Early Reading

Nothing is more important than learning how to read and at St Gregory's we read every day in school. Children in EYFS and in KS1 learn through a robust  programme of systematic synthetic phonics called Read, Write Inc. This programme is one of the programmes validated by the DfE. Once they have mastered their phonics, children gradually transition from the programme towards a more traditional style of text.

To find out about Read, Write Inc in more detail please visit our page here 

“Teach a child to read and keep that child reading and we will change everything. And I mean everything”. This quote epitomises the intent of the Read Write Inc. programme at St Gregory’s. We want children to learn to read quickly and accurately and to then keep on reading. We want children to see reading not only as a task set by teachers in school but as an activity which provides pleasure and escape from the modern world.

We passionately believe that with the right support that all children can and will learn to read. In order for all children to be successful we assess them in phonics each half term (every 6-8 weeks) and place them in a group that is matched to their ability. We are constantly informally assessing the children to make sure that they are at the “Goldilocks spot” where the books they read are neither to easy nor too hard. If needed children receive additional support to help them on their journey to becoming a confident reader with our phonics tutor.

Within the daily RWI, sessions children will be encouraged and supported to not only develop their decoding skills but also their comprehension and fluency skills. Children will practise reading with a partner everyday and will also hear an adult read the same text with expression and intonation to support them in these reading skills.

The writing aspect of the programme teaches the children how to use key skills to record their ideas. They will be encouraged to formulate their sentences orally before writing these on paper. The writing stems from their storybook and covers a range of genres from captions, letter writing and short narratives. As these link directly to the story books the children already have a wealth of vocabulary that they can use to support them.

The RWI programme has been proven to be a very successful method of teaching every child to read and write using phonics. All children in Years R to 2 follow the programme. They are assessed regularly, this then allows them to be put into groups and given the appropriate RW1 reading and workbooks to follow.

Children will read their RWI books every morning with a trained member of staff. The children will then bring home three different books, all to support a different aspect of their reading development.

1. Black and white copy of their storybook – this is the familiar text that they have learnt to read in school. The purpose of bringing this home is to develop their fluency and expression as they do not have to decode new words.

2. RWI book bag book – this is a new text for the children which links to the level that they are currently working it. The purpose of this book is to practise decoding unfamiliar words. These books only contain known sounds and so are fully decodable.

3. Library books – these are books for parents to read to and share with the children. The purpose of these books is to encourage a love of reading. The children are encouraged to change these at least twice week.