Little Wandle Phonics

As you will know from our recent phonics meeting for parents and carers, the school has introduced a new phonics programme this year which we are very excited about and are sure will help your child develop the phonetic knowledge they need to become confident, happy and fluent readers.

Please find below additional information regarding our phonics scheme – Little Wandle 

Why learning to read is so important

• Reading is essential for all subject areas and improves life chances.
• Positive attitudes to reading and choosing to read have academic, social and emotional benefits for children.

How children learn to read

• Phonics is the only route to decoding.
• Learning to say the phonic sounds.
• By blending phonic sounds to read words.
• Increasing the child’s fluency in reading sounds, words and books.

Reading fully decodable books

• Children must read books consistent with their phonic knowledge.
• It is essential not to use other strategies to work out words (including guessing words, deducing meaning from pictures, grammar, context clues or whole word recognition).
• Books must be fully decodable and follow the Little Wandle scheme
• Children need to read books in a progressive sequence until they can decode unfamiliar words confidently.

The role of Parents’ and Carers’ 

• Have a positive impact on their child’s reading.
• Should model the importance of reading practice to develop fluency.
• Children take home books they have read at school to re-read at home to build fluency.
• There are two different types of books that pupils bring home: reading practice and books to share for pleasure.
• Reading at home encourages a love of books, along with developing vocabulary and discussion.
• Parents should use voices, expression, discuss unfamiliar vocabulary, talk about the pictures, and predict what might happen next.
• Give positive yet informative feedback in the home reading diary at least 3 times a week

Supporting your child with reading

Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a huge impact on their reading journey by continuing their practice at home.

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.

A sharing book: Your child will not be able to read this on their own. This book is for you both to read and enjoy together. This enables their passion for reading to soar and give them a love of reading that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

Reading practice book

This book has been carefully matched to your child’s current reading level. If your child is reading it with little help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading.

Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise – celebrate their success! If they can’t read a word, read it to them. After they have finished, talk about the book together.

Sharing book

In order to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. The sharing book is a book they have chosen for you to enjoy together.

Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read it to or with them. 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!

So how do we do it?

• When we timetable phonics in Reception and Year one

All children in Reception and Year 1 participate in a daily phonics lessons, usually in the morning. All children no matter their attainment level are included in the lessons and we use ‘Keep Up’ interventions to make sure no child falls behind. Children with a SEND are given additional support during the lesson and extra 1:1 lessons planned to match their point of development using the Foundation for Phonics programme or the LW SEND programme.

• When we timetable reading groups and what they involve (i.e. decoding, prosody & Comprehension)

In Reception and Year 1 we timetable Reading Practise Groups three times a week. Each group, of up to 6 children, spends 20 mins with a highly trained adult exploring how to decode the book in the first sessions, how to read with fluency and expression in the Prosody sessions and finally checking their understanding of the text in the Comprehension sessions.

• We have invested in new books

To meet the demands of the new programme we have invested heavily as a school in the matching Harper Collins reading books for both the main Little Wandle programme and the Rapid Catch Up programme for ages 7+. This means all children are given books that match their phonic ability and enable them to be successful at reading, in turn developing their love of reading for pleasure.

• we have invested in the Rapid Catch-Up intervention programme and books – for children in year 2 (spring term and onwards) and Key Stage 2

For children that need that extra bit of support we have invested in the Rapid Catch-Up programme which helps close the gaps for children in the spring term of year 2 and above. Any child identified as not meeting ARE in Reading is assessed on the LW Rapid Catch-Up Assessment and entered onto the programme if needed. This involves group and 1:1 sessions to close the gaps in their grapheme knowledge and support them in meeting the expected standard for their year group. Any child with a SEND, who would struggle with cognitive overload from the pace of the Rapid Catch-Up programme, is assessed on the SEND assessment and the best SEND pathway and planning is selected for them accordingly.

Programme Overview: Please look at the document below for the overview

Programme Overview Reception And Year 1