Phonics
Our Approach to Phonics
At St Paul’s RC Primary School, we believe that reading is one of the most important skills a child can learn. Reading helps children to succeed in school, understand the world around them and develop a lifelong love of learning.
Through reading, children discover new ideas, explore different cultures, visit new places and enjoy exciting stories and characters. We want every child to feel confident and happy when reading and to see themselves as a reader.
Reading sits at the heart of everything we do. High‑quality books are used across the whole curriculum to support learning in all subjects. We aim to help children:
- Enjoy reading and talk confidently about books
- Develop their own reading preferences
- Understand and discuss a wide range of texts
- Build strong reading skills that support learning in all areas
Our ultimate goal is for every child to leave St Paul’s fluent, confident readers who enjoy reading both for learning and for pleasure.
Learning to Read: Phonics First
Children begin learning to read by developing strong phonics skills. Phonics teaches children how letters and groups of letters make sounds, and how those sounds are blended together to read words.
At St Paul’s, we use Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS), a government‑approved phonics programme. This programme is designed to help all children learn to read accurately and confidently as quickly as possible.
Through the use of ELS, we teach pupils to:
• Decode by identifying each sound within a word and blending them together to read fluently.
• Encode by segmenting each sound to write words accurately.
Phonics teaching begins in the very first days of Reception and is taught every day. Lessons are well‑structured, fast‑paced and enjoyable, helping children to feel successful and confident. We use ELS interactive whiteboard presentations, flashcards, friezes and phonics mats to support our children with grapheme
phoneme correspondence (GPCs).
How Phonics Is Taught
Phonics lessons follow a familiar daily structure, so children know what to expect:
- Revisiting sounds they already know
- Learning new sounds
- Practising reading and spelling words
- Applying their learning to read and write simple sentences
Autumn Term
Each week consists of 5 lessons, one per day. New graphemes and phonemes are taught on days 1-4 including new harder to read and spell words. On day 5, children have the opportunity to practise reading and writing words with previously taught grapheme and phonemes in and also apply this knowledge through reading
decodable books and writing phrases and sentences. Teachers model carefully, give lots of practice and use repetition so that children really remember what they are taught. Lessons focus on teaching rather than testing, helping children build confidence.
The structure of all phonics lessons are consistent and allow children to predict what is coming next, what they need to do, and how to achieve success. We follow the structure set out by:
Review – Teach – Practise – Apply – Review
This gives pupils opportunity to be introduced to new graphemes and phonemes, hear the sound or word, say the sound or word, see the sound or word, read the word, write the word, use new vocabulary in context, practise and apply. The final review stage again enables children to reinforce their learning through reading and writing sentences or phrases.
Children are supported using resources such as:
- Sounds cards and pictures
- Interactive whiteboard activities
- Phonics mats and visual reminders
Throughout each half term, there are review weeks planned in which are there to support children in consolidating their understanding of all prior learning.
Supporting Every Child to Succeed
We believe that every child can learn to read, and that no child should be left behind.
If a child needs extra help, support is put in place quickly. This might include:
- Extra help during the lesson
- Short daily one‑to‑one or small‑group support focusing on sounds or blending
These sessions are short and supportive, helping children to keep up with the pace of learning.
Interventions
Through a careful analysis of pupil’s diagnostic assessments and half-termly assessments, misconceptions and gaps are identified for individuals. These children then access one of the three ELS phonics interventions: Oral blending, Grapheme–phoneme correspondence (GPC) recognition and/or Blending for reading. These
interventions are led by teaching support staff in addition to whole-class lessons either in small groups or on a one-to-one basis. Children in EYFS and KS1 can initially receive an in-class intervention within the phonics lessons immediately addressing misconceptions and then one of the ELS interventions in addition if necessary.
Reading in Reception
- Daily phonics lessons
- Opportunities to use phonics through play and learning activities
- Extra support provided when needed
By the end of Reception, most children are confident reading and spelling using phonics.
Home Reading
Children take home two books each week:
- One phonics reading book matched closely to what they are learning. Children will also have the opportunity to take a blending book home. The blending book will link to the new phonemes taught that week, and will give children additional opportunities to practise and apply their knowledge.
- One sharing book to enjoy with family
Parents are invited to workshops and kept informed about how to support reading at home.
Within the curriculum, staff share a wide range of carefully chosen texts with children, modelling a love of reading, reading behaviours and making links to decoding and understanding. Reception also has daily opportunities planned in for either singing, story time or poetry sessions.
Year 1
-
Year 1
- Daily phonics continue throughout Year 1 following the ELS phonics scheme.
- Extra support provided for children who need it
- Ongoing practice and review to build confidence and fluency
By the end of Year 1, most children are reading fluently using phonics. Children also take part in the national Phonics Screening Check. The ELS phonics scheme prepares children for the screening check. The structure mirrors the skills, pace and expectations of the test, so children meet the assessment feeling confident and capable rather than anxious or surprised. From January onwards children complete mock phonics screening checks and interventions are put in place for those who need more support.
Home reading
Children take a reading book home each week. The reading book matches the child’s current phonetic understanding. Children’s reading is tracked and books are given out in an order that supports the next steps for individual children.
Some children also take home a phonics blending book to help with fluency and understanding.
Reading Beyond Phonics
Once children are confident readers, they move onto a wide range of reading books to develop fluency, understanding and enjoyment. Children who still need phonics support continue to receive it in Year 2 and beyond.
We ensure reading books are well matched to each child’s ability so they feel successful and motivated.
Reading Fluency and Understanding
Reading isn’t just about speed—it’s about reading accurately and understanding what is being read. Teachers model good reading, help children develop expression and support them in talking about what they have read.
Reading for Pleasure
We place great importance on helping children enjoy reading. Throughout the school, children:
- Listen to stories every day
- Explore a wide range of books, authors and genres
- Talk about books they enjoy
- Make connections between reading and learning in other subjects
We regularly invest in new books to keep reading exciting and inspiring.
How We Know Children Are Making Progress
Children’s reading progress is checked regularly so that support can be given quickly if needed. Teachers closely monitor:
- Phonics knowledge
- Reading accuracy and confidence
- Fluency and understanding
This careful approach ensures that children make strong progress and feel positive about reading.
Assessment
It is important that children’s progress is assessed thoroughly, so that any gaps can quickly be identified. Assessment of the children’s reading skills is key to ensuring that all children make rapid progress though the programme, and that they keep up rather than catch up.
ELS half termly assessments allow all members of staff to identify any sound and grapheme gaps, or any difficulties with blending and decoding. By undertaking assessment in the fifth week teachers are able to action a direct intervention before any upcoming school holidays. ELS includes specific revision points throughout the programme. Each of these revision points focus on specific skills to support children’s rapid movement through the programme, the consolidation of their understanding and the re-activation of knowledge.
Once a term, an ELS Diagnostic Assessment is completed to enable teachers to identify a gap in children’s knowledge or understanding, or to assess new starters, to ensure that the appropriate support is provided to them to make rapid progress and consolidate their skills and understanding. In addition to the assessments above, an ELS Phonics Screening Check assessment is completed each half
term from Year 1 Autumn 1 Week 5.
Following assessment, teachers analyse the date to ensure that children are being given adequate opportunity to review and practise those GPCs which they are least confident with. This data is used to inform the next steps for each child and decide which interventions, if any, are needed.
The Impact of Our Reading Approach
By the time children leave St Paul’s RC Primary School, we aim for them to be:
- Confident, fluent readers
- Able to access all areas of learning
- Motivated to read for enjoyment and learning
- Well prepared for the next stage of their education
