PHONICS
‘Read Write Inc.' at Pensilva Primary School
Pensilva Primary School is a Read, Write Inc. school and as such, we are all passionate about enabling our children to become fluent and successful readers.
Read, Write Inc. (RWI) is a phonics programme written by Ruth Miskin. The RWI programme is designed carefully to help children of all abilities to make rapid progress, as well as allowing us to support you, in fostering a love of reading in your child that will last a lifetime!
At the core of the programme is the lively and vigorous teaching of synthetic phonics. Children learn the 44 common sounds in the English language and how to sound-blend words for reading (decoding) at the same time as developing writing skills and spelling (encoding).
As their confidence in decoding develops they are taught to comprehend and apply their knowledge to sentences. The children have the pleasure of reading exciting storybooks perfectly matched to their level – so that they have early success in reading!
The programme begins in the Foundation Stage (Year R) and is expected to extend into KS1. The children follow a structured programme of reading and writing activities every day and are regularly assessed (every 6-8 weeks) to ensure they are in the right group to meet their needs. All staff at Pensilva Primary School have been fully trained in the delivery of this programme.
RWI. has 5 underlying principles – the five Ps:
- PACE – no time is wasted during teaching sessions! Children are active and involved in a fun and creative way. Children are reminded to give their teacher their ‘magnet eyes’ and ‘listening ears’!
- PRAISE – teachers praise the children constantly throughout the teaching sessions. Children learn more quickly when they are praised for what they do well, rather than nagged for what they do wrong.
- PURPOSE – each activity has a very clear purpose. The teacher will set this purpose at the beginning of the lesson, so that the children know exactly what they will be learning.
- PARTICIPATION – all children take part in all parts of the lesson. Full participation is gained through partner work and choral response.
- PASSION – as a staff we are passionate about our teaching and the benefits of the Read, Write Inc. programme! We love teaching the sessions and this enthusiasm rubs off onto the children
Reading fluency is a cornerstone of literacy, crucial not only for understanding text but for fostering confidence and enjoyment in reading. Fluent readers can focus on meaning rather than decoding, which supports comprehension across all subjects and enables children to make stronger progress across the curriculum.
Developing fluency allows children to access content in mathematics, science, history, and other subjects more effectively, because they can read efficiently, understand instructions, and engage with more complex texts.
Strategies we use in reading lessons and across the curriculum include modelling fluent reading, repeated practice, choral reading, echo reading, paired reading, readers' theatre, one-minute reads, and smooth reading techniques.