Intent

At Sunnyside Primary Academy, our goal is to equip all pupils with secure phonic knowledge for successful Reading and Writing. We prioritise reading and writing as essential life skills, providing children with the necessary phonics knowledge and skills to enjoy reading throughout their lives. Pupils will learn to decode words effectively, enabling them to read books that align with their phonic understanding. They will also develop the ability to make phonically plausible attempts at unfamiliar words, fostering independence in their writing and applying spelling rules accurately.

Striving for Excellence

We prioritise systematic phonics instruction across the Foundation Stage and KS1, with ongoing support as needed into Key Stage 2. Whole-class teaching ensures all children access phonics lessons, while careful assessments allow for timely interventions, helping pupils to keep up rather than catch up. Our aim is for all children to meet expected phonics levels in reading and writing and to apply their knowledge across various activities.

Developing Vocabulary

Through phonics instruction, children expand their vocabulary related to letters and sounds. They are explicitly taught key phonics terms such as phoneme, grapheme, digraph, and trigraph, enhancing their understanding of spelling.

Building Community

We actively involve parents in reinforcing phonics learning at home. Workshops equip parents with the skills to support their children’s phonics education, fostering a collaborative approach to learning.

Expanding Cultural Experiences

We utilise resources that reflect children’s cultural and social backgrounds, making phonics learning relatable. These materials encourage discussions about diversity and community.

Implementation

Phonics lessons follow a consistent four-part format: revisit/review, teach, practice, and apply. Staff are trained in the Little Wandle approach, utilising online resources to enhance teaching. Lessons are engaging and fast-paced, with daily and half-termly assessments to monitor progress. Children receive follow-up activities and fully decodable reading books that match their learning. Classroom displays reflect phonics learning, and tricky words are taught alongside sounds for early reading and writing success.

Impact

Children gain confidence in using their phonics knowledge, enabling them to access a variety of materials and fostering a love for reading. By taking home books aligned with their phonic knowledge, they celebrate reading successes with parents, enhancing motivation and progress. We aspire for our pupils to:

• Read fluently at an age-appropriate level to access the broader curriculum.
• Develop a lifelong love of reading, reading widely and often.
• Achieve well in EYFS, Key Stage 1, and Key Stage 2 assessments.
• Pass the Year 1 phonics screening check on their first attempt.

We believe that reading is fundamental to all learning, and the impact of our reading curriculum extends beyond statutory assessment results.

Phonics at Sunnyside

We focus on teaching children to decode words for fluent reading and comprehension. Our phonics instruction, based on the Little Wandle phonics programme, emphasises systematic synthetic phonics (SSP), where words are broken into phonemes and blended to form words.

For parents, additional resources are available at Little Wandle for Parents.

Our aim is for children to become fluent readers by the end of Key Stage 1, with ongoing support in Key Stage 2 as needed. We utilise decodable readers for older pupils to continue their phonics learning.

Comprehension

At Sunnyside, we view reading as a vital life skill. By the time children leave, they read confidently for meaning and enjoy reading for pleasure. Our pupils are equipped to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary and see themselves as readers for both pleasure and purpose.

To ensure effective phonics instruction, we have a dedicated Phonics Leader who oversees the early reading programme, ensuring fidelity to the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.