Reading and Phonics at Edlesborough School
Instilling a love of reading
At Edlesborough School we place great value on sharing stories and a wide variety of texts with our
children through class stories, regular opportunities for individual and group reading, discussion,
book reviews, and regular library sessions. We use high quality children’s literature as the basis for
cross curricular learning and as a support for a topic, and regularly focus on the work of particular
authors, including inviting in visiting authors to the school. We celebrate World Book Day and enjoy
regular book fairs, encouraging children to choose their own books.
Edlesborough recognises the invaluable support provided by families as partners in instilling a love of
reading, and we encourage parents to read to their children and continue to enjoy sharing and
discussing books of all types throughout their child’s primary education.
We believe that by sharing books and text we expose children to a rich variety of text structures,
language patterns and vocabulary which feeds in to their own written work, supporting their
development as writers, as well as sparking their imagination and introducing them to a world of
new experiences and interests.
Key Stage 1 Phonics
At Edlesborough School we teach the children in Key Stage 1 phonics on a daily basis. Phonics is one
of the skills that children require to support their reading and writing and is taught alongside a range
of other strategies. It enables pupils to ‘decode’ words for reading and build up words for spelling
using the sounds (phonemes) associated with each letter or combination of letters (graphemes).
Phonics is taught in phases from 1-6, following the structure provided by the Letters and Sounds
Phonics Programme. Phases are of different lengths and some are essentially the consolidation of
previous learning. The expected phase for the end of each year is:
Reception – Phase 3
Year 1 – Phase 5
Year 2 – Phase 6
The children are grouped across Key Stage 1 according to their stage of development. Through
assessing the children on a regular basis we monitor each child’s progress and change their group
and phase as they are ready for the next stage.
Children in Year 1 are now required to take a phonics assessment. This enables us to clearly identify
the children who have not reached the level expected at the end of year 1 so that additional input
can be provided to support their progress in year 2. In 2012 66.7% of pupils reached the expected
level for children in Year 1. This is above the average for Buckinghamshire.
Key Stage 2 Phonics
As the children move into Key Stage 2 and enter year 3, if they are not secure at Phase 6 they will
continue to receive regular phonics teaching to support their progress in reading and writing. In
addition, where appropriate to an individual’s needs, pupils with Special Educational Needs will
continue to be taught systematic phonics as part of a programme of support.
Reading and Spelling Irregular Words
Alongside the systematic teaching of phonics, children are taught to recognise and spell high
frequency ‘tricky’ words that cannot be spelt or decoded phonetically. This is done through flash
cards, look – say – cover- write - check, and regular repetition of these irregular words.
Reading for Meaning
Children learn how to decode and recognise individual words through applying phonics knowledge,
sight recognition, breaking down words into syllables and recognising words within words.
Above all children are encouraged to read for meaning and to think about whether what they have
read makes sense. A variety of techniques support this including use of pictures to help with
understanding, the context of a story or text, the meaning of the rest of the sentence, the use of
punctuation to help with meaning. As children grow in confidence with their reading they will be
encouraged to infer meaning from the text, to think ahead and make predictions and to give their
opinions and responses to stories and texts, referring to the text to support their ideas.
Reading Schemes
Edlesborough provides a range of texts for children at different stages in their reading development
using a colour book band system to guide choices. Early readers are provided with appropriate books
from a range of reading schemes, both fiction and non-fiction, to ensure that they have opportunity
to consolidate and widen their experience and understanding at a particular level, moving on to the
next stage as appropriate
Early Years
Children in Reception are read an abundance of stories, rhymes and poems to support their learning
across the curriculum. When a child can confidently blend and segment words with 3 sounds they
begin to take reading books home. Children are listened to at least once a week in school and take
two books home to share. Tricky words, learnt within the phonics sessions, are taken home on word
cards to aid sight recognition. Word building skills are practiced during reading times and regular
assessment ensures children move on as appropriate. Library books are also taken home weekly, the
choice of book being determined by the child
Key Stage 1
Children in Year 1 continue the pattern established in Early Years; they are listened to at least weekly
and take books home to share twice a week. As children become more confident, guided reading
takes place in addition to individual reading and reading skills are taught in a group.
In Year 2 guided reading takes place on a daily basis with reading skills taught at the level
appropriate for the group. Children select their own reading book to share at home from a wide
variety of texts including fiction and non fiction, and change their books whenever they have
finished their book. Children requiring additional support are listened to on an individual basis and
books are selected from the appropriate colour bands.
Key Stage 2
Most children enter KS2 as confident readers and we encourage them to read regularly as
individuals from a wide range of books from their classroom, the school library or from home.
Children record what they have read on individual reading records and share their opinions in book
reviews. Children also read regularly as a group or class, discussing their understanding and opinion
of the texts that they are reading and identifying techniques used by the author for effect.
SEND
Pupils with special educational needs are supported in their reading by additional opportunities for
individual or small group reading, and by intervention programmes designed to target their
particular need. The effectiveness of these intervention programmes are carefully monitored to
ensure a good impact on learning.