Phonics
Hello, my name is Mrs Wrenn and I started my role as Phonics and Early Reading Lead in September 2024. I have worked at Sherdley for 13 years and have spent a large part of that time working in Year 1 and Year 2. As a Key Stage 1 teacher, I have had a lot of experience of planning and delivering Phonics lessons and I know just how fundamental Phonics is in helping children to learn to read. I am currently a Year 3 teacher and I advocate for the importance of teaching Phonics skills all the way through KS2.
We at Sherdley adopted the systematic and synthetic phonics programme Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, (which is a validated teaching programme by the DFE), in October 2021.
Through this programme we start the teaching of phonics in Pre-school as we follow the Foundations for Phonics programme. Through this we develop the children’s ability to tune into and copy sounds and orally blend CVC words by the time they start Reception.
In Reception, the children start their phonics sessions after the introductory 2 weeks. We progress from 10-minute lessons, with additional daily oral blending games, to 30 minutes lessons as quickly as possible. Daily lessons continue in Year 1 with children taking the Phonics Screening Check at the end of the year. Children who still require support in Phonics continue to access the programme as they move into Year 2 and KS2.
As part of my role as Early Reading Lead, I work closely with our English coordinator Mrs Orbison to ensure that we are ‘Growing Readers at Sherdley’. We do this by giving children a firm foundation on which they can begin their reading journeys, and provide them with the tools they need to allow that love of reading to flourish as they move through our school. We value reading as a crucial life skill, and we encourage our children to see themselves as readers for both pleasure and purpose.
In Pre-school the children share high-quality stories and poems and learn a range of nursery rhymes and action rhymes. Their listening and attention skills are developed through focussed activities including oral blending. We ensure that our Pre-school children are ready for more formal reading activities when they start school.
In Reception and KS1, we teach children to read through reading practice sessions three times a week, using our beautiful Little Wandle books. These decodable reading practice books are taken home at the end of the week to ensure success is shared with the family. Children from Pre-school up also take a reading for pleasure book home each week, for parents to share and read to children.
In Year 2 and KS2 we continue to teach reading in this way for any children who still need to practise reading with phonics, whilst children who have passed the Phonics Screening Check are moved onto our levelled Reading Scheme books as appropriate.
If you have any questions about your child’s Phonics or Reading journey at Sherdley or if you would like any support with growing your little reader, then please do not hesitate to contact me.