Phonics

At Branfil, we are passionate about reading as we understand that it is the key to children’s future success. We therefore incorporate reading into our whole curriculum. We follow the Read Write Inc. (RWI) Phonics scheme of work, which is a systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) scheme supporting children to learn to read using pure sounds in words. 

Within RWI there are 12 steps the children need to work through: 

• Set1A 
• Set1B
• Set1C
• Ditty 
• Red Ditty 
• Green 
• Purple 
• Pink 
• Orange
• Yellow
• Blue 
• Grey 

Each colour level has its own expectations.

Phonics in Reception

Each child is assessed on their current phonic knowledge in the first 2 weeks of starting in Reception; this enables adults to know each child’s prior knowledge and where the children are starting on their reading journey at Branfil.

After all children have been assessed, daily phonics lessons begin. These are whole class sessions where children are taught a pure sound a day. Alongside the teaching of the pure sound, the children are exposed to words that contain the sounds already learnt. They begin to orally blend the sounds they hear and read the sounds in words. 

Children are assessed every 6 weeks and here we aim for children to make sufficient progress to move up a group. 

At the start of the spring term, Reception children are expected to be able to orally blend and read some words. We begin to stream phonics groups to include children in both Reception and Year 1. This enables us to host all necessary ability groups and the groups are also slightly smaller in size, so more attention can be given to children to enhance progress.






Phonics in Year 1

Phonics in Year 1 continues on from Reception with the children still working through the colour groups. Children are still assessed every 6 weeks and groups are changed accordingly. 

Our expectation at Branfil is for all children to have completed the grey colour group by the end of Year 1, ready to start RWI spelling in Year 2. If a child has not completed the RWI scheme by the end of Year 1, they carry on phonics lessons in Year 2.





Fast Track Tutoring 

The RWI scheme encourages intervention for any child not working at the expected reading level or who is not making expected progress through the colour groups. This intervention is called Fast Track Tutoring and is a mini phonics lesson that is completed 1:1 with an adult, daily, in addition to the daily group phonics lesson. This intervention will run until the child has caught up to the expected colour level for their age. 



Reading at Home 

Each phonics lesson includes a storybook session, where children practice their reading skills. Our main foci are accuracy and fluency before we work on comprehension and storyteller voice. Each week, your child will come home with the following reading material, dependent on their group: 

• Set1A/B - Videos on Google Classroom linked to the sounds taught in lessons, information about phonics games that can be played and a Lilac Oxford Reading Tree Book (one a week), which is wordless so as to promote storytelling and language development. 
• Set 1C - A sound blending book (one a week), which include words to help children orally blend and read words with sounds they have been taught. 
• Ditty -  ditty photocopied sheet (one a day). 
• Red Ditty - red paper book (one every 3 days)
• Green - green paper book (one every 3 days)
• Purple - purple paper book (one every 3 days) 
• Pink - pink paper book (one every 3 days) 
• Orange - orange paper book (one every 3 days)
• Yellow - yellow paper book (one a week) 
• Blue - blue paper book (one a week) 
• Grey - grey paper book (one a week) 

When you receive the above reading material, please support your child to engage with it daily. Always let your child read the book or sheet first. Remember, these reading materials should be used as a celebration of all they have learnt that week. They should be able to read successfully, sharing their reading skills. 

The Lilac Oxford Reading Tree Books are a lovely way to let your child’s imagination run wild! Let them make up and tell stories, with you introducing them to new vocabulary. 

The word blending books contain words your child needs to be able to read speedily. Please read these words daily to increase speed and focus on accuracy. 

The daily ditty sheets have sounds and words the children are to practice reading speedily. They can then read the text and practice their reading skills.  

The coloured paper books include sounds, story green words, speedy green words and red words which children will need to continue to practice reading accurately, increasing fluency. Each book has questions for the children to think about and answer. Some books contain vocabulary pages that you can look through with your child and there are hints and tips for adults in the books. Your child should be able to read the book well when they bring it home but must continue to practice this. 

Every child will also have a library book that is to be read to your child to model storyteller voice and good reading skills of accuracy and fluency. Children may begin to join in with these books as their reading journey progresses.  

Phonics in Year 2 and beyond

If a child has not completed the RWI scheme in Year 1, then as stated above, children will continue into Year 2, whilst also being part of the Fast Track Tutoring intervention. If children are still working on the RWI scheme in Year 3 or Year4, then small phonics groups are formed to enable daily phonics lessons to  take place. Fast Track Tutoring will also continue for these children. If children are still working on the RWI scheme in Year 5 and Year 6 then children are assessed for Fresh Start lessons. These are still part of RWI but teh books are specifically designed to be engaging for older children who still need phonics support. Please read below for more information on Fresh Start Phonics.





Fresh Start 

Fresh Start is a phonics intervention for children in Year 5 and Year 6. If we feel children still need phonics support in Year 5 and Year 6, we will assess them for the Fresh Start intervention. This intervention runs very similarly to Fast Track Tutoring in the lower year groups, however, it is delivered using mature resources and age appropriate reading texts. 

This daily intervention is 20-30 minutes long, focusing on reading sounds and a text. These sessions are usually delivered 1:1 with a trained adult. The focus is on sounds, blending, reading sentences, accuracy, fluency, storyteller voice and comprehension skills. 

The children work through modules and they will bring home additional reading resources to support their reading progress. Once children complete the Fresh Start intervention, we will feel confident that they are a competent reader so they will move on to finely graded Oxford Reading Tree books to read at home as well as choosing exciting texts from the library.



Phonics Screening Check 

Each year in June, Year 1 children across the country sit the Phonics Screening Check. This consists of a booklet of 40 words split into two sections. Children try to read each word accurately and they are given a score out of 40. In recent years the pass mark has been 32/40, however, this can change after the final results have been submitted to the Local Authority.



On the build up to the Phonics Screening Check, children have an extra 20 minute daily phonics session in class with their teacher. Small phonics intervention groups also take place to accelerate progress and help build upon phonics skills in order for children to meet the pass mark threshold. 

If children do not meet the threshold, they will continue phonics lessons in Year 2 and retake the test in the June of Year 2.

Parents/carers will be invited into school if a teacher feels a child will not meet the threshold and a plan will be put in place to help your child build on their skills.


Finally…

We are determined that every child will learn to read accurately and fluently, developing a story teller voice when reading aloud. Our reading provision also aims to ensure that all children develop a love of reading, ensuring that they can confidently access the whole school curriculum and achieve academic success.