Phonics:
At Shotely Bridge 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 DfE approved systematic synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Preschool with our Foundations for Phonics lessons which prepare children for their full phonics curriculum in Reception. We 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.
Phonics is taught daily for children working at Phases 1 – 5, and from Phase 2, these children have an additional 3 reading practice sessions per week, to help build fluency in decoding. The books the children read will be part of the Big Cats for Little Wandle scheme and will be fully decodable, including only the sounds that the children have learned. These books will also be sent home using Collins Hub eBooks which are identical to the books read in school.
All teaching staff, teaching assistants and senior leaders at Shotley Bridge Primary School have been fully trained in the delivery of Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.
When doing phonics homework with your children it is important to use ‘pure sounds’ these are demonstrated in the videos below.
As children learn new phonems (sounds) they are taught to blend phonemes together to make words. This is an important skill for reading and can be done orrally (without looking at written text) to build these skills. A video to show how we teach blending in school can be viewed below. The children also learn to sight read a number of words, which we call ‘tricky words’. These are words which do not follow the phonic patterns that the children have previously been taught (they may cover them later) but that are commonly used in the English language and vital for fluent reading. Find out more below.
Early Reading:
Reading is a vital life skill that supports children’s learning across the whole curriculum. We strive to ensure that the children are taught to read with fluency, accuracy and understanding. We immerse children in quality texts with the aim to instill a love of reading and promote lifelong readers.
Whilst learning phonics, each child will be taught to read in a small group led by a trained teacher or teaching assistant three times a week. During each session, the children will read the same book three times focusing on a different focus each session. Teachers use assessment to match each child to the correct book so that each child is reading at the right level, matched to the phonics they are secure in. In the first of the weekly sessions, the reading focus will be decoding. The second session will focus on developing prosody (reading with expression). The final session will focus on comprehension.
We ask for all children to read their phonics practice book at home a minimum of three times a week in addition to sharing their library book to develop a love for reading. For advice around reading at home, including using wordless books please see the link below.
Phonics Homework
Each week staff will send home a phonics homework book. In this book you will find the sounds the children have been learning or revisiting, tricky words and some activities. To see how to use these effectively please watch the support video linked here.
For additional support please see the Little Wandle Parent page linked below.
For parents | Letters and Sounds
Whole Class Reading:
From Year 2, children take part in daily whole class reading sessions lasting 30 minutes. These sessions are designed to develop children’s enjoyment of reading, build fluency and support strong comprehension skills. Whole class reading is when all children read and explore a text together. The teacher carefully leads the session so that all pupils are supported and challenged. This approach allows children to access high‑quality texts and develop reading skills in a shared learning environment.
We use a carefully planned reading spine to support progression across the school. The reading spine is a collection of high‑quality texts which:
- Are progressive through year groups
- Include a range of genres, such as stories, poetry and non‑fiction
- Are diverse in content, reflecting different authors, cultures and experiences
This ensures that children are exposed to rich language, new vocabulary and a wide variety of texts.
During whole class reading lessons, children have regular opportunities to develop fluency through:
- Teacher modelling, where adults read aloud to demonstrate expression and pace
- Reading aloud, allowing children to practise confidence and accuracy
- Independent reading, enabling children to apply taught skills
Children answer comprehension questions using the VIPERS approach. VIPERS focuses on key reading skills and helps children develop a deeper understanding of texts:
- Vocabulary – understanding the meaning of words and phrases
- Inference – using clues from the text to understand beyond what is stated
- Prediction – thinking about what might happen next
- Explanation – explaining answers using evidence from the text
- Retrieval – finding key information from the text
- Sequence/Summarise – ordering events or summarising key ideas
Through whole class reading, children develop as confident, fluent readers who can understand and talk about what they read.
Reading Supporting Documents:
Reading for Pleasure:
Reading at Home:
Reading at home plays an important role in supporting children’s progress and enjoyment of reading.
Each week, all children bring home a reading practice book. This book is carefully matched to their current reading ability to ensure that children can practise reading with confidence and success. These books are closely linked to the sounds, words and skills children are learning in school.
As children become fluent and confident readers, they will move on from reading practice books and become a ‘free reader’. A free reader is a child who can read accurately, fluently and with good understanding across a range of texts. At this stage, children no longer need colour‑banded books and are encouraged to choose books independently, based on interest and enjoyment, while continuing to develop their reading skills.
In addition to their reading practice book, children visit the school library regularly. During these visits, they select a book to take home to share with a family member or read independently. These books are chosen for pleasure and are not levelled. This helps to foster a love of reading, encourage choice and expose children to a wide range of authors and genres.
Families are encouraged to read with their child at home at least three times a week and to record this in their child’s reading diary. Regular reading at home, alongside school reading, plays a vital role in developing fluency, comprehension and confidence.