Phonics
Intent
At Woodchurch Road Primary School, we believe that reading is the foundation for all future learning. Our aim is for every child to become a confident, fluent, and enthusiastic reader who develops a lifelong love of books and language.
Through the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme, we ensure that all children learn to read as quickly and effectively as possible. We want every pupil to:
Recognise and use phonics as their primary strategy for decoding words.
Read with increasing accuracy, fluency, and understanding.
Develop strong spelling and writing skills alongside reading.
Gain the confidence and enjoyment that comes from reading independently.
Our approach provides consistency, structure, and success for every learner, including those who need additional support.
Implementation
At Woodchurch Road Primary School, we follow the Read Write Inc. Phonics scheme, created by Ruth Miskin. This structured and systematic programme is delivered daily to all children in Reception and Key Stage 1, and to any older pupils who require additional phonics support.
Daily, Focused Lessons: Children take part in short, fast-paced sessions that include learning new sounds, reading words, and developing comprehension through engaging storybooks.
Small, Ability-Based Groups: Pupils are assessed regularly and grouped according to their current reading stage. This ensures targeted teaching and appropriate challenge for every child.
Blending and Segmenting: Children are taught to blend sounds to read and to segment words for spelling and writing.
Reading Practice: The Read Write Inc. Storybooks are carefully matched to each child’s phonics knowledge, allowing them to apply what they have learned and experience success in every reading session.
Writing Skills: Alongside reading, children learn letter formation, spelling, and sentence construction using words and sounds they already know.
Assessment and Intervention: Progress is closely tracked every half term. Children who need extra support receive one-to-one tutoring or additional small group sessions.
Staff receive regular training to ensure consistent, high-quality teaching of phonics across the school.
Impact
By the end of Key Stage 1, the vast majority of our pupils are fluent readers who can:
Read age-appropriate texts with confidence and understanding.
Apply phonics knowledge effectively in both reading and writing.
Demonstrate a growing enjoyment of reading for pleasure and information.
Regular assessments show that children make strong progress from their starting points. Those who need further support continue to access Read Write Inc. until they are secure in their phonics knowledge.
Our phonics provision ensures that every child at Woodchurch Road Primary School has the tools and confidence to become a successful, independent reader, ready to access all areas of the curriculum.
Phonics Breakfast Success!
We were delighted to welcome our families to our recent Phonics Breakfast. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about how we teach phonics at school and how families can support their children’s reading and writing at home.
Thank you to everyone who joined us-your enthusiasm and engagement make such a difference!
Look out for more phonics events coming soon!
Useful Resources