St Albert’s Catholic Primary School
Read Write Inc Policy
Read, Write, Inc. Phonics
Read, Write, Inc. Phonics is an inclusive literacy programme for all children learning to read. It is aimed at children reading at Level 2b or below and teaches synthetic phonics. Children learn the 44 common sounds in the English language and how to blend them to read and spell. The scheme includes both a reading and a writing focus.
Reading is the key that unlocks the whole curriculum so the ability to efficiently decode is essential. The R.W.I sessions are expected to occur each day with no exceptions, as the continuity and pace of the programme is key to accelerating the progress of children’s reading development.
Aims and Objectives.
To teach children to:
- apply the skill of blending phonemes in order to read words.
- segment words into their constituent phonemes in order to spell words.
- learn that blending and segmenting words are reversible processes.
- read high frequency words that do not conform to regular phonic patterns.
- read texts and words that are within their phonic capabilities as early as possible.
- decode texts effortlessly so all their resources can be used to comprehend what they read.
- spell effortlessly so that all their resources can be directed towards composing their writing.
Teaching and Learning Style
This is based on the 5 Ps.
Praise – Children learn quickly in a positive climate.
Pace – Good pace is essential to the lesson.
Purpose – Every part of the lesson has a specific purpose.
Passion – This is a very prescriptive programme. It is the energy, enthusiasm and passion that teachers put into the lesson that bring the teaching and learning to life!
Participation – A strong feature of R.W.I. lessons is partner work and the partners ‘teaching’ each other (based on research which states that we learn 70% of what we talk about with our partner and 90% of what we teach).
In order for a child to fully access the RWI programme, it is essential that they are in school on time each morning. Working very closely with our ‘Attendance officer’, we have impressed upon pupils and parents the importance of attendance and punctuality. The school Attendance Policy states that all pupils are required to be in school by 8.55am each day and this is particularly important as RWI sessions begin at 9.00 am.
It is important to remember to never give up! Every child can learn to read if you persevere.
Planning
Pupils work within ability groups which are defined by their performance on R.W.I. phonic tests. Pupils are re-tested during the year and the groups are reorganised accordingly.
The RWI tutor follows the relevant handbooks in order to teach the session. Each group leader has a printed format for planning ditties or storybook lessons. To this framework, is added the particular ditty/ storybook being studied, new phonic elements that are being introduced and any other points worthy of note for future use.
TA’s will be responsible for planning for their R.W.I groups, with the support of the R.W.I Lead as required. TA’s will be given preparation time prior to the sessions on a weekly basis.
Delivery of Phonics
- Initial sounds are to be taught in a specific order.
- Sounds taught should be ‘pure’ ie ‘b’, not ‘buh’ as this is central to phonic teaching and ability to recognise sounds in words.
- Blends are to be declustered. eg bl is two specific sounds.
- Children are to be taught that the number of graphemes in a word always corresponds to the number of phonemes. This greatly aids spelling.
- Set 2 sounds are to be taught after Set 1 (initial sounds)
- Letter names are to be introduced with Set 3.
R.W.I. across the school
Foundation Stage: R.W.I. will soon be fully implemented in Reception and the class will be split into groups based on their assessments.
Sessions will take place daily .Within this time a 10 minute speed sounds session will occur with follow up handwriting sessions while children access continuous provision, inline with the EYFS.
Key Stage One: R.W.I. groups will be set following assessments carried out by the R.W.I lead. The sessions will occur daily for 1 hour. These sessions will replace literacy teaching from the Literacy Framework with a 10 minute Speed Sounds session followed by Reading and Get Writing! sessions. Once children ‘come off’ the programme they will then access literacy sessions from the Literacy Framework.
Sessions will take place daily.
Key Stage Two: R.W.I. groups will take the form of an intervention during literacy sessions for those children with the greatest need in Year 3/4.
SEN/Able Pupils
SEN pupils are fully involved in R.W.I. lessons as all pupils work in ability groups and teaching is geared to the speed of progress of each group. 1:1 tution will be identified by the RWI lead if required.
Able pupils are catered for as groups are based on ability and there is the flexibility to accommodate gifted younger pupils within groups of older children.
Parental Involvement
At St Albert’s, we are fully committed to working in partnership with parents, as we believe that these are the key to successful learning.
An introductory letter will provide parents with information about RWInc. Information will also be placed on the website and parents will also have access to the policy. Parent information meetings will be scheduled during the current academic years
A RWInc parents’ pledge is to be signed by all parents. In signing the pledge parents are acknowledging and confirming their support.
As well as daily reading with their child, parents will also, at times, be required to support with RWI homework. We believe that these parental links will further strengthen as the programme develops within our school.
Assessment and Recording
Children are assessed throughout every lesson. Every time partner work is used the teacher assesses the progress of her children. The teacher assesses how children:
- read the grapheme chart
- read the green and red word lists
- decode the ditty/story
- comprehend the story
Each group leader is requested to keep a register to identify pupils that are absent or pupils that need extra reinforcement of a particular element that has been covered.
Formal assessment is carried out periodically by the R.W.I. lead using the R.W.I. phonic checks. This allows for achieving homogeneity within each group and indicates, the correct access point for new entrants.
Monitoring and Review
The R.W.I. lead
- tests all KS.1 pupils and designates pupils to the correct groups.
- assigns leaders to groups
- ‘drops in’ on R.W.I. groups to give advice and to informally check that pupils are in the correct groups
- where necessary models lessons
- attends up-date meetings when they occur and reports back to the R.W.I. group leaders
- speaks with the headteacher regarding groupings, teaching spaces and other pertinent matters
- is responsible for reporting to the governors about the quality of the implementation of R.W.I. and the impact on standards.
- This Policy will be reviewed within during the next academic year.
