At Robin Hood Junior School, we ensure all children are supported to be able to read fluently.  We know that children cannot achieve their full potential across the entire curriculum until they are able to read with speed and accuracy, reading words automatically and with prosody (expression).

Phonics Intervention

Children joining us from Robin Hood Infants will have learned to read using the Little Wandle phonics programme and we use the same programme to teach children who need to continue to develop their decoding skills, or to teach them how to read if they are new to English.

If children have gaps in their phonic knowledge or are new to reading in English, then they are assessed to work out where to start in the Little Wandle Rapid Catch Up programme. This intervention happens daily with children working individually, or in small groups, with a trained teaching assistant.  Teachers plan for these sessions to coincide with the rest of the class having a reading or spelling lesson, so that they do not miss out on other important learning opportunities.

Children who receive phonics intervention will have different spellings to the rest of the class, to be able to practise writing their focus sounds in words and will also have Little Wandle decodable books to read, alongside a ‘reading for pleasure’ book that they have chosen from the library. Within the Rapid Catch-Up phonics programme, one of the sessions focuses on prosody and another focuses on comprehension, to help develop these skills using a new text each week. 

Developing as Readers

Until children are fluent readers, they cannot be expected to read for meaning.  Reading fluency - accuracy, appropriate rate, and prosody (expression) - is the critical bridge to reading comprehension, allowing readers to move from decoding words to understanding meaning. When readers are fluent,  the focus shifts from decoding, enabling them to focus on interpreting, making connections, and grasping the text's meaning. 

To consolidate and build on their learning in school, you click on this link to see how the children are taught to say the sounds, so you can also model them correctly when supporting your child with their reading.

https://www.littlewandle.org.uk/resources/for-parents/#tabnametabSupportForPhonics

Reading Fluency Interventions

Once children have graduated from the Rapid Catch-Up Phonics Programme, or if they haven’t needed phonics support but do need to improve their fluency, they will then receive a reading fluency intervention to continue to build up their reading pace and develop their prosody. We use texts on Collins e-books for these sessions.  Your child will have a login and can access their texts at home https://www.collinshub.co.uk/login/.  They should share them with you only when the book has been completed in their intervention, then they will be able to show off all the fantastic prosody they have been practising.

Please see further information about reading with your child on the Everybody Read leaflet.