Phonics at Charfield

At Charfield School, Phonics is taught following the Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) scheme. It is delivered through daily whole-class, quality first teaching. There is a focus on repetition and reinforcement of learning as we teach children to decode by identifying each sound within a word and blending them together to read fluently and encode by segmenting each sound to write words accurately.

Ultimately, we want children to read well, quickly.

Our Phonics Intent

We follow the ELS Phonics scheme so that our learners:

Become confident, fluent readers.
Are given the Phonics knowledge and the skills to then apply this independently.
Are taught a coherent sequence of lessons that builds upon prior knowledge from pre-school/nursery
Are introduced to phonemes, sounds & graphemes, and letters systematically
Develop and apply blending and segmenting skills for both reading and writing
Are provided with opportunities to apply their phonic knowledge when reading and spelling
Develop confidence, resilience and engagement in phonics lessons and a love for reading and writing

Our Phonics Implementation

Our Phonics curriculum is taught:

To allow children to decode (read) by identifying each sound within a word and blending them together to read fluently
- Encode (write) by segmenting each sound to write words accurately.
Using the ELS structure which allows children to know what is coming next, what they need to do, and how to achieve success.
So children will use their growing Phonics knowledge to support them in other areas of the curriculum and will have many opportunities to practice their reading. This includes reading 1:1 with a member of staff, with a partner during paired reading and as a class.
By identifying the phonemes (the smallest unit of sound) and graphemes (the written version of the sound) within words and using these to read words.
At the very beginning of Reception and it is explicitly taught every day during a dedicated slot on the timetable.
Following the ELS progression and sequence. This allows our children to practice their existing phonic knowledge whilst building their understanding of the ‘code’ of our language GPCs (Grapheme Phoneme Correspondence).
So children experience the joy of books and language whilst rapidly acquiring the skills they need to become fluent independent readers and writers.
Using relevant, useful and ambitious vocabulary to support each child’s journey to becoming fluent and independent readers.
Starting with the single letter sounds before moving to diagraphs ‘sh’ (two letters spelling one sound), trigraphs ‘igh’ (three letters spelling one sound) and quadgraphs ‘eigh’ (four letters spelling one sound).
With interventions being delivered within the lesson by the teacher, any child who is struggling with the new knowledge can be immediately targeted with appropriate support. Where further support is required, 1:1 interventions are used where needed. These interventions are short, specific and effective.

Our Phonics Impact

The impact of the Phonics curriculum at Charfield Primary School can be see through:

Our children’s enjoyment of reading and writing
Our children’s skills and knowledge that demonstrates a systematic and progressive approach to the teaching of phonics
Our children’s fluency when reading, using segmenting and blending as key tools to success
Our children are able to read and spell common exception words accurately
Our children’s ability to use alternative spelling choices correctly and apply these in their writing
Our results in the statutory Year 1 phonic screening checks, when compared to both local and national data