Reading

Reading is a high priority for our school and we want to ensure that we foster a love of reading. We provide discrete reading activities within lesson, guided group reading, individual reading alongside opportunities to listen to adults read and have time to read for pleasure. To find out more about reading in our school and how the children progress during their time here, please look at the document below. As well as offering an overview of a child's reading journey through our school, we have also included ideas for reading at home and a bank of questions to ask your child when reading with them.

Reading is a vital skill that will support children's learning across the whole curriculum. We want children in our school to become enthusiastic, independent and reflective readers and we want children to enjoy reading. 

It is important to hear your child read regularly and also to discuss the text, language, grammar, plot and characters. Children who are really confident readers still need to read to an adult and have opportunities to discuss literature. It is also equally important for you to read to you children. We hope that these links help parents and carers to support their child with reading.

At the Federation of Thomas Wall and Robin Hood Infants we want to encourage all of our children to have a love of reading. Please click the links for a list of reading books recommended for the following year groups.

What is Phonics?

Phonics is a way of teaching children to read quickly and skilfully. They are taught how to:

•  recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes;
• identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make, such as ‘th’ or ‘ee’;
•  blend these sounds together from left to right to make a word.

Children can then use this knowledge to ‘de-code’ new words that they hear or see. This is the first important step in learning to read.

Why phonics?

Research shows that when phonics is taught in a structured way – starting with the easiest sounds and progressing through to the most complex – it is the most effective way of teaching young children to read. Almost all children who receive good teaching of phonics will learn the skills they need to tackle new words. They can then go on to read different types of text fluently, confidently and for enjoyment. We run parent workshops in order to support parents in helping their children read at home. Our school is well resourced with phonic games and equipment, making use of ICT where appropriate. 

What is the phonics screening check?

The phonics screening check is a quick and easy way to assess of your child’s phonics knowledge. It helps your school gauge whether your child has made the expected progress.

How does the screening check work?

•  Your child will sit with a teacher who he or she knows and be asked to read 40 words aloud.
•  Your child may have read some of the words before, while others will be completely new.
• The check normally takes just a few minutes to complete and there is no time limit. If your child is struggling, the teacher will stop the check. The check is carefully designed not to be a stressful experience for your child.

What are ‘pseudo- words’?

The check contains a mix of real words and ‘pseudo-words’ (or ‘nonsensewords’). Your child will be told before the check that there will be 'nonsense-words' that he or she will not have seen before. 

Non-words such as ‘fap’ are important to include because they are new to all children. Children cannot read non-words by using their memory or vocabulary; they have to use their decoding skills. This is a fair way to assess their phonic ability.

Little Wandle Letter and Sounds Revised

Our school has chosen the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised as our systematic, synthetic phonics (SSP) programme to teach early reading and phonics.  It sets out a detailed programme for children starting in Reception (phase 2) up to Year One (phase 5). See programme overview attached below.