Phonics and Reading Statement

Aims

At Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School we believe that reading is a skill which is taught through planned, systematic phonics lessons which lead to the enjoyment of all kinds of books,
the appreciation of different genres and the ability to access information independently.  Through their own reading, we hope that children will develop their individual tastes in literature and be able to understand and justify their own choice of books.

Our Primary aims are:-

• To develop phonetic skills which lead to blending and reading fluently.
• To promote confidence and positive attitudes to reading.
• To promote and encourage good home/school links using a wide range of literature.
• To equip children with critical tools so they are able to analyse what they read.
• To give children access to a wide range of fiction and information books.
• To monitor each child’s progress through the use of a range of assessment strategies e.g Reading Age tests, on-going reading observations criteria, reading assessments
• To support those who are progressing slowly in acquiring reading skills through a
  personalised reading program.

Phonics

When teaching reading and phonics, Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School follows the Jolly Phonics Scheme in EYFS into Year 1 and 2. Our approach is systematic, consistent and rigorous in order that all children become readers as quickly as possible.  The alphabetic code is taught first with children learning new sounds and practising the pronunciation and blending of these sounds on a daily basis. Simple actions help the children grasp the letter sounds quickly. Then we match the sounds pupils know to the books they read, getting children to read those books a few times which helps them to read using expression. Additionally children hear lots of other stories in school thus increasing their story knowledge and vocabulary.

Reading Schemes

At Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School, all our early reading books are colour banded.  Your child will be given a colour band to choose their home reading book from which will help to ensure that the book they select is at the appropriate reading level for them. Each coloured book band is further sub-levelled to ensure that there is clear progression, and appropriate challenge, within each coloured band. Each coloured band includes books from a wide range of reading schemes. This is to ensure that the children experience a range of stories, text types and illustrations. To continue to embed and promote a love of reading throughout the school, the children in EYFS and KS1 are also encouraged to take home a library book that they can borrow from their class library.