Stanningley Primary School

Intent

At Stanningley Primary School we believe that reading is an essential life skill, therefore we aim to ensure that every child is confident with reading fluency and comprehension in order to successfully access their next year group / key stage and beyond. We develop a passion for reading to ensure a lifelong habit. 
At Stanningley Primary School, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Nursery/Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school. As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At Stanningley Primary School we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

Implementation

At Stanningley Primary School we use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised as our systematic, synthetic phonics programme (SSP). 

We use this SSP because it provides:

 ·         A daily 30-minute phonics lesson in Reception and Year 1

·         Clear progression with signposting of expected progress

·         Planning and supporting resources 

·         On demand CPD, accessible for all staff

·         Half termly assessments and online tracker tool

·         Keep up programme for Reception and Y1, SEND programme and KS2 Catch Up

·         Parent resources for home learning

·         A large range of fully decodable books matched exactly to the progression

Application of phonics to reading

To ensure pupils can apply their phonics to reading, the SSP provides children with two weekly 30-minute reading sessions, with a focus on decoding, prosody and comprehension.  In addition to this, pupils are exposed to high quality texts across the curriculum to support opportunities for the application of their phonic knowledge.

Impact

 To ensure fidelity to the program and consistency throughout the school, leaders ensure that:
 

 ·        All maintain a consistent approach and fidelity to our chosen phonics programme  

·         Half termly assessments are monitored and follow up intervention is planned if needed

·         Parents are provided with information throughout the year about how to support their child

·         Learning walks provide opportunities for both formal and informal feedback

As a result of this, pupils make good progress from their starting points and teaching and learning is consistent.

If you are a parent/carer and would like to find out more about Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, please click here.