Subject Leader: Mrs Mitchell
The teaching of phonics at Applegarth Primary School follows the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.
“The Little Wandle programme provides a full progression through all commonly occurring GPCs* (sounds), working from simple to more complex, and taking into account the frequency of their occurrence in the most commonly encountered words.”
The Curriculum
Phonics (reading and spelling)
At Applegarth we believe that all of 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 that is validated by the DfE. We start teaching ‘Foundations to phonics’ in Nursery and then the main Little Wandle Letters and Sound Revised programme in Reception. In Year 1 children will progress to Phase 5, including alternative pronunciations and alternative spellings. In Year, once children complete Phase 5 phonics, they transition directly to the Little Wandle Spelling programme, which builds on their phonics knowledge while teaching them how to ‘think about spelling’.
Comprehension
At Applegarth Primary School, we value reading as a crucial life skill. By the time children leave us, we aim for them to be reading confidently for meaning and regularly enjoy reading for pleasure. Our readers are equipped with the tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary. We encourage our children to see themselves as readers for both pleasure and purpose. Because we believe teaching every child to read is so important, we have a Reading Leader (Mrs Mitchell) who drives the phonics and early reading programme in our school. This
person is highly skilled at teaching phonics and reading, and they monitor and support our reading team, so that everyone teaches with consistency and fidelity to the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.
Foundations for phonics in Nursery
We provide a balance of child-led and adult-led
experiences for all children that meet the curriculum
expectations for ‘Communication and Language’ and
‘Literacy’.
These include:
- Sharing high-quality stories and poems
- Learning a range of nursery rhymes and action
rhymes - Activities that develop focused listening and
attention – including oral blending - Attention to high-quality language
We ensure that Nursery children are well prepared to begin learning grapheme-phoneme
correspondences (GPCs) and blending in Reception.
Little Wandle Foundations is aligned to the non-statutory guidance on Development Matters and
Birth To 5 Matters as well as the Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework . We
use it as part of our wider provision for ‘Communication and Language’ and ‘Literacy’.
Daily phonics lessons in Reception and Year 1
We teach phonics for 30 minutes a day. In Reception, we build up from 10-minute lessons to
the full-length lesson as quickly as possible.
Each Friday, we review the week’s teaching to help children become fluent readers. Children
make a strong start in Reception – teaching begins in Week 2 of the Autumn term.
We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised expectations of progress:
- Children in Reception are taught to read and spell words using Phase 2 and 3 GPCs
and words with adjacent consonants (Phase 4) with fluency and accuracy. - Children in Year 1 review Phase 3 and 4 and are taught to read and spell words using
Phase 5 GPCs with fluency and accuracy.
Daily ‘Keep-up’ lessons ensure that every child learns to read
Any child in Reception and Year 1 who needs additional practice has daily ‘Keep-up’ support,
taught by a fully trained adult. Daily ‘Keep-up’ lessons follow the Little Wandle progression and
use the same procedures, resources and mantras, but in smaller steps with more repetition so
that every child secures their learning.
Daily phonics and spelling in Year 2
Year 2 begins by using assessment to ensure that children have completed the Little Wandle
Year 1 progression. Any gaps in teaching are addressed through daily phonics lessons until the
programme is completed. Corresponding summative assessments are carried out to ensure this
content is secure. Once all of the Year 1 content has been taught and assessed, we teach a five-week Phase 5 review. This ensures that children secure the trickier elements of Phase 5 and can apply this
alphabetic knowledge in both reading and spelling. We use the Phase 5 review assessment
before teaching in Year 2 to identify any children who may need more support when teaching.
We reassess after teaching the Phase 5 review. Once the Phase 5 review is secure, we teach Bridge to Spelling before moving to the Spelling units. Children with larger gaps in their phonic knowledge than their peers have daily phonics teaching and follow the Rapid Catch-up programme.
Children in Year 2 to Year 6: Rapid Catch-up
We timetable daily phonics lessons for any child in Year 2 and above who is not at age-related
expectations for reading or has not passed the Phonics Screening Check at the end of Year 1 (or
the resit at the end of Year 2). These children urgently need to catch up so that the gap
between themselves and their peers does not widen. These short, sharp lessons last 15 to 20 minutes and have been designed to ensure children quickly catch up to age-related expectations in reading. We assess children who are new to our school, new to the country or new to English using the
Rapid Catch-up assessments to quickly identify their needs. We also use these assessments to
identify the gaps in children’s phonic knowledge and teach these using the Rapid Catch-up
resources – at pace.We assess children using the Rapid Catch-up summative assessments to assess progress and inform teaching.
Teaching Reading: Reading practice sessions three times a week
We teach children to read through reading practice sessions three times a week. These:
- Are taught by a fully trained adult to small groups of approximately six children
- Use books matched to the children’s secure phonic knowledge using the Little
Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessments and book matching grids - Are monitored by the class teacher, who rotates and works with each group on a
regular basis
Each reading practice session has a clear focus so that the demands of the session do not
overload a child’s working memory.
The reading practice sessions have been designed to focus on three key reading skills: - Decoding– applying phonic knowledge to word reading by translating letters into sounds to read words.
- Prosody – teaching children to read with understanding and expression
- Comprehension – teaching children to understand the text
- In Year 2, we ensure children complete reading the core programme decodable books (up toPhase 5, Set 5). To exit the programme, we complete the final fluency assessment to ensure that children can read with adequate speed and accuracy – approximately 60 words per minute with 90%+ accuracy.
- Reading in Rapid Catch-up lessons mirrors the core programme. Children following the Rapid Catch-up programme are taught to read using the 7+ fully decodable books. These follow the same progression as the core programme but are more appropriate for older readers.
Home Reading
A decodable reading practice book is taken home to ensure success is shared with the
family. Reading for pleasure books also go home for parents to share and read to children.
Ensuring consistency and pace of progress
Every teacher and member of support staff in our school has been trained to teach reading
so that we have the same expectations of progress, consistency and complete fidelity to the
programme.
Ensuring Reading for Pleasure
We value reading for pleasure highly and work hard as a school to grow our Reading for
Pleasure culture and pedagogy.
- We read aloud to children every day (Reading for Pleasure and Stay in the Story) We choose these books carefully
as we want children to experience a wide range of books as well as books that open windows into other worlds and cultures. - We have a reading curriculum in school which runs from Nursery to Year 6. This ensures children gain a varied diet to their
reading. - Every classroom has an inviting book nook that encourages a love for reading.
- In Early Years children have access to the reading corner every day in
their independent learning time and the books are continually refreshed. - Children choose from our range of carefully chosen books to take home and share
with an adult. - From Nursery onwards, every child is provided with a reading record to track and celebrate their reading journey at home. Parents and carers are encouraged to record regular comments whenever their child reads. Reading engagement is monitored closely by class teachers and warmly celebrated through whole-school rewards and recognition.
- Children across the school have regular opportunities to engage with a wide range of
‘Reading for Pleasure’ events (book fairs, author visits and workshops, visiting the library etc). - We send out a weekly Reading Round Up Newsletter on Dojo.
- Home Reading Class of the Week initiative.
- Half-term Home Readers initiative where two children from each class wins a book.
- Books won by home readers are chosen by the Reading Champions.
Supporting your Child with their Reading at Home
Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a huge impact on their reading journey by continuing their practice at home. There are two types of reading book that your child may bring home:
Reading Practice Book
Each week, your child will read with an adult at school at least three times. They will be given a book that is carefully matched to their current reading level. This same book will then be sent home for you to enjoy together.
If your child finds the book quite easy, please don’t worry — they have already read it at school, so it won’t be new to them. This is intentional. The goal is to help them build fluency, comprehension, and confidence in their reading.
At home, we encourage you to:
- Listen to your child read the book aloud.
- Celebrate their success — praise their effort and progress!
- If they get stuck on a word, read it to them without pressure.
- Once they’ve finished, talk about the book together.
Helpful questions and key sounds to focus on can be found inside the front and back covers of the book.
Working together, we can help your child become a confident and happy reader!
Read to Me Book (Sharing book)
In order to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. The Read to Me book is a printed book your child has chosen for you to enjoy together. Read to Me books have been carefully curated by our staff and children’s books’ experts to include a wide range of genres, topics and authors. Your child will bring a Read to Me book home regularly; they may choose to change it regularly, or may hold onto a title they have loved for a little bit longer.
Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read it to or with them. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!
Early Language Development
At Applegarth Primary School, we are committed to ensuring every child develops strong communication and language skills right from the start of their school journey. To support this, we deliver the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) in Reception.
What is NELI?
NELI is an evidence-based, 20-week oral language programme designed for Reception children (ages 4–5) who need targeted support with spoken language, vocabulary, and listening skills.
Extensively trialled by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and funded by the Department for Education (DfE), the programme closes early communication gaps to ensure children have the essential baseline skills needed to succeed in reading, writing, and wider classroom learning.
How it Works at Applegarth
- Screening: At the start of the Autumn term, all Reception pupils complete a short, app-based assessment called LanguageScreen.
- Identification: LanguageScreen helps us identify children with lower receptive and expressive language skills who will benefit most from targeted intervention.
- Targeted Support: Identified children receive structured, small-group sessions focused on building confidence, vocabulary, and expressive speech throughout their Reception year.
Documents
The Phonics Screening Check
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