Phonics and Reading at Richard Taylor School.
At RTS, we have high expectations of all children and the aim of our phonics teaching is to make sure they have a firm foundation on which to build reading skills.
Phonics is taught systematically every day in the Early Years and Key Stage 1 classes. In Key Stage 2, the approach is carried on in spelling sessions and also in intervention programmes for children who need extra support.
High-quality phonics teaching helps children develop their reading, writing, spelling and general communication skills. It helps secure the crucial skills of word recognition that enable children to read fluently, allowing them to concentrate on the meaning of the text. Activities are designed to teach word decoding and recognition skills as well as comprehension skills.
Beginner readers are taught
- Grapheme-phoneme correspondences in clear stages (linking spellings and sounds).
- The important skill of blending (synthesising) phonemes.
- Segmenting words into their constituent phonemes to aid reading and spelling.
The teaching of phonics is systematic, this means that it follows a carefully structured programme building on previous learning to secure children´s progress. It is taught discretely and daily at a brisk pace. There are opportunities to apply phonic knowledge and skills across the curriculum and in activities such as whole class and guided reading, as well as reading independently. The children´s progress in developing and applying their phonic knowledge is carefully assessed and monitored.
We follow the Rocket Phonics Scheme Click Here for the Parent guide and also Click Here for videos of the correct phonics pronunciation.
There are a wide range of reading books in classrooms and the school library. The core of our reading scheme is Oxford Reading Tree. This is supported by the use of additional parallel schemes which support specific aspects of reading. We encourage parents to read frequently with their children using their school reading books and books from home.
Celebrating Reading
Reading plays an important part in the life of the school, we celebrate World Book Day every year, classes regularly visit Bilton and Woodfield Library. Classes regularly come together to allow older children to share books with younger pupils. The EYFS classes regularly invite parents in to share books.
For reluctant KS2 readers we even work with Ciara, the reading dog, who comes in every week to hear readers.
Information Evenings
In the autumn term, each year, there is a valuable information evening for all parents which, explains how we teach early reading and how you can help at home.
Helping Your Child at Home
The link above takes you to the phonics play site which contains games and activities which are free for your children to enjoy and which will support their phonics development.