RWI Phonics

Intent

• All children at Alston Primary School will learn to read with accuracy and fluency, regardless of their background, needs or abilities.
• Children will leave Key Stage 1 with the reading skills to enable them to access the Key stage curriculum.

Implementation

• Use of the Read, Write, Inc (RWI) scheme to teach phonic skills throughout the school.

• Daily RWI in Reception, Year 1 and 2 until they complete the programme. Children are placed in groups based on a half termly assessment to ensure the teaching they receive is specific to them.
• 1 to 1 tutoring targeting unique gaps in the lowest, slowest progress children (Years R to 6).
• Coaching for all reading teachers, as required, by the Reading Leader.
• Practice Sessions, delivered weekly, by the Reading Leader.
• Development Days with RWI consultant each term.
• Half termly assessments to assess children’s phonics and reading ability.
• Afternoon phonics lesson focusing on accurate decoding.
• Year 1 RWI PSC assessments (Nov, Feb, May) to inform planning of afternoon sessions.
• Daily Story Time to embed pleasure for reading and a love of books across the whole school.

Impact

• All pupils including the weakest readers make sufficient progress to meet or exceed ARE. (See RWI expectations grid).
• High quality phonics teaching delivered by all reading teachers.
• Increase in the % of children who achieve the Early Learning Goals for Comprehension, Word Reading and Writing.
• All pupils to reach the required standard in the PSC.

Phonics at Alston 2021-22

• The national PSC was cancelled in both the summer of 2020 and 2021. The current Year 2 will all sit a PSC in November/ December 2021. Children not reaching the required standard will receive targeted support to help them to improve their phonic skills. They will then take the summer 2022 PSC.
• The current Year 1 will all sit the PSC in June 2022. Those not reaching the threshold will resit the check in the summer of 2023, when they are in Year 2