At HTL we believe that for all our children to become fluent readers and writers, phonics must be taught through a systematic and structured phonics programme.

We use Ruth Miskin’s Read, Write Inc. (RWI) to plan and provide daily phonics lessons. In phonics, we teach children that the letters of the alphabet represent a different sound, that these can be used in a variety of combinations and are put together to make words. The children learn to recognise all of the different sounds at speed and identify the different ways that they might be represented. Our phonics teaching starts in Nursery and follows a very specific sequence that allows our children to build on their previous phonic knowledge and master specific phonic strategies as they move through school. As a result, our children are able to tackle unfamiliar words that they might discover. We also model these strategies in shared reading and writing both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on the development of language skills, recognising the importance of oracy, and of building a love of stories and reading. 

If you are a parent/guardian and would like more information about how to support your child with phonics at home, please click on the image below to find the RWI programme overview as well as videos of the sound pronunciations, letter formation sheets and other helpful resources to use at home. 

How do we assess phonic knowledge?

• Children are assessed half-termly by their class teacher.
• Children in Year 1 sit the Phonics Screening Check in the summer term.
• Children who do not pass the Phonics Screening Check in Year 1, will re-sit this in Year 2.