"Phonics lessons are so fun! Supersonic helps me be a better reader and a writer. It’s my favourite lesson.”  Bhumi ,Year 2

Phonics is taught daily from Nursery and throughout KS1 at St John’s using the Supersonic Phonic Friends phonics scheme. Children access fully decodable books from the Collins scheme, matched carefully to their level of phonic development. 

Intent

We aim for all of our children to leave St. John’s as competent, confident readers and writers. Our high expectations of all learners, despite the challenges some pupils’ face, ensure that all pupils make considerable progress. Through our teaching of phonics, children learn to segment words to support their spelling ability and blend sounds to read words. The children are taught the essential skills needed for reading and writing. The teaching of phonics is of the highest priority. We believe children need to acquire key phonic knowledge and develop skills in segmenting and blending to develop fluency in reading. As well as acquiring these fundamental phonics skills, we value the importance and impact of reading for pleasure by encouraging pupils to read for enjoyment and recognise that this starts with the foundations of acquiring letter sounds, segmenting and blending skills.

Implementation

At St John’s CE Primary School, we teach phonics daily and systematically using the phonics scheme Supersonic Phonics Friends. This is an active and engaging programme that ensures every session is maximised. The lessons are engaging and motivating and children mirror their teacher’s mood, attitude, pay attention and enjoy learning. As children make progress with phonic knowledge, they move from learning letters and the sounds they make, to using and applying this knowledge to read and write words, then into reading and writing sentences. We give the children the opportunity to use and apply their phonics learning through games and activities so that they develop confidence and fluency when applying this to their independent reading and written work. Children are taught new knowledge, in line with their current phase and are given many opportunities to practise this together with the support of the teacher. Children are supported in connecting their new knowledge with their previous learning. Teachers take full account of the child’s individual strengths, weaknesses, knowledge and understanding and profile of needs. A consistent structure and approach to teaching and learning is adopted across school in line with Supersonic Phonics Friends and our Phonics Policy.

Impact

As a result of high quality phonics teaching, we aim for children to be able to access all areas of the curriculum with enthusiasm, confidence and enjoyment. We firmly believe that reading is the key to all learning- therefore, the impact of our phonics and reading curriculum can be seen in success across the curriculum as children progress through school.

Children’s progress in phonics is continually reviewed through periodic phonic assessments and evidence from their reading and writing and contributions in phonics sessions. Through these, teachers identify the graphemes and areas of application that need to be addressed, which then informs groupings and future planning. In Year 1, the national Phonics Screening Check is undertaken to confirm that the children have learned to decode to an age appropriate standard and this also determines what level of provision they will require the following year. Any pupils that do not meet the required standard in Year 1, continue to receive rigorous support to allow them to make rapid progress and meet the standard by the end of KS1.

Spirituality in Phonics

While phonics primarily focuses on developing foundational literacy skills, there is an indirect connection to spirituality as well. Phonics, through its engagement with language and communication, provides a tool for young learners to express and connect with their inner thoughts and feelings. As children decode words and begin to understand language structure, they gain the ability to communicate their experiences, beliefs and ideas more effectively. The process of learning to read and write fosters a sense of empowerment and self-expression, contributing to the holistic development of a child's identity, including their spiritual dimensions. In this way, phonics, while fundamentally a linguistic skill, indirectly supports the broader development of children, providing them with the means to explore and articulate their thoughts and emotions, which are integral components of their spiritual growth.