Phonics- Read Write Inc.

Our Phonics Leader

My name is Stephen Biles and I am the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) Lead at Laycock Primary School.

I passionately believe that teaching children to read and write independently, as quickly as possible, is one of the core purposes of a primary school. These fundamental skills not only hold the keys to the rest of the curriculum but also have a huge impact on children’s self-esteem and future aspirations. At Laycock Primary School, we use the Read, Write, Inc (RWI) phonics programme to teach decoding, comprehension, writing and spelling together seamlessly to enable children to become proficient readers and writers by the end of KS1.

Our Phonics subject intent

At Laycock Primary School, we value reading as a key life skill, and are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers. We believe reading is key for academic success and so to ensure we have a holistic approach to the teaching of reading.

At Laycock, we use a synthetic phonics programme called ‘Read Write Inc’ produced by Ruth Miskin. Read Write Inc is a method of learning letter sounds and blending them together to read and write words. As part of this, children have daily phonics sessions in small groups where they participate in speaking, listening and spelling activities that are matched to their developing needs. The teachers draw upon observations and continuous assessment to ensure children are stretched and challenged and to identify children who may need additional support. Children work through the different phases, learning and developing their phonics sounds and knowledge.

We have designed our curriculum for the children at Laycock Primary to be inspired, enthused, engaged and active not only with the power of their learning, but the power of their life choices within our school, community and wider world. Our curriculum has been designed based on the individuality of our local area, our catchment and the current world we live in. We will prepare our children to ask questions, hunt for answers and base decisions on their moral compass. The enquiry based, experiential learning will ignite and develop our children to embody our school values: aspirational, creative, curious, resilient, respectful and friendly. Laycock learners will break barriers, challenge stereotypes, learn from classic and current role models and understand the importance their decision and actions have on life.

Within our curriculum, we pride ourselves on working with and embedding values from the United Nations and British Council to help create active, 21^st century citizens capable and passionate to impact and benefit the future. Here are the Global Goals that appear in our teaching, conversations, assemblies and celebration weeks- all of which are evident in the curriculum map.

Our Phonics subject implementation

Phonics resources