St Aidan's CE Primary SchoolReading and Phonics
Phonics and Early Reading
Our Approach
At St Aidan’s CE Primary School, we want every child to become a confident, fluent reader who develops a lifelong love of books. We recognise that reading is fundamental to learning and opens up opportunities across the curriculum and beyond.
We use Red Rose Letters and Sounds as our phonics and early reading scheme. This provides a systematic, structured approach to teaching phonics, enabling children to develop the knowledge and skills they need to read and spell successfully. Children learn to recognise the relationship between letters and sounds, blend sounds to read words and segment words to support spelling.
Alongside developing essential reading skills, we place great importance on fostering a love of reading. Through high-quality stories, fiction and non-fiction texts, shared reading and opportunities to explore books across the curriculum, we encourage children to become enthusiastic readers who enjoy reading for pleasure as well as for learning.
Phonics: Progression and Teaching
Phonics is taught daily through discrete lessons in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage 1. Teaching follows the progression set out in Red Rose Letters and Sounds, building systematically on children's prior knowledge and understanding.
Lessons include opportunities to revisit previously taught sounds, introduce and practise new sounds and their corresponding letters or groups of letters, develop blending and segmenting skills, and apply learning through reading and spelling activities.
Children are given regular opportunities to practise and apply their phonics knowledge beyond phonics lessons, helping them to become increasingly confident and independent readers and writers.
Phonics teaching continues into Key Stage 2 where children require additional support to secure their knowledge and develop their reading fluency.
Early Reading
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum from the very beginning of a child's journey at St Aidan's. Through our Red Rose Letters and Sounds phonics and early reading scheme, children develop the skills needed to decode words accurately and build reading fluency.
Children take home reading books that are carefully matched to their phonics knowledge and stage of development. These books enable them to practise the sounds and words they have been taught, building accuracy, confidence and independence. Adults regularly monitor progress to ensure that children receive appropriate books and support.
Children also take part in guided reading and shared reading activities, where they develop fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Through discussion and carefully planned questions, children learn to retrieve information, make inferences, explain their ideas and develop a deeper understanding of what they read.
We encourage parents and carers to read regularly with their children at home. Sharing books, practising reading and talking about stories all help children to make progress and develop a lifelong enjoyment of reading.
Reading Across Key Stage 2
Reading continues to be a priority throughout Key Stage 2. Children who are still developing their phonics knowledge or reading fluency receive targeted support and access books that are appropriately matched to their reading needs.
Fluent readers develop their comprehension through structured guided reading sessions, including our John Murray approach. Children explore a range of high-quality texts and develop their vocabulary, retrieval, inference and understanding of language. They are encouraged to read aloud with expression, discuss their interpretations and explain their answers using evidence from the text.
Reading is also integral to English lessons, where children explore and respond to high-quality texts that inspire their own writing. Our class libraries provide access to a range of fiction and non-fiction books, encouraging children to explore different authors, genres and interests and to develop their reading for pleasure.
Assessment and Additional Support
We closely monitor children's progress in phonics and reading through ongoing assessment, observation and regular reviews of learning. Formal phonics assessments take place at regular intervals to identify strengths, highlight gaps in knowledge and inform future teaching.
Where children need additional support, we provide targeted teaching and intervention to help them secure key skills and make progress. This may include additional phonics sessions, small-group teaching or individual support, depending on the child's needs.
Children in Key Stage 2 who have gaps in their phonics knowledge continue to receive appropriate teaching and access to carefully matched reading books, including age-appropriate texts that maintain their interest and enjoyment.
In the summer term of Year 1, children take part in the statutory Phonics Screening Check. This assesses their ability to use phonics to read 40 words, including real words and unfamiliar pseudo-words. The results help us identify children who may need further support. Children who do not meet the expected standard in Year 1 receive additional support and retake the check in Year 2.
Inclusion and Supporting Every Child
At St Aidan's, we value every child's individuality, strengths and potential. We recognise that children learn at different rates and that some require additional time, support or adapted approaches to develop their reading skills.
We monitor progress carefully and provide support that reflects each child's stage of development and individual needs. Through high-quality teaching, appropriate interventions and close partnership with families, we aim to ensure that every child has the opportunity to become a confident, successful reader.
Our ambition is for all children to leave St Aidan's with the reading skills, confidence and enthusiasm they need to access future learning and enjoy books throughout their lives.
