Phonics and Early Reading
Mosaic Federation
We firmly believe that reading is the key to educational success and with this in mind, delivering high-quality phonics is at the centre of our approach to teaching reading within the Mosaic Federation.
We are determined that the children get the best possible start to their reading and that all our children will be fluent readers by the time they leave KS1; that they are able to decode accurately, and they can comprehend what they have read.
This process begins in our Nursery where children begin by learning the pre-requisite skills to phonics by developing their phonemic skills and phonological awareness.
In Reception and onwards into Key Stage One, we follow the Read Write Inc. scheme (RWI). This is a high-quality systematic phonics programme that prepares children for learning to read by developing phonic knowledge, comprehension and reading skills. As well as learning to read and blend real words, children have plenty of opportunities to apply their skills through reading appropriate texts matched to the level they are reading at. Consequently, children’s early independent reading is exclusively reading the RWI fully decodable books, ensuring that children are only asked to read books with sounds that they know. Furthermore, children are also given daily practise at developing their sound recognition skills and blending through decoding ‘nonsense words’. These words also feature on the Year One Phonics Screen check which is an assessment that the children will take during the summer term.
Throughout the Read Write Inc. process, the children are assessed at regular half termly intervals to ensure that they are making the required progress. Any gaps that appear in learning are flagged up and the children participate in 1:1 tuition so they catch up quickly using the Fast-Track Tutoring Programme.
Nursery:
The children are taught via the Letters and Sounds Phase One programme where they are taught early phonological awareness. They are taught to discriminate between sounds in the environment, hear rhyme and rhythm, alliteration and learn oral segmenting and blending.
Reception & Key Stage One:
Children participate in phonics sessions daily and are taught to:
- Decode letter-sound correspondences quickly and effortlessly, using their phonic knowledge and skills
- Read common exception words on sight
- Understand what they read
- Read texts aloud with fluency and expression
- Spell quickly and easily by segmenting the sounds in words
- Acquire good handwriting.
Key Stage 2:
Because learning to read is an incredibly complex skill to master, any children who still need support with their reading in Key Stage Two are taught Read Write Inc. as an intervention programme.
Further Information:
The Ruth Miskin Training YouTube channel has lots of helpful videos for parents to watch to help them to understand the programme and how it works. Here are a couple of them:
- Parents Video: What is Read Write Inc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjlPILhk7bQ
- Parents Video: How to say the sounds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkXcabDUg7Q
