our phonics programme
At St Vincent's Catholic Primary School, we are passionate about ensuring that every child becomes a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader. We know that reading is the foundation for all learning and that strong reading skills open the door to lifelong success, both academically and personally.
To give our children the very best start on their reading journey, we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised phonics programme. Little Wandle is a systematic and consistent approach to teaching phonics, early reading and spelling, enabling children to develop the knowledge and skills they need to become confident, independent readers.
From the moment they begin in Reception, children take part in daily, high-quality phonics lessons. They learn to recognise and pronounce sounds, blend them together to read words, and apply their growing phonics knowledge when reading and writing. Alongside phonics, children develop a love of books and are given regular opportunities to enjoy and discuss a wide range of stories, poems and non-fiction texts.
Our Little Wandle approach ensures that phonics teaching is systematic, engaging and carefully matched to each child's stage of development. We regularly assess children's progress so that any child who needs additional support can receive it quickly, helping every child to keep up and succeed.
Our approach is designed to:
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Build strong foundations in reading and writing from the earliest stage
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Develop confident and fluent readers through systematic phonics teaching
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Nurture a genuine love of reading and books
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Ensure that children can apply their phonics knowledge when reading and writing
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Identify and support children who may need additional help
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Enable every child to become an independent reader who can access the wider curriculum
By the end of Key Stage 1, we aim for our children to be fluent, confident readers who enjoy books and see themselves as successful readers. Our consistent phonics provision supports children to achieve well in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, but, most importantly, gives them the skills, confidence and enthusiasm to become lifelong readers.
To find out more about phonics and early reading at St Vincent's Catholic Primary School, please explore the sections on Intent, Implementation and Impact.