Phonics is an essential building block for reading and writing and therefore fundamental for accessing all of our curriculum. Although, as a junior school, we do not teach phonics discretely during whole-class teaching, we understand its vital importance and provide interventions accordingly.

When children first join WJS, they will all be given a phonics assessment. This enables us, as a school, to identify the sounds they know confidently. While most children joining our school know all of their sounds, not every child does and so it is our job to help them achieve this milestone with additional phonics support.

Our school uses the Read Write Inc phonics programme and those children who need a considerable level of support with phonics will have Read Write Inc as an intervention several times a week in addition to their English lessons. This aims to support rapid progress. Those children will be given reading books that match their phonic knowledge. They will also be given books for pleasure: these may not be books they can read independently but are ones to be enjoyed with an adult or another child reading to them.

For those children who know most of their sounds but are not fully confident, they receive speed sound support. This is a quick-fire intervention that takes place most days and practices quick recall of the sounds they are not yet able to identify immediately.

All children who require phonics support are target readers and will be heard read by an adult a few times a week in addition to their other support.

Sounding out, blending and segmenting words are all still used for those readers who need to identify unfamiliar words and the Read Write Inc speed sounds grids are displayed and used in classrooms to help with both reading and writing.