Phonics

Phonics at Fernhurst Primary School is taught using Little Wandle.   This has been skillfully developed by Wandle and Little Sutton English Hubs and taken forward by Little Sutton Primary School and Wandle Learning Trust in partnership with other phonics and early reading experts.  The Government reviewed all of the phonics schemes available and this scheme has been named on their recommended list for schools.  We are delighted that through our close work with the English Hub, we have be able to receive a £6000 grant to supplement our already flourishing stock of texts. All classroom staff, in every year group, are fully trained in Little Wandle and we deliver whole class and intervention support through this good-quality programme.  

Little Wandle have a range of additional resources and support guides that are useful - please look online at  https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/ 

Our most recent workshop is available at https://sway.cloud.microsoft/0t4uOno3QB7Zr5O2?ref=Link so that you can find out more about phonics at Fernhurst. 

Reading

In EYFS and Year 1, reading is taught through the Little Wandle programme of study, alongside accessing high-quality texts and exploring these during story time which is a protected 20 minutes at the end of every day.  By Year 2 children are ready to expand their journey.  We focus on fluency and comprehension in our guided reading lessons using a range of high-quality texts.  All children are encouraged to take books from our extensive library and pupils in Key Stage 2 can also access articles online through Accelerated Reader.

Writing

Writing is taught daily and is text driven. Initially, we immerse our pupils into the world the of the high-quality text they are studying. Then we teach grammatical skills which the pupils will then apply writing for a specific purpose and audience. 

In Key Stage 2, spellings are taught using 'No Nonsense Spelling'.  This is a robust programme which requires short daily lessons to ensure that the children learn and apply all of the spelling patterns to a high standard.  The children from Year 2 carry on with Little Wandle initially through their Review phase and then move onto Bridge to Spelling and then Little Wandle Spelling.  

It is important that writing is enjoyed and as such, there are lots of opportunities to select a viewpoint to write from and writing is completed in different subjects to give a wide range of experiences.