Intent

At Staunton, reading is a core curriculum priority. Our intent is that all children learn to read fluently and confidently and develop a love of reading through regular opportunities for reading for pleasure, supporting a lifelong enjoyment of books. We believe that early reading and phonics are crucial for future academic success, enabling children to access the full curriculum.

Our phonics curriculum is:

• Ambitious and inclusive, designed so that all pupils, including those with SEND and those who need additional support, can succeed
• Clearly sequenced and progressive, ensuring children build knowledge cumulatively
• Focused on rapid and secure decoding, while also developing comprehension and enjoyment

To achieve this, we follow Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, a systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programme, taught with fidelity to ensure consistency, progression and high expectations for all.

Implementation

Phonics and early reading are implemented through the consistent and faithful delivery of the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.

Key features include:

• Daily, discrete phonics lessons, beginning in Reception, taught by trained staff using a shared teaching approach and language
• A clearly sequenced progression of grapheme–phoneme correspondences, blending and segmenting skills
• Immediate application of phonics knowledge through closely matched, fully decodable reading books
• Regular, structured reading practice sessions focusing on decoding, fluency and comprehension
• High‑quality story time and vocabulary‑rich talk to promote language development and reading for pleasure
• Ongoing assessment embedded within the programme to identify progress and gaps quickly
• Timely ‘keep‑up’ interventions delivered by trained adults for pupils who need additional support, ensuring gaps do not widen
• Swift adaptations and additional support for pupils with SEND, enabling access to the same ambitious curriculum

Impact

The impact of our early reading and phonics provision is that:

• Children learn to decode swiftly and confidently
• The vast majority of pupils meet or exceed age‑related expectations in phonics
• Pupils read with increasing fluency, accuracy and understanding
• Children demonstrate confidence, enjoyment and engagement when reading
• Gaps in learning are identified early and addressed promptly, ensuring no child is left behind
• Pupils leave the Early Years well prepared for reading and learning in Key Stage 1

Assessment outcomes, pupil voice, reading observations and monitoring show that children develop secure early reading skills and positive attitudes towards reading.