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 systematic and synthetic phonics programme, Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.

Pupils are taught to read and spell using the phonetic code, making connections between letters and their associated sounds.

At Ormsgill, we have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects. We model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in guided reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson.

Phonics in Nursery

Children will begin to build phonemic awareness through sounds, songs, rhymes and stories. Click here to access the Little Wandle songs and nursery rhymes.

Phonics in Reception

Children make a strong start in Reception: daily phonics lessons begin in Week 2 of the autumn term.

• Children in Reception are taught to read and spell words using Phase 2 and 3 GPCs, and words with adjacent consonants (Phase 4) with fluency and accuracy.

Phonics in Year 1

• Children in Year 1 review Phase 3 and 4 and are taught to read and spell words using Phase 5 GPCs with fluency and accuracy.

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

In Year 2, a seamless link is made from the core programme to Little Wandle Fluency and Little Wandle Spelling, incorporating Phase 5 review and the Bridge to spelling.

Daily phonics lessons are timetabled for children in Year 2 who are not fully fluent at reading or have not passed the Phonics Screening Check (PSC). These children urgently need to catch up, so the gap between themselves and their peers does not widen. We use the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessments to identify the gaps in their phonic knowledge and teach to these using the Keep-up resources – at pace. 

Phonics in Key Stage 2

If any child in Year 3 to 6 has gaps in their phonic knowledge when reading or writing, we timetable 'Rapid Catch-Up’ lessons to address specific reading/writing gaps. These short, sharp lessons last 10 minutes and take place at least three times a week. These sessions can be group or one-to-one and are facilitated by a trained Teaching Assistant.

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.