Phonics Policy St Michael s C of E Primary School North Road Highgate London N6 4BG Tel: 0208 340 7441 Date of issue September 2015 Renewal date September 2016 Responsible for this policy Rebecca Austin To nurture and inspire our children to develop a love of learning in a supportive Christian community and become the best they can be
If children get the fundamental skills of reading using phonics early on, it will give them a flying start and allow them to move quickly to reading books for themselves and achieving even more in the future. (DFE 2012) The teaching of phonics underpins and is intricately linked to early reading and writing in the Foundation stage and in Key Stage 1. We aim to provide high quality and systematic synthetic phonic teaching, to equip children with the skills needed to become fluent readers and confident writers. Synthetic phonics introduces phonemes individually in a structured and sequenced way, teaching children the relationship between phonemes and graphemes. Phonics equips children with the tools needed to decode and segment unfamiliar words so that they are able to read, write and spell with understanding, fluency, confidence and accuracy, thus achieving the capabilities of an independent reader. In our pursuit to ensure all children achieve this, we have adopted Ruth Miskin s Read Write Inc. phonics scheme of work. Aims: To consistently structure and sequence phonics so that sounds are learnt, revised frequently, understanding consolidated and knowledge progressed. To teach phonics every day through fast paced lessons which last 20 minutes. To provide opportunities for children to apply their phonological knowledge in their reading and writing in purposeful contexts. To differentiate the phonics taught according to the needs and ability of the class, streaming the children where possible and making effective use of teaching assistants. To use regular and accurate assessment to gain an understanding of the areas of strength, to track the progression of phonological knowledge and to identify areas of weakness. When areas of weakness are identified, possible causes are considered and where appropriate, SENCO involved. To ensure that those teaching phonics have a secure knowledge and understanding of phonics, including the Read Write Inc approach to ensure children receive high quality teaching.
Teaching and Progression: Pupils will be taught according to the required sequence of phonemes acquisition as instructed in the Read Write Inc. documentation Pupils will be encouraged to discover and explore phoneme patterns and will develop a range of skills including: Phonological awareness Phonemic awareness Blending and segmenting Decoding Onset and time Letter formation Phonics sessions should consist of a variety of activities and should be designed to enable children to consolidate their understanding of previously taught phonemes and graphemes whilst introducing and teaching new ones. Phonics sessions should generally follow the basic structure: Revise previous phonemes Introduce new phoneme Practice new phoneme (oral and written) Use new phoneme in context Consolidation Teachers will create a weekly phonics and spelling plan which documents the sounds that should be revised and those which should be introduced, according to needs of the different groups of children. Where possible, this is linked to the national curriculum expectations for spelling therefore combining and illustrating the relationship between phonics and spelling rules. Children will also be introduced to high frequency words or common exception words alongside the phonics teaching. Phonics teaching should be multi-sensory and kinaesthetic and should be supported by a wide range of stimulating, interactive resources. Regular and varied opportunities to incorporate reading and writing into phonics sessions must be considered and planned. Children select and exchange books on a daily basis and read in a guided reading group once a week with the class teacher. Children may, at times, be given additional opportunities to read with teaching assistants or volunteers who take part in our Volunteer Readers Scheme.
Guided reading sessions will be used to give children further opportunity to apply their phonological knowledge and to extend their reading and comprehension skills. Children read in a group of no more than six children with their class teacher for 20-30minutes. A combination of Read. Write Inc. books and wider literature are made available. Opportunities for children to recognise and practice phonics in crosscurricular contexts should be identified by the class teacher. This includes introducing new subject or topic specific vocabulary when exploring a new area of learning for the first time. While phonics teaching needs structure, it is also necessary to appeal to children s inventiveness and make use of their interest in language play (Cremin 2009) Resources: ICT resources (interactive whiteboard, Learnpads, CD s with nursery rhymes) Flashcards, magnetic letters and whiteboards Playdough/ modelling clay/ sand All foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 classrooms should include displays that illustrate phonemes alongside graphemes and displays showing phonetically irregular words in order to support learning. The daily/ weekly sounds that children are learning should be evident in the classroom environment. Read Write Inc books are used to support the teaching of phonics and to enable children to apply their reading skills. These should be used alongside a range of quality picture books so children are immersed into and experience a wealth of rich language and a range of more complex, exciting plots. Expectations and Assessment: On-going formative assessment will be used by the class teacher and teaching assistants to determine how successful the children have been in their ability to recognise and write graphemes, orally blend and segment words and their ability to read and spell phonetically regular words. This is mainly achieved through questioning and observations made during the phonics session in addition to the writing that the children produce.
Formal assessment will take place every 6 weeks using the format provide by the Read Write Inc. programme. Teachers will record, track and analyse results in order to assess the progress and understanding of individuals and to adapt plans and phonic groups, where necessary. This is in addition to the ongoing use of formative assessment to inform planning, intervention and teaching. Children in Year One will undertake the Phonics Screening Check towards the end of the academic year. We expect a vast majority of children to reach the expected standard and to therefore pass this For children who fail to achieve the expected standard, the reasons for this are considered. Additional support is provided and progress more closely monitored in an attempt to ensure the Phonics Screening Check is securely passed during the retake in Year Two. If children fail to achieve the expected standard in the retake Phonics Screening Check in Year Two, they will receive intervention in Year Three to address the gaps in their learning. The English coordinator will meet with the Assistant Head in Key Stage 1 to discuss the children who are not on track to achieving the expected standard or those who require additional support. The Assistant Head will monitor the progress children are making in phonics and will communicate their findings with class teachers. Should a pupil not make the expected progress, the teaching staff shall address the issue by adapting practice before consulting the SENCO or EAL leader. This will also be discussed with parents. Parental Support: Parents can gain an understanding of our phonics policy through welcome evenings at the beginning of each academic year and through the annual phonics evening. Parents should be made aware of the phonics being taught at school through the spellings and books that are sent home. Teachers should be willing to provide parents with advice and resources to support their child s learning in phonics at home, if required to do so. Role and Responsibilities of the English Coordinator: To ensure that all members of staff responsible for the teaching of phonics are sufficiently trained to enable the quality and consistency of teaching required to ensure all children becoming fluent and confident readers. To monitor the progress in phonics throughout Key Stage 1 through looking at planning, books, observations and on-going discussion with class teachers and the Assistant Head.
To analyse results from Phonics Screening Checks, identifying groups of children who are making the expected standard and those who are failing to do so. This includes close analysis of those with English as an additional language or those who experience special educational needs. To review and edit this policy every year. This policy should be familiar with and adhered to by all members of staff; any discrepancies should be discussed with the English coordinator (Rebecca Austin).