Phonics (reading and spelling)

At Northbourne CE Primary School our children are supported to become fluent readers. To achieve this, we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.

Little Wandle is a systematic synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

Through our phonics teaching, children are able to tackle unfamiliar words as they read. 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, building crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

The development of reading is a crucial life skill. By the time children leave us, we expect them to be able to read confidently for meaning and regularly enjoy reading for pleasure. Our readers are equipped with the tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary. We encourage our children to see themselves as readers for both pleasure and purpose.

Because we believe teaching every child to read is so important, we have a Reading Leader on our school staff. The Reading Leader monitors and manages the early reading programme in our school. This person is highly skilled at teaching phonics and reading, and supports everybody in school to teach with fidelity to the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.

Comprehension, fluency and reading for pleasure are furthered as children begin our Scholastic Reading Pro programme, following their phonics learning.