Bliss Charity

Phonics Provision

Phonics RWI

At The Bliss Charity School, we recognise that learning to read is the most important skill a child will learn at school. It unlocks a child’s ability to learn across the curriculum. Our goal is to ensure children gain a fluent ability to communicate, read at an early age and foster a love for reading.

Children will be taught to decode and blend quickly and accurately as part of the early teaching of word reading. This is done during daily Read Write Inc. phonic sessions from Reception to KS1. Through half termly assessments, we ensure that children are working at a challenge level in a group matched to their ability. Children receive additional support, where needed, to help them on their journey to becoming a confident reader. This support may continue into KS2.

Children are given many other additional opportunities throughout the day and throughout the school to read for pleasure. These are often topic linked to hook children’s interest and link their learning across the curriculum.

At The Bliss Charity School, we use the DFE validates programme Read Write Inc. (RWInc) to teach phonics every day. This programme provides a discrete, consistent and structured approach to teach every child read by the end of KS1.

Daily sessions are completed in Reception to Class 2. The programme is then continued into KS2 for targeted children who need extra support with the mechanics of reading. All sessions are led by trained members of staff.

Children are assessed every half term and placed into homogenous groups, with matched reading books to their ability. Sessions include the learning of the English alphabetic code, along with the alternative graphemes for each phoneme. They are taught to decode and blend words together and look out for ‘tricky/red’ words (common exception words). Children will apply these skills to read sentences in high quality books that are matched to their increasing knowledge of phonics. They will have the chance to re-read these texts and improve their fluency.

Children take home a RWInc book which is matched to their phonic knowledge. They also take home a sharing book of their own choosing.

All children’s progress is tracked through the half-termly assessments. Children in Reception and KS1 who need more support will receive additional phonics interventions throughout the week to address gaps in their knowledge or fluency. Children who still require the RWInc programme in KS2, receive these discrete sessions in addition to their classroom practise across the week.

As readers, when children leave KS1 they are able to read words quickly and fluently without overtly sounding out. Children can demonstrate through assessments, evidence of work and data that they understand and show an interest of what they have read and use their phonetic skills to decode unfamiliar words. All pupils, including our lowest readers, make sufficient progress.

Pupils are familiar with and enjoy listening to a wide range of stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction. They develop a love for reading.

Consequently, by the end of their primary education at Bliss, pupils are able to read fluently and confidently in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.

Phonics LTM 2324

At The Bliss Charity School, we recognise that learning to read is the most important skill a child will learn at school. It unlocks a child’s ability to learn across the curriculum. Our goal is to ensure children gain a fluent ability to communicate, read at an early age and foster a love for reading.

Overview

BooksWe use the Read Write Inc. programme with fidelity to teach early reading. All members of staff at this school have been trained to deliver this programme and the systematic style of teaching really appeals to the children. Children are regularly assessed and grouped accordingly in order to meet the learning needs of every child.

The programme is taught to all Reception, Class 1 and Class 2 children daily. Any individuals in KS2 who still require the programme, will continue to receive separate Read Write Inc. sessions throughout the week.

atRead Write Inc. tutoring is given to children in KS2 who need extra support to keep up their progress and complete the programme.  

What to expect at home

All children start the Read Write Inc. programme in Reception. As the children learn to identify sounds and blend together words, they will bring home sound sheets and eventually progress onto books. The books they bring home will all contain familiar sounds that they have already learnt at school. Please read these books as much as possible with your child.

Sometimes your child might bring home a book that they know well. Please don’t say, ‘This is too easy.’ Instead, encourage your child to tell you the story out loud; ask them questions about things that happen or what they think about some of the characters in the story. Aim for each book to be read at least 3 times at home:  Story Books

  • Once for learning the words
  • Once for building fluency
  • Once for understanding the story and comprehension

Each book has ‘green’ words (words which use phonics) and ‘red words’ (common exception words which you can’t decode), which you can practise before attempting the book.

See the attached file in the side bar “Support your child with reading at home” for more information and a phonics sound mat containing all set 1, set 2 and set 3 sounds your child will be learning.
 

Parent films

These films show parents and carers how to support their children’s reading at home. These can be accessed through the Ruth Miskin Website or on their YouTube Channel.  Parent Help

Read Write Inc. - Ruth Miskin - Parents info

  

More information

Watch video tutorials on https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/  to help you to understand more about Read Write Inc. Phonics and how to help your child read and write at home.

Free e-books for home reading: http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/Reading/

Ruth Miskin (Read Write Inc.) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miskin.education

 
Here are some YouTube videos which show how each of the sounds are pronounced.
 

Set 1 -

Set 2 -

Set 3 -

Oxford Owl e-books

You can access free e-books and audio books on Oxford Owl’s website: https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-pupils/pupil-home
Username: BlissClass1
Password: BlissClass1
 
 

Glossary

  • ‘Special Friends’

Special friends are a combination of two or three letters representing one sound, e.g. ck, ay, igh, oa.

  • Fred Talk

Fred the Frog helps children read and spell. He can say the sounds in words, but he can’t say the whole word, so children have to help him.Fred frog

To help children read, Fred (the teacher) says the sounds and then children say the word.

For example, Fred says c-a-t, children say cat, Fred says l-igh-t, children say light.

 

  • ‘Fred in your head’

Once children can sound out a word, we teach them to say the sounds silently in their heads.

We show them how to do this by:

Whispering the sounds and then saying the whole word;

Mouthing the sounds silently and then saying the whole word;

Saying the whole word straight away.