Phonics Intent

At Robert Peel Primary School we believe that the teaching of Phonics plays a key role in helping children learn to read, write and spell. We follow the Sounds~Write Phonics Scheme which is a high-quality program endorsed by the DfE. Our aim is for the vast majority of children to be confident readers by the end of KS1. High quality Phonics teaching enables children to decode new words confidently and independently and leads to improved understanding. This will result in children being able to read for pleasure, undertake research and develop their comprehension skills. Sounds~Write phonics also teaches children how to spell words and this helps them to become confident writers.

The main objective of the teaching and learning of Phonics is to enable all children to access reading and writing at an age-appropriate level. This is best achieved when there is:

• A consistent whole school approach to the teaching of Phonics throughout Foundation Stage, KS1 and KS2.
• Rigorous planning, assessment, and tracking.
• Sufficient training provided to enable the implementation of Sounds~Write based teaching of Phonics by all staff involved in the teaching of Phonics.

At Robert Peel Primary School we use the Sounds~Write Phonics Programme. Sounds~Write is a quality first Phonics Programme that offers the classroom teacher an instructional method that works because it is a structured, multi-sensory, incremental and co-ordinated approach to teaching children to read and spell. The principal attainment targets are:

• The majority of children to have completed the Initial code by the end of Foundation Stage.
• Higher achieving children (in Foundation stage and KS1) to be identified and moved through the planning progression at a more rapid pace.
• The majority of Year 1 children to pass the Year 1 Phonics Screening test.
• The majority of children to have completed the Extended code by the end of KS1.
• All children who did not meet these targets in KS1 to continue to follow the Sounds~Write programme in KS2.