Knowle Park Primary School

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Queenshill Road, Knowle Park, Bristol BS4 2XG

knowle.park.p@bristol-schools.uk

01173772678

Knowle Park Primary School

  1. Parent/Carers
  2. Phonics

Phonics & Early Reading 

Phonics is taught daily for 20-25 minutes in the morning, from Reception to Year Two.

We use Unlocking Letters and Sounds.

We use Unlocking Letters and Sounds which was validated by the DfE in
December 2021.


We begin teaching phonics in the first few weeks of term 1 in Reception and children 
make rapid progress in their reading journey. Children begin to learn the main sounds heard in the English Language and how they can be represented, as well as learning ‘Common Exception’ words for Phases 2, 3 and 4. They use these sounds
to read and write simple words, captions and sentences. Children leave Reception being able to apply the phonemes taught within Phase 2, 3 and 4.


In Year 1 through Phase 5a, b and c, they learn any alternative spellings and pronunciations for the graphemes and additional Common Exception Words. By the end of Year 1 children will have mastered using phonics to decode and blend when reading and segment when spelling. In Year 1 all children are screened using the
national Phonics Screening Check. In Year 2, phonics continues to be revisited to ensure mastery of the phonetic code and any child who does not meet age related expectations will continue to receive support to close identified gaps. For further details please see the Unlocking Letters and Sounds progression.

To ensure no child is left behind at any point in the progression, children are regularly assessed and supported to keep up through bespoke 1-1 interventions. These include GPC recognition and blending and segmenting interventions. The lowest attaining 20% of pupils are closely monitored to ensure these interventions have an
impact.

Reading Scheme

At Knowle Park Primary School we promote a 'phonics first' approach in both our guided reading sessions at school and in the books children take home. Texts are very closely matched to a child's current phonics knowledge so that every child can experience real success in their reading.

 

In these crucial early stages of reading we primarily use books from Ransom, to ensure complete fidelity to the Unlocking Letters and Sounds progression we follow.

Once children progress beyond decodable texts, they move onto our book scheme so that they can continue to progress in their decoding, fluency and comprehension skills to become avid, expert readers.

At the end of Year 1, it is a requirement that all children complete a phonics screening assessment. They are required to read 40 words that consist of real words and ‘alien’ words. There will be a phonics meeting for Year 1 parents to give you more information. 

Please click here to see Government guidance and sample materials for phonics screening checks. 

 

Year 1 Phonics Screening: