Phonics and Reading

At St Jame’s we recognise the importance of early reading and have chosen a phonics scheme that is rigorous and has a sequential approach helping to develop pupils’ fluency, confidence and enjoyment of reading. Read Write Inc Phonics is a DfE approved scheme which looks at both reading and writing and ensures reading books are closely matched to the sounds learnt. We use the Read, Write Inc books as our reading scheme to support pupils in their reading. Books are closely matched to the pupils phonic ability and regularly changed to ensure pupils make the most progress.

In Reading pupils learn the English alphabetic code: first they learn one way to read the 40+ sounds and blend these sounds into words, then learn to read the same sounds with alternative graphemes. They experience success from the very beginning. Lively phonic books are closely matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics and ‘tricky’ words and, as children re-read the stories, their fluency increases. Along with a thought-provoking introduction, prompts for thinking out loud and discussion, children are helped to read with a storyteller’s voice. Pupils who are no longer on Read Write Inc Phonics have access to a range of age appropriate texts from Bug Club as well as free choice from the school library.

In Writing pupils write every day, rehearsing out loud what they want to say, before spelling the words using the graphemes and ‘tricky’ words they know. They practise handwriting every day: sitting at a table comfortably, they learn correct letter formation and how to join letters speedily and legibly. Children’s composition (ideas, vocabulary and grammar) is developed by drawing on their own experiences and talking about the stories they read

Parent Guidance

Read Write Inc. is a literacy programme developed by Ruth Miskin and is taught in over 5000 schools in the United Kingdom. Look through our guide for information about how reading is taught at school, and lots of free resources to support your child’s learning at home.

Phonics Sounds

You will find a useful phonics audio guide to all these sounds in the Sound Pronunciation Guide video below. It is really important to say the sounds clearly to help your child learn them. We say ‘mmmm’ not ‘muh’ and ‘lllll’ not ‘luh’ when teaching the sounds. This really helps children when they learn to blend sounds together to read words.

What is Fred Talk?

Teachers at school will introduce your child to a toy frog called Fred once he or she is ready to start reading words.