Phonics

Discrete teaching of synthetic systematic phonics (SSP) happens daily at Birchwood in Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and for those pupils in older year groups who require ongoing phonics support. Our teaching follows Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.

Please click on the link below to support saying phonemes correctly.

Parents guide to pronouncing phonemes

Intent

Phonics (reading and spelling)

At Birchwood Primary School, we believe every child can become a confident reader and writer. We teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, a clear, structured phonics programme. Phonics teaching begins in Reception and follows a set progression so children steadily build their knowledge of letters and sounds. This helps them read and spell accurately as they move through school.

As a result, our pupils can tackle new or unfamiliar words with confidence. We also model how phonics is used in reading and writing during lessons and across other subjects. Speaking and listening are key parts of our approach, as strong language skills support success in all areas of learning.

Comprehension

At Birchwood Primary School, we see reading as an essential life skill. By the time children leave us, they read with confidence, understand what they read, and enjoy books for both pleasure and learning. Our pupils have the skills to work out new vocabulary and see themselves as lifelong readers.

Because teaching every child to read is so important, we have a dedicated Reading Leader who oversees our early reading programme. They are highly trained in phonics and reading and work closely with staff to make sure teaching is consistent and follows the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised approach.

Implementation

Daily phonics lessons in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

We teach phonics every day for 30 minutes. In Reception, we begin with shorter 10-minute sessions and fun oral blending games, building up to full lessons as children are ready. Each Friday, we review the week’s learning to help pupils become fluent and confident readers.

Children make a strong start in Reception, with phonics teaching beginning within the first few weeks of the Autumn term.

We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression:

Reception: Children learn to read and spell using Phase 2 and 3 sounds (GPCs) and practise reading words with adjacent consonants (Phase 4) accurately and fluently.
Year 1: Children review Phases 3 and 4, then learn Phase 5 sounds to read and spell words with growing confidence, including alternative grapheme choices.
Year 2: Children continue to build on their phonics knowledge, with an increasing focus on spelling patterns and accuracy.

Teaching reading: Reading practice sessions

We teach children to read through small-group reading practice sessions up to three times a week. The books are carefully matched to each child’s secure phonics knowledge, using Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessments and book matching grids. Class teachers regularly work with and monitor each group.

Each session has a clear focus to avoid overloading children and to build key reading skills:

Decoding – sounding out and reading words accurately
Prosody – reading with understanding, expression and flow
Comprehension – understanding and discussing what they read

In Reception, most children begin with wordless books to develop their storytelling and language skills. Those not yet decoding have extra blending practice in small groups so they can begin reading word books as soon as possible.
In Years 1 and 2, we continue to teach reading in the same way to strengthen fluency and understanding.

Home reading

Children take home their decodable reading practice book so they can share their success with family. They also choose a reading-for-pleasure book to enjoy at home with parents or carers.
We use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised parent resources to help families understand how phonics works and why sharing books is so valuable. These resources, along with our online guides and workshops, explain how children learn to blend sounds and develop reading confidence.
(Please click here to view our parent/carer phonics workshop presentation.)
Parents and carers are also encouraged to help their child learn phonemes and tricky words through fun home activities.
(Click here for some tricky word games and ideas.)

Ensuring consistency and pace of progress

All our teachers are fully trained to teach reading, and we use the same routines, language and resources across the school. This helps children learn more easily and reduces confusion.

Our weekly plans clearly show what new learning happens each day, week and term. Teachers follow consistent lesson templates, prompt cards and videos to make sure every class gets high-quality teaching.

The Reading and Phonics Subject Leader and Senior Leadership Team regularly check phonics and reading lessons using audits. They also review assessment data to spot any gaps in learning and make sure children get the right support quickly.

Ensuring reading for pleasure

‘Reading for pleasure is the single most important indicator of a child’s success.’ (OECD 2002)

We place great importance on reading for pleasure and work hard to create a strong reading culture across the school.

We read to children every day, choosing books that reflect our school community as well as stories that introduce pupils to different cultures and experiences.

Every classroom has an inviting book corner filled with regularly refreshed books that encourage children to explore new authors and genres. In Reception, children can visit their book corner daily during free-flow time.

From Reception onwards, children have a home reading diary. Parents and carers can write comments to share with teachers, and staff also record feedback to keep communication between home and school strong together with an outline of the week’s phonic learning and consolidation work. As children get older, they start writing their own comments and keeping track of the books they’ve read.

Our school library is open to all classes each week. Throughout the year, children also enjoy reading events such as book fairs, author visits, workshops and national reading celebrations.

Impact

Assessment

We use regular assessment to check children’s progress and to identify anyone who needs extra support as soon as possible.

Assessment for learning happens:

Daily in lessons to spot children who may need quick ‘Keep-up’ support.
Weekly during Review lessons to find and fix any gaps and build fluency in sounds (GPCs), words and spelling.

Summative assessment happens:

Every six weeks to track overall progress, identify learning gaps, and plan the right support for each child.
By the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), who review data from the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised tracker to help close any attainment gaps and provide extra help for teachers where needed.

Statutory assessment

Children in Year 1 sit the Phonics Screening Check (PSC). Any child not passing the check re-sits it in Year 2. Find out more about the Phonics Screening Check below:

Parent guide to the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

PSC parent information presentation

Ongoing assessment for catch-up

Children in Year 2 to 6 are assessed through their teacher’s ongoing formative assessment as well as through the half-termly Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised summative assessments. Intervention work is provided to help children keep up and to close any emerging gaps.