At Bingham Primary School, we know that reading is the cornerstone of success for all subject areas and has a huge impact on improving individuals’ life chances.
We use Little Wandle Letter and Sounds to provide daily phonics lessons to ensure that our pupils have the foundations in place to grow into fluent, competent readers with a love for reading. In phonics, we teach children that the letters of the alphabet represent a different sound, that these can be used in a variety of combinations and are put together to make words. The children learn to recognise all of the different sounds and combinations that they might see when they are reading or writing.
Our phonics teaching starts in EYFS and follows a specific sequence that allows our pupils to build on their previous phonetical knowledge as they move through school. Our pupils can then utilise and apply these skills to the wider curriculum and beyond as they move through the different year groups.
How you can support your child with reading:
The Little Wandle website has an area for parents and has lots of information you may find helpful: For parents | Letters and Sounds
Although your child will be taught to read at school, engaging in reading with your child at home has a huge impact on their success and development. Children should see the importance of reading modelled from their significant adults and be encouraged to practise to develop fluency. It is important that despite your own childhood experience of reading, that children are encouraged to enjoy and develop a love of reading for themselves through sharing a book and making it fun and engaging.
There are two types of reading book that your child may bring home:
A reading practice book
This will be at the correct phonic stage for your child. They should be able to read this fluently and independently. Please don’t worry that it’s ‘too easy’ – the purpose of these books are to develop fluency and confidence in reading. It is essential that children rely on their phonetical understanding to work out words and not guess.
A sharing book
For your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. The sharing book is a book that they have chosen for you to enjoy together. Therefore, they may not be able to read it independently, nor should they be expected to. It is purely for the enjoyment of sharing a book with a loved one. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!
How does it work?
Seven key features have been identified by the English Hub and wider research as characterising phonics teaching in highly successful schools, no matter which validated programme is being used. These are:
• direct teaching in frequent, short bursts
• consistency of approach
• secure, systematic progression in phonics learning
• maintaining pace of learning
• providing repeated practice
• application of phonics using matched decodable books
• early identification of children at risk of falling behind, linked to the provision of effective keep-up support.
We aim to ensure the effective teaching of systematic synthetic phonics by applying those 7 principles throughout our teaching of early reading.
Please see links to videos so you can see how to support your child.
