Phonics & Early Reading

At Alkerden Academy Primary Phase, Phonics is taught using the structure of our systematic synthetic programme ‘Little Wandle Letters & Sounds’.

Intent

We believe that every learner can become a fluent and confident reader and writer. Learning to read is one of the most important things our learners will ever do, as it opens the door to the wider curriculum and a lifetime of knowledge, imagination and enjoyment.

Phonics is taught daily from Reception, following a clear and consistent progression that enables learners to build and apply their skills as they move through school. Our lessons are carefully designed to meet the needs of all learners. Ongoing assessment informs planning and targeted support, ensuring that those who need additional practice receive timely keep-up sessions, so no learner falls behind.

By mastering phonics, our learners develop the confidence and independence to decode unfamiliar words and to spell accurately. We model the application of phonics through shared reading and writing across the curriculum, helping learners make meaningful connections between reading, writing and spoken language.

At Alkerden, we place a strong emphasis on language development, recognising that speaking and listening are essential foundations for reading and writing. We aim for all our learners to become fluent readers by the age of seven, able to approach any text with understanding and enthusiasm. Most importantly, we nurture a love of reading so that every learner sees themselves as a reader - reading for both pleasure and purpose.

Implementation

At Alkerden Academy, phonics is implemented through a comprehensive and systematic programme that ensures learners develop secure decoding, spelling, and reading skills. We use a multi-sensory approach that incorporates letter frames, flashcards, phonic games, listening activities, and fully decodable books. Each phonics lesson follows a consistent structure of reviewing, teaching, practising, and applying new graphemes and phonemes, helping learners to embed their knowledge over time.

Phonics is taught daily in Reception and Year 1. Learners follow a clear progression through the phases of the Little Wandle programme:

Reception: Lessons begin in Week 2 of the Autumn Term and start at 10–15 minutes, increasing to 20–25 minutes. Learners are taught Phase 2 and 3 GPCs, progressing to Phase 4 by the end of the year.
Year 1: Lessons last 20–25 minutes. Learners review Phases 3 and 4 and progress through Phase 5, developing fluency and accuracy in reading and spelling.
Year 2: Phonics lessons are taught three times a week for learners who have not yet reached full fluency, focusing on consolidating skills and closing gaps identified through assessment.

All lessons include explicit teaching of the technical vocabulary of phonics, such as phoneme, digraph, and trigraph. Learners practise graphemes in words, sentences, and fully decodable books, with regular review and revision daily, weekly, and across terms to ensure knowledge is embedded in long-term memory.

Reading Practice Sessions

Learners participate in reading practice sessions three times a week:

Decoding: Learners apply their phonic knowledge to read words accurately.
Prosody: Learners practise reading with meaning, stress, and intonation, exploring characters’ feelings and the impact of punctuation.
Comprehension: Learners develop understanding by retrieving information, predicting outcomes, and identifying key aspects of the text.

These sessions are led by fully trained adults in small groups, using books matched to learners’ secure phonic knowledge. Teachers monitor and rotate across groups to ensure consistency and support. Learners who are not, yet fluent have additional daily blending practice in small groups or one-to-one sessions.

Keep-Up and Rapid Catch-Up

To ensure every learner succeeds, those who need extra support receive daily Keep-Up lessons, following the same structure and resources as class teaching but in smaller steps with more repetition. This support continues in Year 2 for any learners not yet fluent and in Years 3-6 through short Rapid Catch-Up lessons of 10 minutes daily, targeting specific gaps in reading or writing.

By following this approach, all learners at Alkerden Academy receive a structured, consistent, and supportive phonics programme that equips them with the skills to read and spell confidently, preparing them for fluent reading and lifelong learning.

Impact

At Alkerden Academy, assessment is an integral part of our phonics programme. It allows us to monitor learners’ progress, identify gaps in their learning, and provide additional support as soon as it is needed.

Assessment for Learning (Formative Assessment)

Assessment for learning is used:

Daily: Within phonics lessons and across the school day to identify learners needing Keep-Up support. Teachers can spot learners requiring extra support in reading and writing across all subjects.
Weekly: During Review lessons to assess gaps in learning, address these immediately, and secure fluency in GPCs (grapheme-phoneme correspondences), words, and spellings.
During Reading Practice Sessions: Teachers and teaching assistants use a traffic light system to assess whether learners have achieved the reading outcome. If the outcome is not met, it becomes a focus in subsequent sessions.

Summative Assessment

Summative assessment is used every six weeks to:

Assess learners’ progress.
Identify gaps in learning that need to be addressed.
Plan targeted Keep-Up support for learners who need it.
Support school leaders in monitoring attainment gaps between different groups and provide additional support for teachers where required.

Statutory Assessment

Learners in Year 1 sit the statutory Phonics Screening Check. Any learner not meeting the threshold re-sits the check in Year 2.
In Year 2, learners are also assessed through ongoing formative assessment and the half-termly Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised summative assessments to ensure they catch up quickly.

Ongoing Assessment and Rapid Catch-Up

Learners in Years 2-6 who have gaps in phonic knowledge are identified for the Rapid Catch-Up Scheme.
Gaps are assessed, and learners are placed on a specific phase pathway.
Progress is reviewed approximately every four weeks, and learners are moved to the next phase pathway when ready.

Reading Assessment

Learners draw on their vocabulary knowledge to understand texts. They will:

Identify and explain key aspects of fiction and non-fiction texts.
Identify and explain the sequence of events in a text.
Make inferences and deductions.
Make predictions.
Learners take the books home after their three reading sessions, with the aim of achieving 90% fluency in reading the text.

Through this consistent and structured approach to assessment, Alkerden Academy ensures that all learners become confident, fluent readers and increasingly accurate spellers, unlocking access to the wider curriculum and enabling them to flourish across all areas of learning.

Phonics in Each Stage

Phonics at EYFS Stage

At Alkerden Academy, phonics begins in the first three weeks of Reception, with daily lessons starting at 10 minutes and gradually building to 20-30 minutes. Learners are taught up to Phase 4 of the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme, covering grapheme-phoneme correspondences, decoding strategies, and common exception words.

From Term 3, learners take part in small-group Reading Practice Sessions three times a week, using fully decodable books matched to their reading level. Each session focuses on a different skill: decoding, prosody, and comprehension, while reviewing key sounds and words before reading. Learners then take the books home to consolidate fluency and confidence, ensuring a strong foundation in phonics as they progress to Year 1.

Phonics at Key Stage 1 (KS1)

In Year 1 at Alkerden Academy, learners review Phases 3 and 4 from Reception and progress to Phase 5, learning alternative graphemes and spelling patterns for previously taught phonemes. Phonics is taught daily, and learners take part in small-group Reading Practice Sessions three times a week, using fully decodable books from the Big Cat Little Wandle series matched to their reading level. Each book is read three times, focusing on decoding, prosody, and comprehension, and learners take books home to consolidate fluency and confidence.

By the end of Year 1, learners have been taught all Phase 5 grapheme-phoneme correspondences.

Phonics at Key Stage 2 (KS2) onwards

In KS2 at Alkerden Academy, learners who require additional phonics support access tailored interventions through the Rapid Catch-Up Scheme. In Year 2, learners spend the first two terms revising Phase 5, applying their phonics knowledge to reading, writing, and spelling.

Any learner who is not fully fluent or has not passed the Phonics Screening Check receives daily catch-up lessons using Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised resources, targeting gaps at pace to close learning gaps and ensure they can read and spell with confidence.

Phonics support continues in Years 3-6 as needed to maintain fluency and progress.

Phonics Screening Check Information

Learners in Year 1 throughout the country will all be taking part in a Statutory Phonics Screening Check in June. Children in Year 2 will also take the check if they did not achieve the required result when in Year 1 or if they have not taken the test before. The phonics screening check is designed to confirm whether individual children have learnt phonic decoding and blending skills to an appropriate standard.

What Happens During the Screening?

The test contains 40 words. Each child will sit one-to-one and read each word aloud to their teacher. The test will take approximately 10 minutes per child, although all children are different and will complete the check at their own pace. The list of words the children read is a combination of 20 real words and 20 pseudo words (nonsense words). The pseudo words will be shown to your child with a picture of an alien. This provides the children with a context for the pseudo word which is independent of any existing vocabulary they may have. Pseudo words are included because they will be new to all pupils; they do not favour children with good vocabulary knowledge or visual memory of words. We prepare children by introducing them to ‘alien’ words throughout their daily lessons using sounds that they have learnt.

SEND Information

Our SEND and disadvantaged learners are given the necessary support in class to fully access the supported Phonics curriculum. Learning is adapted where necessary to support SEND/EAL pupils to give equal opportunities for all to be confident in approaching any problems faced. Interventions, support and challenges are constantly revised and adapted to ensure all learners are supported in achieving learning. The above areas are robustly and continuously monitored to ensure any gaps in learning are addressed.

Home Learning

Although learners are taught to read at school, practising reading at home has a huge impact on their progress and confidence. Learners may bring home two types of books:

Reading Practice Books: Matched to their current phonic stage, these books are for learners to read fluently and independently. Listen to them read, offer praise, and discuss the story together. If they struggle with a word, read it to them and encourage them to continue.
Sharing Books: These books are for reading together for enjoyment and to encourage a love of reading. Read aloud, explore the story or facts, discuss pictures, predict events, and use different voices for characters.

In addition, phonic books are sent home with the grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) taught in school. Regular practice of these GPCs supports learners in reading and writing, helping them apply their phonics knowledge confidently at home.

The most important thing is to enjoy reading together and foster a lifelong love of books.

Extra Resources

Little Wandle - website
Little Wandle - Resources for Parents