Early Reading & Phonics

At Hurst Green Primary School, we believe that learning to read is one of the most important skills children will develop. Our aim is for every child to become a confident, fluent reader who develops a lifelong love of reading.

We teach early reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, a systematic synthetic phonics programme. Children begin learning phonics from the start of Reception, building their knowledge of sounds and letters and learning how to blend these together to read words.

Our approach combines high-quality daily phonics teaching with regular Reading Practice sessions, carefully matched books, ongoing assessment and targeted Keep-up support. This ensures children receive the teaching and support they need to make strong progress and develop confidence as readers.

How We Teach Phonics

Children in Reception and Year 1 are taught phonics every day following the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression.

Phonics teaching begins in Reception and builds progressively throughout Reception and Year 1. Children are taught grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs), how to blend sounds to read words and how to read increasingly complex words and sentences. Children are also taught tricky words as part of the programme.

Lessons include regular opportunities to revisit and review previous learning so that children build secure phonic knowledge and develop increasing automaticity and fluency.

In Reception, lessons build from shorter sessions at the beginning of the year to full phonics lessons as quickly as appropriate. Children also receive additional opportunities to practise oral blending.

In Year 1, children review previously taught content before progressing through Phase 5. Regular review and practice help children secure their phonic knowledge and apply it confidently when reading and writing.

Children in Year 2 who have not yet secured the required phonic knowledge continue to receive targeted phonics teaching and support matched to their individual needs.

Assessment and Keep-up

Assessment is an important part of our approach to early reading. Teachers assess children throughout daily phonics lessons and use the Little Wandle assessment cycle to identify what children know securely and where they need further teaching or practice.

Formal assessments take place every six weeks in Reception and Year 1. The information from these assessments is used to inform teaching, identify gaps in phonic knowledge and ensure children receive the right support.

Children who are at risk of falling behind receive targeted Daily Keep-up support. These short, focused sessions provide additional practice matched to each child's needs.

Children's progress is regularly reviewed so that support can be adapted as their phonic knowledge develops. Our priority is to identify gaps quickly and provide the additional teaching and practice children need to keep up with their peers.

For older children who still require support with phonics and early reading, appropriate assessment is used to identify gaps and provide targeted teaching through Little Wandle Rapid Catch-up.

Reading Practice Sessions

Children develop their reading skills through Little Wandle Reading Practice sessions using fully decodable books that are carefully matched to their secure phonic knowledge.

Reading Practice sessions provide children with repeated opportunities to read the same text successfully and develop accuracy, confidence and fluency. The sessions focus on three key areas:

Decoding

Children apply their phonic knowledge to read words accurately and independently.

Prosody

Children develop fluency and expression, learning to read with appropriate phrasing and intonation.

Comprehension

Children develop their understanding of the text by discussing what they have read, answering questions and exploring vocabulary and meaning.

Adults listen carefully to children throughout these sessions and use what they hear to identify where additional practice or support is needed.

Reading at Home

Parents and carers play an important role in supporting children to become confident and enthusiastic readers.

Children bring home reading material that is carefully matched to their secure phonic knowledge. Because children have already practised reading their matched book at school, they should be able to read it at home with increasing confidence and fluency.

Please do not worry if the book appears easy. The purpose of rereading is to develop fluency, automaticity and confidence. Praise your child, encourage them to use their phonic knowledge when they encounter an unfamiliar word and talk together about what they have read.

Reading for Pleasure

Alongside their decodable reading book, children choose a Reading for Pleasure book to share at home.

There is no expectation for children to read this book independently. These books are chosen for families to enjoy together and give children access to a wider range of stories, vocabulary, authors and experiences than they may yet be able to read for themselves.

Read the book to or with your child, talk about the pictures and characters, discuss interesting words, make predictions and, most importantly, enjoy sharing the book together.

Reading aloud to children remains important even as they become increasingly independent readers.

Supporting Children Who Need Extra Help

We are ambitious for every child to become a successful reader. Children who find reading more difficult are identified quickly through regular assessment and careful observation during phonics and reading sessions.

Additional teaching is closely matched to the gaps identified in each child's phonic knowledge. This includes Daily Keep-up in Reception and Year 1 and, where appropriate, Rapid Catch-up for older pupils.

We regularly review children's progress and adapt support to ensure it is having the intended impact. Children who need additional help are given frequent opportunities to practise the knowledge and skills they need so that they can make progress towards becoming confident and fluent readers.

Supporting Your Child at Home

There are lots of simple ways you can support your child's early reading:

Listen to your child read regularly.
Encourage them to use their phonic knowledge to decode unfamiliar words.
Give them time to blend sounds together rather than telling them the word immediately.
Praise their effort and celebrate their successes.
Talk about the books you read together and discuss new vocabulary.
Continue reading aloud to your child, including books they cannot yet read independently.
Use the Little Wandle pronunciation videos to help you pronounce phonemes correctly.

Little Wandle Resources

Little Wandle provides a range of resources for parents and carers, including guidance on how phonics is taught, pronunciation videos and support with reading at home.

Please use the links and videos below to find out more about how you can support your child's reading journey.