Intent

“Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English language. Understanding phonics will also help children know which letters to use when they are writing words.” National Literacy Trust

At St. Anselm’s, we aim to ensure all our pupils have secure phonic knowledge that enables them to read and write successfully. Through the high quality teaching of synthetic phonics, children will be able to decode a range of words which will allow them to read sentences and books consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words and unlocking other areas of the curriculum.  When writing, children will be able to write recognisable letters and make phonically plausible attempts at unfamiliar words so that their phrases and sentences can be read by others.

Implementation

At St. Anselm’s we use a systematic Phonics teaching programme called Phonics Shed throughout Reception and Year 1. Phonics Shed follows the teaching sequence of letters and sounds (DFES 2007) so all phonemes are taught by the end of Y1.

Phonics Shed is presented in a simple, repetitive format. Each grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC) including digraphs and trigraphs has a character linked to it. The children are taught the sound made by the grapheme and an action to help them remember. They are taught the letter name and the capital letter. They are taught how to form the letter. They read words with the graphemes and learn to read high frequency words. Each character has their own story and song to aid with consolidation.

Through the Phonics Shed teaching sequence the children:

• learn the letter names,
• learn the letter sounds,
• learn the corresponding capital letters,
• write lowercase and uppercase letters
• learn blending and segmenting
• apply phonics knowledge to reading
• write phrases and sentences.

Phonics Shed is designed to be taught as a whole class but allows for flexibility based on the needs of the children. Reception children are taught the sounds together as a whole class and then split in to 2 groups supported by the teacher or a teaching assistant for extra reading and writing consolidation.

Year 1 children are taught together as a whole class and may be split in to smaller groups for consolidation if necessary.

Please see the below links for more information about the Phonics Shed programme and the teaching schedule followed in Year R and Year 1.

Children are regularly assessed using the Phonics Shed assessment programme. Assessment is through an online portal which collates data and easily shows which children may need further consolidation or intervention. Phonics Shed provides consolidation and intervention plans for teachers or teaching assistants to deliver in 1:1 or group sessions to ensure that children do not fall behind.

Phonics Shed provides decodable books for the children to take home, which are also available digitally. The children have their own unique login to Phonics Shed online where they can access games and books that have been set for them by the teacher. This allows parents to support their child’s Phonics learning at home.

Impact

Children feel confident using their phonic knowledge and the strategies that they have been taught to read words.  By becoming fluent readers, children can access a range of material, develop a love of reading and flourish in all areas. They can access the next stage of the English curriculum for KS1 and KS2.

Children will be able to spell words by identifying sounds in them and writing recognisable letters therefore communicating their ideas in writing across a range of subjects and for a range of purposes both in and out of school.

Children achieve well at the EYFS, Year 1 and KS1 assessment points.