Fred the Frog helps children read and spell. He can say the sounds in words, but he can’t say the whole word, so children have to help him. We start the systematic teaching of phonics throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage. The children learn to recognise the shape of letters and the sound they make. This is essential for reading, but it also helps children learn to spell well. We teach the children simple ways of remembering these sounds and letters. Your child has a Storybook matched to the sounds and words they know – a decodable book – so they should be able to read all the words. Read Write Inc. uses a systematic approach to Phonics to help children to learn to read and write. Children learn new sounds daily - these are letters and the most common sound that they make. When they have developed their knowledge of several sounds, they then begin to put these sounds together to make words. This is called blending. Blending is a very important milestone in children's reading because once they can hear the sounds in words and blend the sounds together to make words, they are ready to access books and begin to read independently. For example ‘ship’: spot the ‘sh’, then Fred Talk and blend to read the word e.g. sh, sh-i-p, ship.

Read favourite stories over and over again – encourage your child to join with the bits they know. Avoid saying ‘not that story again!’

Loving stories is important because children who love stories want to read stories for themselves. Children who read a lot become better readers. Phonics is taught daily to all children in Year R, Year 1 and those in Year2 who have not passed the phonics screening in Year 1 or completed the Read, Write Inc phonics programme. Our aim is for most children to be finished Read Write Inc Phonics by the end of year 1 or shortly after they start year 2. They will then start on our Read Write Inc Spelling Programme.

As children become more able, they will access Read Write Inc dittys (small simple sentence books) and eventually longer books which they can use their skills to read. Due to the success of RWI, Ruth Miskin is currently involved in a series of nationwide training programmes for primary schools commissioned by the UK government, aimed at training teachers in effective phonics teaching. -We have produced a range of videos for you to access at home to help your child practise phonics sounds. Please avoid saying, “This book is too easy for you!” but instead say “I love how well you can read this book!” We use various ways to find out how the children are progressing in reading. Each half term the children in Year R and Year 1 are assessed in Phonics. They are then grouped accordingly to ensure they are always being taught at the correct level to provide challenge. In class we regularly assess how fluently and accurately the children can read words. Children who are at the same reading level are grouped together for guided reading however these groups are fluid and if a child makes faster progress they are swiftly moved to a different group. Children who are not making the expected level of progress in phonics and reading will receive intervention support. We use Read Write Inc one-to-one tutoring for children from YR to Y2 who require extra phonics tuition to catch up with their peers.

Use pure sounds, not letter names. Watch the ‘ how to say the sounds’ parent film on http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents/ Read the story once without stopping so they can enjoy the whole story. If you think your child might not understand something say something like ‘Oh I think what’s happening here is that…”Praise your child for spelling using the sounds they know, even if their handwriting is not perfect. Practise reading known Set 1 Speed Sounds cards speedily. If needed, show your child the picture side of the card to help them remember the sound. Watch video tutorials on http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents/ to help you to understand more about Read Write Inc. Phonics and how to help your child read and write at home.