Phonics

Early Reading and Phonics at Great Missenden School 

"We are so lucky to we have time to listen to stories and share books with our friends"

Year One pupil 

"Our phonics lessons help us read in our other lessons like WAC and maths" 

Year Two pupil 

Curriculum Intent

At Great Missenden School, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in EYFS and follow the Little Wandle programme, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At Great Missenden School, we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

Comprehension

At Great Missenden, we value reading as a crucial life skill. By the time children leave us, they read confidently for meaning and regularly enjoy reading for pleasure. Our readers are equipped with the tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary. We encourage our children to see themselves as readers for both pleasure and purpose.

Because we believe teaching every child to read is so important, we have a Reading Leader who drives the early reading programme in our school. This person is highly skilled at teaching phonics and reading, and they monitor and support our reading team, so everyone teaches with fidelity to the Little Wandle programme.