Early Reading and Phonics

At Divine Saviour School, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Nursery/Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At Divine Saviour School, we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

Click here to view the Little Wandle Curriculum Overview 

 Click here to view our Home Reading page

Unsure of any terms? Take a look in our glossary.

Support for Phonics

These three videos show you how to pronounce the sounds. Notice how the children don’t add an ‘uh’ sound at the end, so they say: ‘t’ not ‘tuh’. 

Phase Two sounds taught in the first part of the Autumn Term in Reception Class. 

Phase Two sounds taught in the second  part of the Autumn Term in Reception Class. 

Phase Three sounds taught in the Spring Term in Reception Class. 

Click here to download a guide to how children are taught to say their sounds

How we teach

How we teach blending

Tricky Words

A quick guide to alien words (Year One)