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English - Early Reading and Phonics
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."
Dr. Seuss
English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.
Intent
Intent
St John’s aims to ensure every child becomes a fluent, confident reader and writer, regardless of background. The school follows the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme to deliver a consistent, systematic synthetic phonics approach from Reception onwards. Children build strong knowledge of the alphabetic code, supported by rich language development across the curriculum. Reading is valued as a vital life skill, promoting both comprehension and reading for pleasure. A dedicated Reading Leader drives high-quality practice, ensuring fidelity to the programme, and nurturing pupils who see themselves as capable, motivated readers.
Implementation
Implementation
Daily phonics lessons are taught with precision and consistency, following the Little Wandle progression, beginning in Week 2 of Reception and continuing through Year 1. Children access Keep-up or catch-up sessions when needed, ensuring no learner falls behind. Reading practice sessions occur three times a week in small groups, focusing on decoding, prosody and comprehension, with books matched to secure phonic knowledge. Home reading includes both decodable books and reading-for-pleasure texts. Staff receive thorough training, use shared routines, and follow clear weekly content grids, supported by regular monitoring from the Reading Leader and SLT. The school also fosters a strong reading-for-pleasure culture through daily story time, inviting book corners, library visits and engagement with wider reading events.
Impact
Impact
Assessment is continuous and purposeful, enabling rapid identification of gaps and timely intervention. Daily formative assessment, weekly review sessions and six-weekly summative assessments ensure children progress securely through the phonics programme. Data is used by leaders to close attainment gaps and to provide targeted staff or pupil support. Statutory assessment in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is supported by structured preparation and catch-up for those who need it. Across the school, older pupils continue to be assessed for reading gaps to ensure fluency. As a result, pupils develop strong decoding skills, increasing fluency and confidence, and leave St John’s as capable, enthusiastic readers who can access the full curriculum.
Supporting with phonics at home
The Little Wandle website has a number of great resources to support you at home. Firstly, it shows how we pronounce the pure sounds and a video of how to read the decodable book with your child at home under the 'books coming home' tab. If you have any questions, please discuss further with your child's class teacher.
