Reading and Phonics

At All Saints we use the 'Letter and Sounds' scheme for phonics. This is a nationally used scheme. In Nursery and Reception initial sounds are taught using a variety of techniques such as actions and songs. Once familiar with these, children begin to blend to read their first words. Throughout the school children are assessed and grouped according to ability to best meet their needs. Children move phases when appropriate. 

For Reading, pupils have access to a variety of different scheme books and different authors to support children with their reading skills. This is because children learn to read in different ways. Schemes used in school include Oxford Reading Tree, Big Cat Phonics, Rigby Star and Phonics Bug. Many of our reading schemes are based on phonetic decoding although they often focus on key words which can only be read by sight recognition. We even have books with no words at all so that pupils can begin to understand stories through observing the illustrations.  

In September 2015 we became an Accelerated Reader School. This is an online tool for managing and monitoring independent reading practice whilst promoting reading for pleasure. Parents are able to use their Home Connect account to monitor quiz scores and ensure books bought for home are at the appropriate reading level for their child.  Each half term we celebrate our 100% quizzes with a prize for an individual in each class.

At All Saints we believe in developing a love of reading a storytelling, and understand the importance of developing reading skills from an early age. Children are listened to by a variety of adults, including their class teacher, classroom assistant and volunteer readers and undertake a weekly guided reading session where texts are read and discussed as a group. Children are able to change their own reading books once a book is completed, although are encouraged to read a range of genres to enable them to think about the structure and features of a text type. They also have access to the school library and can use their weekly library session to borrow books to share at home.