Little Wandle Phonics and Early Reading

At St Joseph's, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Nursery/Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. We also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

Because we believe teaching every child to read is so important, we have a Reading Leader - Ms Wright - who drives the early reading programme in our school. This person is highly skilled at teaching phonics and reading, and they monitor and support our reading team, so everyone teaches with fidelity to the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.

How to progress

Please watch the following two videos in order to see the progress your child can make in a week from reading the same book over the 3 reading sessions, along with practise at home everyday. You will notice this child is much more fluent after practise with this book, as well as reading with prosody (using a storytelling voice and using stress and intonation when reading). This is why it is so essential for your child to practise reading their reading book everyday at home, in order for them to make as much progress as possible with their reading.

Find more Little Wandle resources for parents and carers.

Reception Autumn 1 sounds

Download a guide to how children are taught to say their sounds in Reception Autumn 1.

Reception Autumn 2 sounds

Download a guide to how children are taught to say their sounds in Reception Autumn 2.

Reception Spring 1 sounds

Download a guide to how children are taught to say their sounds in Reception Spring 1.