PHONICS

At Boxmoor Primary School we aim to provide children with a range of strategies in order to read and spell both familiar and new vocabulary. The teaching of phonics is an integral part of the curriculum in both the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 classrooms. We use the phonics programme Essential Letters and Sounds  to enable our Reception and Year 1 children to become fast, fluent and confident readers.

We ensure that our teaching of phonics is rigorous, structured and enjoyable. Children have discrete, daily phonics sessions where they are introduced to new phonemes, can practise and revise previous learning and have plenty of opportunities to apply the knowledge they have. Children work with pace and are encouraged to apply their knowledge across the curriculum with any reading or writing activities. The children also learn a variety of other key words by sight.

The videos below will tell you a little bit about Essential Letters and Sounds and also how to help your child pronounce each of the 44 sounds they will learn:

Reading

At Boxmoor Primary School we aim to produce:

• Children who want to read;
• Enthusiastic, independent readers;
• Efficient readers able to adopt a variety of strategies flexibly;
• Children who have developed an established reading habit;
• Children who are aware of the need to be critical and reflective about the material they read;
• Children who are able to access information efficiently from a range of sources including ICT.

Furthermore, we believe that this love of reading is best established via strong partnerships between parents, grandparents and school. We have introduced our new online reading record, Go Boom Reader, where both parents and children can record reflections on their reading. Children will bring home school reading books to read. In addition, they will also have the opportunity to visit the school library regularly and choose books to read for pleasure.

Reading at Home

 Children are more likely to become fluent readers who choose to read for pleasure if they are exposed to books and words and are given the space to do so at home as well as at school. As such, we ask parents to aim to hear their children read every day where possible. Older children should be encouraged to read independently for longer periods of time to build their stamina.

Other ways to encourage reading at home include:

• Share stories with your child. Pick a book and read it together every night, discussing the story as you go. Studies have suggested that children need to be read to every day until the age of 11 if they are to become avid readers!
• Visit the library and choose books, including non-fiction;
• Tell stories. Make up stories whilst out walking or in the car. Encourage your child to be as imaginative as possible, giving detail to hook the listener in;
• Give your child access to a variety of reading materials e.g. newspapers, comics, magazines, recipe books, web pages.
• Read in front of your child. If they see you reading and enjoying it, they are more likely to pick up a book and copy you.

We appreciate that it is not always possible to get your child to read at home. Make sure that you choose a time where you can sit down for 10 minutes, uninterrupted, when they are not tired, hungry or distracted. If you are unsure of how to help support your child, please pop into school to talk to their class teacher as we are always available to offer guidance.

English Long Term Plans