Phonics and Reading
Teaching of reading comprises of objectives for each year group taken from the New National Curriculum Programmes of Study. The Lancashire Key Skills for Reading document is used to ensure the appropriate skills are taught across each year group. The skills are organised into the following areas:
- Word reading
- Comprehension
Our pupils will work at the level appropriate to their ability. Achieving the appropriate skill set for their ability by working through a range of literature throughout the year. Pupils should be encouraged to develop as enthusiastic and independent readers, being given progressively more challenging and demanding texts. Children are encouraged to read and use a wide range of sources of information whilst researching various subjects.
At St Thomas’ our approach to reading includes covering the objectives found in the Lancashire Key Skills for Reading document by:
- shared reading – which is planned into English lessons.
- guided reading – is taught discretely in 15-20 minute sessions each day in small groups according to the children’s ability level.
- independent reading – a group each day will have a chance to read independently as part of the guided reading rota.
- wider reading – children access the school library at least once per week and choose a book to take home.
- reading for pleasure - each class reads a shared class novel.
- each classroom is to develop a reading area for independent reading.
- KS1 and 2 each have a lunchtime reading box which contains a wide variety of age appropriate literature for children to read at lunchtimes.
- home Reading - homework is set regularly by staff in various forms and reading books are taken home each night and parents are encouraged to listen to children read regularly.
- KS1 especially, parents are encouraged to comment in their child’s reading diary.
At St Thomas' we use Letters and Sounds and give children from the beginning of Reception all the way through to Y3 daily phonics sessions. These sessions are made up of four key parts i.e. review, teach, practise and apply. Phonics at St Thomas' is multisensory and encourages active learning.
Please find below two websites with games, activities and texts to help support your child's phonic knowledge.
https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/
https://phonicsplaycomics.co.uk/
At St Thomas' we use:
- Pearsons Phonics Bug and Phonics play to aid phonics sessions
- Pearsons Bug club to aid guided reading sessions, this is also used as an online addition to our home reading books.
- Children who are working below Phase 5 phonics have access to phonetically decode-able books both in school and as home readers through the Pearsons Bug Club books.
https://www.activelearnprimary.co.uk/login?e=-1&c=0#bugclub
Please check out these other websites and explore some of their fabulous texts!
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/
September 2020
If you would like to know more about Reading and Phonics then please look at the PPT below.
We read EVERYWHERE and ANYWHERE! Well done everyone who took part in our Extreme Reading challenge! Myself and the other teachers are very proud of you! Mrs Mason
World Book Day 2021 
Follow the link to find out about our new READING Journey....