Grimsargh St. Michael's C of E Primary School

Phonics

Here at Grimsargh St Michael’s, we use a consistent, systematic and vigorous approach to phonics.

We do this using the Red Rose Letters and Sounds phonics scheme to the teaching of synthetic phonics across Early Years and Key Stage 1 (and for those children who require continuity of Phonics provision in Key Stage 2).

What is the intent behind Red Rose Letters and Sounds?

The intent behind Red Rose Letters and Sounds is to provide a rigorous and thorough planning programme in order to strengthen the teaching and learning of phonics, and ensure children become enthusiastic and successful readers and writers.

What is included to implement Red Rose Letters and Sounds?

The programme includes:

• Overviews for each phase with termly expectations.

• Word banks that directly match the teaching of focus graphemes.

• Additional word banks to broaden and deepen vocabulary in order to provide stretch and challenge.

• Comprehensive daily planning following revisit / review, teach, practise, apply.

• Carefully sequenced tricky words and high frequency words with high expectations for application into reading and spelling.

• Application opportunities planned throughout to ensure blending and segmenting of words and sentences.

• Regular consolidation and assessment points to support the identification of children on track and those falling behind.

What is the impact of our phonics programme?

Through the teaching of systematic phonics, our aim is for children to become fluent readers by the end of Key Stage One. Our children can then focus on developing their comprehension as they move through the school.

Whole class phonics ensures the children are exposed to the same sequence of learning as their peers. However, through our assessment points and ongoing formative assessment, we identify intervention needs quickly and implement planned intervention groups as required. We use the Lancashire Intervention 14 week programme ‘Fast Track Phonics’ for children in Year 1 and Year 2 and ‘Bounce Back Phonics’ for children in phonics intervention groups as they move through to Key Stage 2. Phonics Tracker is our chosen online assessment tool for children in Reception and Key Stage One and attainment in phonics is measured by the Phonics Screening Test at the end of Year 1.

We aim for reading to be at the heart of our curriculum and we believe it is the key to all learning and so the impact of our reading curriculum goes beyond the results of the statutory assessments. We aim to instil a reading culture at Grimsargh St Michael’s alongside a lifelong love of reading within all of our children.

Phonics resources
A phonics glossary for parents is included below, as it is a really useful guide to assist with the definitions of the terms we will use in phonics. In school we use these words with the children each day within their phonics learning:

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/blog/phonics-glossary-for-parents

The phonics ‘sound mats’ used in school can be found below for each phonics phase:

t-l-6226-phase-2-to-5-sound-mat-poster-_ver_3