Phonics

Every day at Sidmouth Primary School children throughout the Foundation stage and Key stage 1 have a focused phonics session. This is really important as phonics underpins and enables children to learn to read and enables them to be a successful reader and access all other areas of the school curriculum.

 

Children first learn their letter sounds, taking care to pronounce them correctly. Then they apply these to word building so they can read small words. The letter sounds are taught in the order that the speech sounds are acquired, therefore it supports the early stages of speech and language development. At Sidmouth Primary School we use Read Write Inc as the basis for our phonic teaching. This is recognised as a synthetic phonics scheme.

 

Read Write Inc. is a systematic approach to teach phonics. The children learn to read the phonemes and blend them together to read the words. The children learn to read small words and then build up to two and three syllable words with all 44 phonemes and their alternative choices. At the same time the children are taught to segment the words to spell them and choose the correct spelling choice.

 

Children are also taught to use and apply their phonics to read both real and nonsense words, children in Year 1 are required to be tested using their phonics to read a range of real and nonsense words. The children also learn to read a range of other words which aren’t phonetically decodable and they learn to read them by sight.

 

For more information please follow this link:​ https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home

(A very good website with lots of ideas on how to support your child with reading. It also has a selection of free online ebooks.)

 

Reading at Sidmouth

Learning to read is one of the most important skills your child will ever master. At Sidmouth, we know that the ability to read is integral to all aspects of modern life. Reading enables us to communicate, understand ideas, and to think critically and creatively. Only when you can read, can you engage effectively with the world and the people with whom you share the world.

We want your child to enjoy reading and to choose to read independently and with others. For this reason we work hard, alongside The National Literacy Trust and other partners, to ensure our children develop a love of books and appreciate the opportunities that reading provides.

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We are determined to ensure that all children learn to read. We will achieve this by:

• Showing children how enjoyable it is to share reading or listen to a story.

• Teaching them to read accurately and fluently using a range of strategies.

• Helping them to understand and respond to what they read using inference and deduction where appropriate.

• Allowing the opportunity for children to reflect on and discuss what they have read, including the language and punctuation choices made by the author.  

• Enhancing their understanding of a variety of text types including non-fiction, fiction and poetry.

• Encouraging them to develop a love of reading and become confident, fluent and independent. 

• Teaching them how to seek information and learn from the written word.

• Enabling them to read with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.

• Intervening to provide support for improving pupils’ Literacy, especially for pupils at risk of underachieving. 

 

Please read our Reading Policy for further details and do not hesitate to speak to our reading manager, if you require any additional information.