To access our remote learning support resources, please visit the 'Remote Learning' section under our 'Parents' tab.

Reading and Phonics

Approaches to Phonics

At Penryn, Phonics is taught through daily Read, Write Inc sessions in KS1 and Freshstart phonics in KS2. These comprise of learning different graphemes, focussing on oral phonological skills and sight vocabulary. During these sessions children are also explicitly shown how to apply their developing skills to their writing. All children are grouped in accordance with their individual needs.

Approaches to Reading

Our priority is both the teaching of reading skills and enjoyment of literature, enabling children to become lifelong, confident readers. As children build fluency, comprehension skills become our main area of focus and questioning looks at skills such as retelling, inference and prediction. All children will complete a ‘DERIC’ task weekly, which focuses on a different resource (such as blurbs, videos, pictures and texts) and children answer a ‘Decode’, ‘Explain’, ‘Retrieve’, ‘Infer’ and ‘Choice’ question for each of the resources.

In EYFS and KS1, children are given Read Write Inc book bag books which are matched to the sounds that they are learning in their phonics sessions. When children are ready or when they have finished the phonics programme, children then move onto Accelerated Reader. Within AR the children quiz regularly on the books that they are reading and move through sub-levels that are closely matched to their reading level.

Home reading is expected at least 5 times a week and is an integral part of the child’s development. In order to have strong communication between teachers and parents/carers, each child has a home learning journal where both the staff and parents can write comments about how the child is progressing with his/her reading.

Developing a love of reading

At Penryn we recognise the importance of children learning to love to read and enjoying the books that they choose to read:

Storytelling forms a key part of our teaching based on high quality texts – much thought goes into the selection of texts to ensure exposure to high level vocabulary
We have a dedicated book corner in every year group
All class teachers read to the children daily

All children are given a book on their birthday from the school
We have an annual school Book Fair and always celebrate World Book Day
We have reading karate throughout the school; children achieve different reading karate statuses after different amounts of reads.

Penryn Primary English Policy Updated 2021.pdf

Next Previous

For information and tutorials on how to support your child's learning visit:

http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents/