We are passionate about ensuring that all children learn to decode text and read fluently at Mill Dam School.
We begin our teaching of reading in nursery where children discover letter sounds around them and start to understand their meaning. We use the ‘Launchpad to Literacy’ resource to support with this.
From reception through to KS1 we follow the Read, Write, Inc Phonics programme. This ensures that all children are systematically taught a programme of synthetic phonics and enables them all to decode words rapidly and accurately. This is supported by reading books from the phonics programme. Each child will bring home a fully decodable book which they have read during their lessons that week. They will also bring home a ‘book bag’ book which is also fully linked to their phonics learning from that week. In addition to this they may bring home a sharing book which is not fully decodable but is intended for you to read together and enjoy. This will be clearly marked.
In reception and year one children also follow the ‘Talk Through Stories’ programme which helps to develop a wider reading diet, love of story and introduce fluency and comprehension.
From year 2 onwards children begin to move to guided reading which includes further development of fluency and comprehension and a wide range of fiction and non fiction texts. This also progresses into the KS2 guided reading programme as detailed in our reading ‘subject on a page’.