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Wellstead Primary School

Wellstead Primary School

Sowing the Seeds of Success

Phonics and Early Reading

Phonics

 

Phonics

 

At Wellstead, we use Phonics Shed as our chosen DfE validated systematic synthetic phonics programme.  Phonics Shed covers sound awareness, moving into a full phonics scheme of learning that leads into Spelling Shed’s complementary spelling system and is also compatible with 2007 Letters and Sounds.

 

Systematic synthetic phonics

The Phonics Shed programme provides a systematic way to teach reading through synthetic phonics. Children are taught to decode by breaking down words into sounds as a way to “synthesize” the whole word from letters and sounds. Children are taught, through techniques such as our ‘Say It, Stretch It, Sound It,’ to decode by breaking down words into sounds as a way to segment and blend (“synthesise“) the whole word with the learning reinforced by our offline and online multi-sensory tasks and games.

 

 

 

Narrative Driven

Phonics Shed also aims to foster a love of reading and writing through its strong, character-based narrative and engaging, multi-sensory activities.

 

Through an original series of storybooks set in the Phonics Shed garden with Joe as a guide, children are introduced to the 44+ phonemes of the English language and the 100 most commonly used words (High Frequency Words). Each storybook introduces a new character and its associated grapheme phoneme correspondence (GPC) allowing children to develop in their phonics attainment as they get to know the Phonics Shed characters and progress through the series.

 

 

As the children work through the scheme, they also gain access to decodable alien words. The Phonics Shed alien words match the criteria given for those used in the Phonics Screening assessment resources.

 

 

 

 

 

Children from YR-Y2  have access to a range of books that will benefit them in different ways.

 

Should you have any questions or concerns, please talk to your child’s class teacher in the first instance. Alternatively, you can contact Mr Anderson or Miss Magern via the year group emails.

 

Early Reading 

 

The guidance from the Department of Education (DfE)  on early reading  was updated in September 2023 The Reading Framework  with recommendations, based on educational research, on how children learn to read best.  The school is following that guidance along with what we know works for our children.

 

Phonics Shed "fully decodable" books

In Year 1, children will take home a Phonics Shed book matched to the current Grapheme Phoneme Correspondence (GPCs = phonic sounds) taught in class. This book will be first shared as part of an adult-led group in daily phonics sessions in school and then we encourage parents to consolidate this learning by reading it again at home.  This book is known as a “fully decodable” book - this means that there are no phonic sounds in the book that your child has yet to come across.  The reason for this is to develop fluency and confidence and for them to practise the sounds that they know, alongside mastering the skill of decoding words with known sounds.  Children who are confident with the sounds taught in class will ‘go deeper’ in daily Phonics sessions by applying their skills further, for example to write and spell  words using the correct GPCs and using new words in a sentence.

 

"Post decodable" books

Children are regularly assessed in their Phonics and reading skills and when all of the sounds have been secured, your child’s class teacher will suggest  suitable “post-decodable”  books for them to bring home to read  (formerly called ‘book band’ books). For the majority of children, this will be during the Spring term when all sounds have been taught, however, this may happen at an earlier point in the year for some children.  

 

Reading for pleasure - Library books 

In addition, to support your child’s love of reading, in our weekly library sessions, children will take part in class discussions about books and will be supported to choose a book of their choice to enjoy at home with an adult or older sibling.  If your child is a confident reader, we would encourage you to ask your child questions about their library book and re-read it throughout the week to build their comprehension, fluency and expression skills.

 

For more information about Early Reading and how you can support your child’s reading development at home have a look at https://wordsforlife.org.uk/parent-support/reading-your-child/  or https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/tips-and-advice/reading-tips/

 

If you have any questions, please contact your child's class teacher or one of the English team on the contact emails below. 

 

Thank you for your ongoing support. 

Martin Anderson                                         Heidi Magern

Reading Lead                                             Phonics Lead

y4staff@wellsteadapps.co.uk                     y2staff@wellsteadapps.co.uk

Year 1 Early Reading - letter to parents

Support Materials

Chapter 2.mp3

Chapter 3.mp3

Chapter 4a.mp3

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