Early Reading and Phonics

At Castle Primary School, we are committed to ensuring that every child becomes a confident, fluent reader who develops a lifelong love of reading. We use the Read Write Inc. (RWI) Phonics programme to teach early reading and writing from Reception onwards. This systematic and highly structured approach enables children to learn the essential skills of decoding, fluency and comprehension in a consistent way across the school.

Children in Reception and Key Stage 1 are assessed regularly and taught in groups according to their current phonic knowledge. This ensures that teaching is closely matched to their needs and that all children are supported and challenged appropriately. Daily phonics lessons provide opportunities for children to learn new sounds, practise blending for reading, segmenting for spelling and develop fluency through repeated reading.

Children who require additional phonics support beyond Key Stage 1 continue to access a tailored Read Write Inc. programme in Key Stage 2. This enables them to secure any gaps in their phonics knowledge and develop the confidence needed to access the wider curriculum successfully.

Reading Practice and Home Reading

Reading practice sessions form an integral part of the Read Write Inc. programme. Children read fully decodable texts that are carefully matched to the sounds they know, allowing them to apply and consolidate their learning successfully. Through repeated reading, children develop increasing accuracy, fluency and expression, enabling them to focus more effectively on understanding what they have read.

Children take home a fully decodable reading book matched to their phonics stage. These books are changed regularly once children have demonstrated secure, fluent reading of the text. Alongside their decodable book, every child visits the school library regularly to select a book to share with family members at home. This helps foster a love of reading while promoting valuable opportunities for discussion and enjoyment of books.

From Phonics to Fluent Reading

In Reception, children begin by learning the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and the letters or groups of letters that represent them (graphemes). They are taught memorable phrases and visual prompts that support sound recognition and recall.

As children's knowledge develops, they learn to blend sounds quickly and accurately to read words and segment words to spell. Common exception words that cannot be decoded using phonics alone are taught explicitly and revisited regularly.

Once children have completed the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme, they move onto a wider range of reading experiences. In Key Stage 2, reading teaching focuses on developing fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, inference and critical thinking through carefully selected high-quality texts.

Developing a Love of Reading

Reading sits at the heart of our curriculum. Every class enjoys a daily story or class novel, providing opportunities for children to hear rich language, encounter ambitious vocabulary and develop a broad understanding of literature and the wider world. Through our vocabulary-rich curriculum and explicit teaching of new language, children are encouraged to deepen their understanding of words and use them confidently in both speech and writing.

Supporting New Pupils

Children who join Castle Primary School during the academic year are assessed promptly to establish their reading and phonics knowledge. This ensures that they receive support appropriate to their starting point and can quickly access the most suitable teaching programme.

By providing a structured approach to phonics, high-quality reading experiences and a culture that celebrates books, we aim to ensure that every child leaves Castle Primary School as a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader.