Springfield House Community Special School

Phonics

• We are continuing to embed the use of Read, Write Inc to support our pupils with their phonics knowledge so that all our pupils learn to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension.  As soon as a pupil arrives at Springfield they are assessed by the reading leader in order to pinpoint which stage of reading they are at and where to place them within the programme. Once assessed, pupils will start by using the RWI phonics (Read, Write, Inc) programme if necessary and will continue through the stages of phonetical understanding, decoding and blending within increasingly complex words until they are ready to pass phonics and move onto our Spelling and comprehension Guided reading lessons.  

• Throughout the programme children learn the English alphabetic code: the 150+ graphemes that represent 44 speech sounds. They rapidly learn sounds and the letter, or group of letters, they need to represent them, in three sets of Speed Sound lessons. Simple and enjoyable mnemonics help our pupils to grasp the letter-sound correspondences quickly. This knowledge is taught and consolidated daily. We also teach high frequency words that are not phonically regular (Red Words) and these are incorporated into the daily practise sessions.

• Lively phonics books are closely matched to the pupil’s phonetic knowledge so that early on they experience success in reading. We group our pupils into homogenous groups (groups according to phonetic knowledge not according to age). Repeated reading of the text throughout the week supports their increasingly fluent decoding. The same text is then sent home after the third school read so that pupils can share their success with parents and carers and celebrate their success with their families. This practise supports developing fluency and increases pupil’s confidence in their own ability whilst working towards fostering a love for reading.

• Pupils who have successfully completed the programme will move on to RWI spelling which covers all the spelling rules.  The pupils at Springfield House love these sessions as they complete a variety of activities and work with a partner in a fun and engaging way (see the English page for more details about RWI Spelling)

• We want your child to love reading - and to want to read for themselves.  At Springfield House, teachers, TAs, leaders and older pupils read to the children too, so they get to know all sorts of stories, poetry and information books.  They learn many more words this way and this in turn supports their growing vocabulary and understanding of the world around them.

Below are links to videos and resources that support you to help your child learn to read:                                

Oxford Owl -Read Write Inc. page on Oxford Owl for Home. Here you can find lots of free resources to  support your child’s learning.

Oxford Owl - free online books for 3 to 11 year olds. Your class teacher will have sent you log on details.   If you have forgotten them, just ask your class team to re-issue them.

Login (oxfordowl.co.uk)

Free eBook library – practise reading with phonics eBooks | Oxford Owl

Please also see the RWI booklet sent home with your child with  information to help  support you when reading with your child.

Read Write Inc. - Reading at Home