Phonics and Early Reading

What are we aiming for?​

At Forsbrook Church of England Primary School, we believe that reading is the gateway to learning and a gift that lasts a lifetime. We aim to foster a love of reading from the very beginning of a child’s school journey, ensuring that every child becomes a confident, fluent, and enthusiastic reader.​

Our Phonics and Early Reading curriculum aims to develop children who:​

• Develop a love of books and stories from an early age.​
• Engage regularly with a wide range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and rhymes.​
• Build strong foundations in phonics to decode and understand texts with increasing fluency.​
• Read regularly at home and school, supported by a strong reading culture.​
• Listen to and enjoy stories read by a variety of readers, including teachers, peers, and family members.​

How do we achieve this?​

Phonics is taught daily from the second week of Reception using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme—a systematic and synthetic phonics scheme that ensures consistency, progression, and high-quality teaching.​

Key features of our approach include:​

• Daily phonics sessions supported by additional opportunities to revisit and apply learning throughout the day.​
• Decodable reading books matched to each child’s phonics stage to build fluency, expression, and comprehension.​
• Regular story times throughout the day, where children are immersed in a rich variety of texts.​
• Home reading expectations, with children encouraged to read at least four times a week, supported by parents and carers.​
• Mystery Readers—a special initiative where family members, staff, or older pupils share stories with classes to promote a love of reading.​

Our approach ensures that children not only learn to read but also develop a deep enjoyment of reading, setting them up for success across the curriculum and beyond.​

​What difference is this making to our pupils?​

Our Phonics and Early Reading programme helps children build strong reading skills from the very start, giving them confidence to explore books independently. Our approach ensures that children not only learn to read but also develop a deep enjoyment of reading, setting them up for success across the curriculum and beyond. By making reading fun and engaging, children develop a love of stories and a curiosity about the world around them. Regular practice both at school and home helps pupils become fluent readers, ready to access learning in all subjects. Parents notice their children growing in confidence and enthusiasm, often sharing books and stories at home, creating special family reading moments.

Everybody Read Leaflet for Parents

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds

Click the play button to learn more about Little Wandle Letters and Sounds:

Nursery Rhymes – The Key to Developing Children’s Early Language Skills

Listening to, understanding and singing nursery rhymes is an important part of a young child’s development. It engages their listening, focus and attention and develops their oral skills. Developing communication skills at an early age is vital to a child’s reading success.

Please click on the following link to visit the BBC Teach’s Nursery Rhymes and Songs A to Z:

Nursery Rhymes