Early Reading

Phonics

Phonics is taught as a way of decoding written letters and spoken sounds in the early stages of learning to read. Learning to read is like cracking a code so, by teaching phonics, we teach children to crack the code. 

At St. Patrick's we teach synthetic phonics throughout Key Stage One. We follow the ‘Read, Write, Inc’ programme which provides a structured and systematic approach to the teaching of phonics. It aims for children to develop fluent word reading skills and have good foundations in spelling by the end of Key Stage One. Your child’s class teacher will be able to tell you which set they are working on.

How we Teach Phonics

Here at St. Patrick's the teaching of phonics begins in Nursery, using Read, Write, Inc to introduce sounds to the children. Children will then learn further sounds in line with Read, Write, Inc progression.

In Nursery and Reception phonics is initially taught in classes then in groups as necessary.

In Year 1 and 2 the children will be in phonic and spelling groups.

Assessment in Phonics

At St. Patrick's rigourous assessment is carried out on a regular basis to identify gaps and teachers will plan to fill these gaps and children are then moved accordingly.