Early Reading and Phonics
Charlton Manor primary school have chosen to follow Twinkl Phonics which is endorsed by the Department for Education. The main goal is to allow our children to develop a strong phonic awareness and effective blending and decoding skills. Twinkl Phonics Programme is a coherently planned sequence of lessons that supports the effective teaching of phonics within EYFS, KS1 and, where appropriate, KS2. Twinkl Phonics is a method of learning centred on letter sounds and phonics, blending sounds together to read and spell words and applying these skills across the curriculum. Alongside this we provide a weekly information sheet to parents which supports them in introducing the sounds which will be taught the following week. Twinkl phonics is support by Rhino Readers books. These books are matched with the child’s current learning and ability and go home with them to further support their learning. We also send home other books, like Oxford reading tree and coloured banded books, which have been matched closely to the Twinkl levels.
You can find out more here Twinkl Phonics Programme.
For more information about our phonics scheme and how it works please see the information PDF here
If you would like to find out more about when your children will be assessed at each level please click here
To learn more about each stage of Twinkl phonics please click the relevant webinar to find out more about each specific stage:
Nursery Webinar – Level 1
Reception Webinars – Level 2, Level 3, Level 4
Year 1 Webinar – Level 5
Year 2 Webinar – Level 6
For support in how to pronounce and action each phoneme and grapheme please see the relevant videos below.
Level 2
Level 3
Level 5
Level 6
Blending
Segmenting
This video will tell you more about the Rhino Reader books which your children will be bringing home to support their phonics learning.
About Rhino Reader Books
From Year 2 to Year 6, classes have a weekly guided reading session which uses a high quality text – be it poetry, non-fiction or fiction – to teach key reading skills, grammar in context and improve vocabulary and writing. Guided reading is also encouraged in all subjects, including English, Maths & Science across all foundation subjects.
We have a Library and every classroom has its own book corner, allowing children to select books that they enjoy and can read at home with their parents and carers. Children are expected to read at home daily, whether that’s independently or with an adult. Teachers help children to select books and ensure children are choosing texts which are at an appropriate level.
At the end of every day, class teachers read a quality text to their class for 15 minutes during story time. The texts are challenging and are another opportunity for elements of guided reading, although the primary focus is on enjoyment and reading for pleasure. Every Friday, teachers swap classes during story time so that children have an opportunity to listen to a wide range of teachers and readers.
You can read our Early Reading Policy here.