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Phonics

At St Ann’s, we believe that every child deserves to have a strong start to reading, learning the skills required to decode and understand texts. To support children in developing these early reading skills, we teach phonics using ‘Read Write Inc’, a Department for Education approved synthetic phonics programme. Read Write Inc teaches children sounds in English, the letters that represent them, and how to form the letters when writing.

What is Read Write Inc. Phonics?

RWI is an early phonics and reading programme that provides a structured and systematic approach to teaching phonics and early literacy. It follows an interactive approach which includes a number of short tasks so that children are involved and engaged throughout the whole session. It is designed to create fluent, independent readers, confident speakers, independent spellers and willing writers. The National Curriculum states that all children should be taught phonics systematically. Read Write Inc, ensures that our phonics teaching follows a systematic progression that allows our children to develop a secure knowledge of the sounds each letter or combination of letters makes. This sound knowledge can then be used by children to read new words and to spell new words when writing.

RWI links phonics with reading and writing. During a typical RWI session, children will learn a new letter sound and practice reading words containing that sound. They will learn the formation of the letters and write words using the new taught sound with an emphasis on spelling. Following this, children are introduced to their book for the session which is linked to the letter sounds learnt.

Phonics Reading Books

Children read books that are carefully matched to their phonics knowledge and the sounds they have learnt in their phonics session. The children will not read books that contain spellings of sounds that they do not know. This means they build confidence quickly and become independent readers. They are taught reading strategies that they can employ in their reading of the text and work with their reading partner to read through the books.

Children practice reading their phonics books until they can read them fluently and then they bring the book home to read with parents. They learn to form letters correctly and develop a strong handwriting style. Following the Read Write Inc. programme, ensures our children learn to read and write successfully and have the skills required to for academic success as they journey through school.