Spelling and Phonics
Which phonics programme is used at St. Lawrence?
At Barton St Lawrence we have adopted the Red Rose Letters and Sounds Phonics Scheme. Teachers deliver well planned and structured lessons from the scheme using exciting games and resources to challenge children and move through the phonic phases swiftly. Resources to support Letters and Sounds phonics (eg Phonics Play) are still appropriate to use to support your child at home as Red Rose follows a similar progression to Letters and Sounds.
Each week, children in phonic phases 2-5 concentrate on a set of particular sounds (phonemes) or written spelling patterns (graphemes). Your child is encouraged to use these technical terms to talk about their learning in phonics and spelling. Tricky words are also taught each week. These are words that do not follow a pattern and are learned discreetly.
The pronunciation of the phonemes (sounds) when teaching phonics is very important. To listen to an example of how to say each of the phonemes taught through our phonics curriculum, please watch this video from Oxford Owl. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCI2mu7URBc
Please note that you may pronounce u differently to the way it is pronounced in this video as the example is southern.
When it comes to spelling tests, the children in phonics phases 2-5 are NOT given a list of words to learn, other than the tricky words that do not follow a spelling rule. Children will be taught the spelling rule and how to apply it during the daily 20 minute lessons. At home, parents can help their child to generate lists of words that follow the rule (eg. spelling rule 'ea'; generated words could be : heap, cheap, flea etc).
Children requiring extra support:
Children who need extra support in spelling and reading work through one of a number of different interventions which follow the same structure as Red Rose Letters and Sounds. Which intervention the children access is determined by the gaps in their learning and which interventions (if any) they have accessed before.
Fast Track Phonics group
Fast Track Phonics follows a programme that has been devised by the Lancashire Literacy Team. This group is aimed at closing the gap with regards to reading and spelling. Most pupils who follow the daily phonics process will reach the expected level of understanding by the end of KS1. However, for those pupils who require further practise, in order to acquire these skills, a phonics catch up programme may be required. The Fast track programme is designed to address gaps in learning. The activities are short, snappy and fun with an emphasis on quickly reviewing previous sound patterns from all the other phases.
Bounce Back Phonics group
As a result of the recent Covid lockdowns and periods of remote learning, we have found a number of children have struggled to fully grasp the phonetic way of spelling and reading words. We have, therefore, begun a new "Bounce Back Phonics group" for these children, to support them to catch up with their peers in this area. The structured programme takes the children through the whole phonics sequence in short and intensive sessions.
Spelling and Grammar across KS2
All children from Years 2 to 6 will continue to focus upon their spelling and grammar learning at Barton St Lawrence. Fifteen minute 'warm-up' sessions will take place daily in each respective class. The children will take part in either a dedicated grammar or spelling session prior to their Literacy lesson. Sessions will be fast-paced, active and fun with each year group continuing to follow the 2014 curriculum. From Year 2 to Year 6, we use the spelling scheme 'No Nonsense Spelling'.
Children will learn grammatical rules, but more importantly, they will learn how to apply these rules within their everyday written work. In spelling, they will take upon an investigative approach ensuring that spelling is related ,once again, to their own writing.
