Phonics is taught daily to every child in EYFS and Y1 and to children that haven't yet mastered phase 5 phonics in year two. We follow the Little Wandle phonics scheme in school.
Phonics Statement of Intent
At Lakenheath Community Primary School, we value reading and writing as a key life skills and are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers and writers. It is important to remember that these are skills that are not only used in the subject of English but are also essential if children are to successfully access the rest of the curriculum.
We teach a DfE validated systematic and synthetic phonics daily throughout the EYFS and Year 1 which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school. We also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.
Whilst children are developing their independent reading skills their reading books are closely matched to their phonics knowledge with a focus on decoding, fluency, prosody and comprehension. There is also the expectation that these are read at home too to further develop and embed skills learnt in reading sessions. We have purchased e-books to ensure parents can have access to the same decodable books that they read in school.
The importance of these early reading and writing skills cannot be overlooked as they so greatly affect a child’s learning in most other areas of the curriculum and will do throughout their schooling and future careers. Consequently, it is our intent that all staff are well trained to teach phonics as it is so important to the future successes of our children. Furthermore we recognise that the need for phonics instruction does not necessarily stop upon entering Key Stage 2 and we provide Rapid Catch-up programme for children who may need it.
We all use the same language, routines and resources to teach children to read so that we lower children’s cognitive load. The Reading and Phonics Leaders regularly monitor and observe teaching; they also use the regular assessment data to identify children who need additional support and gaps in learning.
In 2022, we were delighted that the percentage of our children passing the Phonics Screening Check was in line with the national average. It is our intent to maintain this standard and to strive towards exceeding it. That said at Lakenheath Community Primary School we pride ourselves on celebrating progress from a child’s starting point.
We are also know that 'Reading for pleasure is the single most important indicator of a child’s success.’ (OECD 2002). We value reading for pleasure highly and work hard as a school to give children and families opportunities to immerse themselves in a wide range of books, including books that reflect the children at School and our local community as well as books that open windows into other worlds and cultures. We read to the children daily; and children have regular opportunities to read in school both independently and guided. We have reading challenges that include quality texts to ensure every child has access to rich texts.