:1 or small-group interventions for children who need additional support to keep up
• Use of consistent routines, vocabulary, and teaching strategies to build confidence and fluency
• Integration of phonics into home reading through fully decodable RWI books, aligned with children’s current learning
• Close monitoring of progress by the Reading Leader, with support provided for staff and pupils as needed

Children will be taught how to read as follows:

Before you start to teach your child, practice saying the sounds below. These are the sounds we use to speak in English. Children initially begin using pictures for each sound, this will help children recognise the sound and then form the shape of the sound.

Fred Talk

We use pure sounds (‘m’ not’ muh’,’s’ not ‘suh’, etc.) so that your child will be able to blend the sounds into words more easily.

At school we use a puppet called Fred who is an expert on sounding out words! we call it, ‘Fred Talk’. E.g. m-o-p, c-a-t, m-a-n, sh-o-p, b-l-a-ck.

The following video is an example of blending sounds with Fred.

RWI Set 1, 2 and 3

The children are taught the sounds in 3 sets.

Step 1:

Set 1 Sounds are taught in the following order together with rhymes to help children form the letters correctly and instantly recognise sounds ready for blending.

At this stage we do not use the letter names.

Step 2:

The children are then taught Set 2 Sounds – the long vowels. When they are very confident with all of set 1 and 2 they are taught Set 3 Sounds.

Teach these first

Nonsense words (Alien words)- What ‘a load’ or nonsense!

As well as learning to read and blend real words children will have plenty of opportunities to apply their sound recognition skills on reading ‘Nonsense words’. These words will also feature heavily in the Year One Phonics Screening check in the summer term.  These words provide endless opportunities for children to apply and practice their thinking in a range of different contexts.

Step 3:

Cchildren will be exposed to red and green words to learn to help them to become speedy readers. Red words are words that are not easily decodable and challenge words to extend children’s vocabulary. Green words are linked to the sounds they have been learning and are easily decodable. Dots and dashes represent the sound each letter makes.

To help at home:

Your child will start to bring books home when they are confident readers, relating to their reading stage. You will find they will bring home a phonics based book, this will aid application, speed and fluency- developing speedy reading!  Following on from this, they will bring a comprehension based book which will begin to enrich their reading, which will require decoding skills.  Only then, children will bring home enriched reading books which will enhance their understanding via inspirational language promoting depth to their understanding.

Useful websites for Parents

Please find a list of websites that you may find useful in helping you and your child  learn about phonics. Games and fun activity websites are also included.

https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/ – information and resources to support phonics learning at home

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/phonics/play/ – fun games for the children to play

http://www.ictgames.com/literacy.html  – fun games for the children to play

http://www.firstschoolyears.com/  – fun games for the children to play

BBC Bitesize – many games to play covering all areas of the curriculum

Impact

As a result of our systematic approach:

• Children read accurately, fluently, and with increasing comprehension from an early stage
• Pupils are well-prepared for the transition from learning to read to reading to learn across the wider curriculum
• Children develop a love of reading and a positive attitude towards books and storytelling
• Gaps are identified and addressed quickly through timely assessment and targeted interventions
• The majority of children meet or exceed age-related expectations in phonics by the end of Year 1

Regular assessments ensure that no child is left behind, and support is swiftly put in place for those who need it. Children are grouped according to their progress, allowing every child to be taught at the right level and pace for their learning.

Pupil voice, reading records, and phonics screening outcomes show that our approach is both effective and enjoyable. By the end of Key Stage 1, children have developed strong foundations in reading and writing, equipping them with the skills and confidence needed for future learning.