Vision Statement

At Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School, we believe all children should be empowered to become lifelong readers and writers. This starts with our SSP programme, Little Wandle Letters and Sounds.

Phonics in Nursery

Children will begin to build phonemic awareness through sounds, songs, rhymes and stories.

Phonics in Reception and Year 1

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 one-on-one lessons planned to match their point of development using the Foundation for Phonics programme or the LW SEND programme.

Phonics in Year 2 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 age related expectation in reading is assessed on the Rapid Catch-Up Assessment and entered onto the programme if needed. This involves group and one-to-one sessions to close the gaps in their grapheme knowledge and support them in meeting the expected standard for their year group.

Adaptations for SEND pupils

At Ormsgill, we want to ensure phonics is accessible for all learners. 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.

Where necessary, adaptations are made by support staff to ensure the best outcomes for all pupils. Adaptations may include breaking lessons down into smaller chunks, Foundation for Phonics or adaptive technology.

Assessment

In Reception and Key Stage 1, Phonics learning is monitored through five-weekly assessments. These assessments include one-on-one assessments with the children, checking phonemic recognition and word reading. Also, during Phonics lessons, staff adapt their teaching to maximise support for all children.

Please use the information, videos and documents below to support your child at home.

The following documents will support phonics learning at home. For many parents, phonics is a strange way of learning to read. However, when we understand how children read and the terminology associated with phonics, it makes perfect sense!

In Reception, children will learn Phase 2 and 3 sounds, as well as Phase 4 blends.

In Year 1, children will revisit Phase 3 sounds and phase 4 blends but also learn to read and spell words with Phase 5 alternative graphemes.