Phonics

The subject leader for Phonics is Mrs Bainbridge.

Phonics Scheme

At Irk Valley, we use the Twinkl Phonics scheme consistently throughout school.

Twinkl Phonics is a full systematic synthetic phonics programme, which has been validated by the DfE.

It covers nursery up to year 2, with interventions for KS2 pupils to be used as needed. The programme has its own Rhino Readers reading books to be used alongside whole-class teaching of phonics.

How is Twinkl Phonics taught?

At Irk Valley, Twinkl Phonics is taught to whole classes, giving all pupils the chance to keep up and engage in age-appropriate learning. Where pupils need a little extra support, Twinkl Phonics interventions are used at other points in the day to support children to build confidence, skills, and to fill gaps in knowledge.

What do the lessons involve?

Twinkl Phonics recaps prior learning at the beginning of each lesson with a fast recall activity of sounds and of common exception (tricky) words.

Each lesson tells a story through the lives of Kit and Sam: characters who the children get to know well throughout the phonics learning journey. The stories bring meaning to the learning in fun, interactive activities. They also expose children to new experiences and vocabulary, and allow children to see well-modelled reading every day in which the learnt sounds are applied in a progressive way.

Twinkl also includes a focus on letter formation and grammar as appropriate throughout the levels. Children learn ditties and rhymes to support their correct formation of letters. They also learn hand actions to aid memory and to support pupils to differentiate between GPCs as their knowledge of the phonics 'code' grows.

Each lessons includes elements of speaking, listening, reading and writing. Children get the chance to recap, learn new sounds and skills, practise and apply their learning.

Reading Scheme

At Irk Valley, we use Rhino Readers as our reading scheme. Rhino Readers have been created by Twinkl to be used alongside the phonics scheme.

Phonics Screening Check

The children in Year 1 complete a Phonics Screening Check, every year in June. This assesses and shows how well the child can use and apply the phonics skills that they've learnt up to the end of Year 1.

As a parent, I find supporting my child with Phonics difficult. Where can I find help?

Twinkl provide a wide array of resources to support the teaching of phonics both in and out of school.

Below are some resources that you may find useful while supporting your child's reading development at home.

For further information, please speak to Mrs Bainbridge.