“Teach a child to read, and keep that child reading, and we will change everything.

And I mean everything.”

Jeanette Winterson

At Granard Primary School we are committed to every child learning to read as quickly as possible. We have a specialist team of staff and are extremely proud of our consistently high achieving Phonics Screening Check results in Year 1. We follow Ruth Miskin’s ‘Read Write Inc Phonics’ programme daily to get all of our children off to a flying start with their literacy.

Read Write Inc (RWI) is a method of learning centred around letter sounds and phonics, blending them together to read and write words and using these learned sounds in their reading and writing. Using RWI the children learn to read effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into understanding what they read. It also allows them to spell effortlessly so that they can put their energy into thinking about WHAT they are going to write.

Children are assessed and grouped according to their ability and they work with a teacher or teaching assistant on the RWI programme every day in Reception and Year 1. The children are continuously assessed, by the RWI lead teacher, to ensure that they move through the programme at a good pace. We regularly move children between groups according to their phonics knowledge and the fluency of their reading.

Reading

The children will :

• Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letters using simple picture prompts

• Learn to read words using sound blending (Fred Talk)

• Read lively stories featuring words that they have learned to sound out

• Show that they understand the stories by answering “Find it” and ‘Prove it’ discussion questions

   

Writing

The children will :

• Learn to write the letters which represent the 44 sounds

• Learn to write words by saying the sounds (using Fred Fingers)

• Learn to say and write simple and more complex sentences

• Compose a range of texts using discussion prompts

   

Partner Work

Children are assessed so that they work with children at the same level. This allows them to take full part in all lessons and means that they always retain a positive self-esteem.

The children work in pairs to :

• Answer questions

• Practice activities

• Take turns in talking to one another

• Give positive praise

   

Phonics Screening Check

All children are assessed at the end of Year 1 using a Government Statutory Assessment Tool known as the Phonics Screening Check. This screening check confirms whether the child has learned phonics decoding to an appropriate standard and will identify sounds that need more practice in Year 2. We provide on-going support for all our children until we are comfortable that they can read fluently.

What you can do to help

Please listen to your child read their book every day. We don’t just use RWI books, we have 'learning to read' books which are Read Write Inc Book Bag books; these are phonetically decodable books and only contain the sounds that have been taught in school. 

We have 'reading for pleasure' books  given to Nursery weekly and Reception - Year 2 every Friday.  Please read this to your child. 

Please listen to your child read and sign their reading record. 

Have a look at the RWI website :

https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents-copy-2/

This provides you with lots of useful information and videos explaining all about RWI and how you can help your child at home.

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/

This link will provide you with a free website which includes over 100 ebooks to enjoy with your child as well as a phonics guide.

http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ParentsMenu.htm

You can use our Granard account - User ID: Granard1 Password: Granard2

This link has some free phonics games for your child to play at home.

http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/BuriedTreasure2.html

http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/PicnicOnPluto.html

All of these resources are available on Amazon should you wish to purchase them.

However we do provide our own, free, resources at our regular workshops…

Parents Workshops

Thank you to all parents who have attended workshops in the past. Feedback has been really positive....

“I have learned today how to be more patient, to guide and to teach without worrying too much”

“It was very helpful, thank you!”

“Very interesting and creative ideas for supporting your child’s learning at home”

“I really appreciate this kind of workshop – thank you”

“It’s great to know how the children are taught!”

“Fantastic – thank you!  Loved the child-led demo!”

“Very helpful and informative – it brought a lot into perspective”

“Very helpful to have ideas to help at home!”

And finally…

If you have any queries or would like to discuss our phonics or reading programme further, please do not hesitate to speak to your child's class teacher. 

Phonics Glossary

We hope the following glossary is useful to you when using our Phonics pages.   Always feel free to come in and talk to us if you require further support.