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Phonics & Early Reading

At Manuden Primary School, we want every child to become a confident, fluent reader who develops a genuine love of books.

We use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised to teach systematic synthetic phonics in Reception and Key Stage 1.

Through daily phonics teaching, children learn to:

  • recognise the sounds represented by letters and groups of letters;

  • blend sounds together to read words;

  • read increasingly fluently and accurately;

  • build confidence when tackling unfamiliar words;

  • develop the foundations needed for successful reading across the curriculum.

Alongside phonics, we place a strong emphasis on developing children's vocabulary, comprehension and enjoyment of reading.

Reading at Manuden

Learning to decode words accurately is an essential part of becoming a reader, but it is only one part of the process.

Children are also supported to:

  • understand and discuss what they read;

  • encounter a wide range of stories, poems and non-fiction;

  • develop their vocabulary;

  • talk about books and authors;

  • build reading fluency and expression;

  • develop a lifelong enjoyment of reading.

Supporting Your Child at Home

Parents and carers play an important role in helping children become confident readers.

The Little Wandle parent resources include guidance on phonics, pronunciation, tricky words and supporting reading at home.

Little Wandle Resources for Parents

Visit the Little Wandle Parent Page

Regularly sharing books, talking about stories and reading together are some of the most valuable ways you can support your child's reading development.

Little Wandle Progression

Our phonics teaching follows the Little Wandle progression so that children build their knowledge carefully and systematically over time.

The programme sets out the grapheme-phoneme correspondences and tricky words taught throughout Reception and Year 1.

View the Little Wandle Reception and Year 1 Programme Overview

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

Children in Year 1 take part in the statutory Phonics Screening Check during the summer term.

The check helps schools identify whether children have developed the phonics knowledge and decoding skills expected at this stage.

Children read 40 words individually with a familiar adult. These include a mixture of real words and made-up or ‘pseudo-words’, which allow children to demonstrate that they can use their phonics skills to decode unfamiliar words.

The check is designed to be straightforward and familiar to children because it reflects the phonics work they already complete in school.

If a child does not meet the expected standard in Year 1, they will continue to receive phonics support and normally take the check again in Year 2.

Parents and carers are informed of their child's outcome as part of our end-of-year reporting.

Further Phonics Resources

Families may also find the following websites useful:

If you have any questions about phonics or supporting your child with reading at home, please speak to your child's class teacher.