Phonics and Early Reading: Building Strong Foundations
Welcome to our Phonics and Early Reading page! At Harlow Fields School and College, we are passionately committed to nurturing a love for reading while developing key literacy skills in our children.
Phonics Lessons
As a school we follow the Department of Education approved phonics scheme Twinkl Phonics, we tailor this to the needs of our pupils. Our enriching phonics program is designed to engage and inspire our young learners. Each week, pupils participate in two dedicated phonics lessons. At the start of the academic year, we conduct a baseline assessment for all pupils to tailor lessons according to their individual needs and ensure that each child receives the appropriate support they require. Throughout the year, we consistently evaluate each child to ensure their learning journey is tailored to their individual needs, demonstrating our commitment to providing personalised education for all our students.
Monitoring Progress with Earwig
Throughout the year, we use Earwig to assess phonics skills continually. This valuable tool helps us track the progress of each pupil, enabling us to adjust our teaching strategies and celebrate the milestones they've achieved. We aim to ensure that students feel confident with the sounds they are learning, and once they can use these sounds in practice effectively, they will be introduced to new ones. This approach ensures a well-paced learning experience for every child.
Rhino Readers and Home Learning
To complement our in-class phonics sessions, each pupil will receive a login for Rhino Readers, a reading scheme linked to the Twinkl Phonics Scheme we employ. Through the Rhino Readers website and at school, your child will have access to a vast array of books at home, closely linked to the sounds they are mastering. This online collection is a wonderful resource to support home learning and reinforce classroom teachings.
Library Access and Reading for Pleasure
We firmly believe that reading should be a joyous adventure. That's why our school library continues to be a haven for exploration and imagination. Each week, children can choose a book from our school library to take home and enjoy with their families. This book could either be one they can read independently or a special story they would like their family to share with them.
By combining structured phonics lessons, digital resources, and a focus on reading for pleasure, we aim to instil a lifelong love of reading in every child. Thank you for supporting our efforts at home and helping us to make reading an exciting and meaningful part of your child's life. Together, we can build confident, enthusiastic readers who are ready to explore all the wonders that books and learning have to offer.
What Happens if Phonics Doesn’t Work for My Child?
At our school, we recognise that every child is unique, and as a SEND school, we understand that our pupils have a wide range of learning needs. While phonics is a highly effective method for teaching many children to read, we know that it may not be the right approach for everyone.
Throughout Lower School, we continue to work on developing phonics skills with all pupils, providing targeted support and adapting our teaching to meet individual needs. However, if we find that a child is not able to access phonics successfully, we introduce an alternative approach in Upper School using a specialist toolkit called Reading Revival.
Reading Revival supports students to learn to read by recognising and memorising whole words, rather than focusing on breaking words down into sounds. This approach helps children to build reading fluency and confidence, particularly when traditional phonics methods are not effective.
Our aim is to ensure that every child becomes a confident, capable reader in a way that suits their individual learning style.