Phonics

Phonics at St Andrew's CE School

Phonics (reading and spelling)

At St Andrew’s First School, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and 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.

As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At St Andrew’s First 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 with the use of Worcestershire Speech and Language for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

For how to guides and useful resources for parents please use this link to help support your child at home: https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/

We follow the Colling Big Cat Reading scheme which is in conjunction with Little Wandle. Below is an explanation of the different book bands and the age related expectations: