Phonics

At Bywell Junior School we believe that reading is the key that unlocks the curriculum so the ability to competently decode, using phonics, is crucial. We are passionate about ensuring all children become confident and enthusiastic readers. We also value and encourage the pupils to read for enjoyment and recognise that this starts with the foundations of acquiring letter sounds, segmenting and blending skills. We strive to teach children to read effectively and to allow our children to develop a strong phonic awareness and effective blending and decoding skills, we have chosen to use a synthetic phonics programme called Read, Write, Inc. produced by Ruth Miskin.

Through daily, systematic and consistent high-quality phonics teaching, children learn to segment words to support their spelling ability and blend sounds to read words. Using Read Write Inc. the children learn to read fluently so that they can put all their energy into comprehending what they read.  We passionately believe that teaching children to read and write independently is one of the core purposes of a primary school enabling them to access a broad and exciting curriculum and ensuring they flourish as learners throughout their time at our school. These fundamental skills not only hold the keys to the rest of the curriculum but also have a huge impact on children’s self-esteem and future life chances.

We endeavour to create an inclusive, inspired and challenging curriculum, which develops children’s knowledge of phonics, enabling them to become successful readers who develop a life-long love of reading.

At Bywell Junior School, we use a synthetic phonics programme called ‘Read Write Inc.’ produced by Ruth Miskin. Our staff teach children the relationship between sounds and the written spelling patterns, or graphemes, which represent them. All children Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 where necessary, have phonics sessions three times a week. According to the DfE (Department for Education), ‘almost all children who receive good teaching of phonics, will learn the skills they need to tackle new words’. They can then go on to read any kind of text fluently and confidently, and to read for enjoyment.

Each phonics lesson includes the following elements:

– Revise – overlearn the previous graphemes and words

– Teach – introduce a new grapheme/words

– Practise – develop GPCs (grapheme phoneme correspondences)/read and spell new words

– Apply – use new graphemes/words in games and activities to secure knowledge

– Assess – monitor progress within each phase to inform planning.

• Children are taught in small and focused groups/one to one to target their specific needs for phonics, alongside children of the same ability. These groupings are based on Read Write Inc. assessments that are carried out at the start of each school year and then continue half termly.  I then collate this information and regroup children based on their current skill level allowing progression for most children but repetition and support for those that need more time on a specific set of sounds.  This approach allows lessons to be focused and specific to the needs of the children.

Through the Read Write Inc. programme, our children at Bywell will continue to be equipped with the skills to decode unfamiliar words using strategies that they have been taught in their daily lessons.  This way, children can focus on developing their fluency and comprehension as they move through the school. Hopefully, this leads to a love of reading and children taking pleasure in exploring the rich literary world around them with a firm phonic basis to support them.

Currently we measure the effectiveness and impact of our Phonics Curriculum in a variety of ways:

• Summative assessment – All pupils are assessed every 6-7 weeks, or more frequently for those making speedier progress, using RWI Assessment materials. These assess a pupil’s sound to grapheme correspondence, ability to apply phonic knowledge to decode regular words and to read common exception words. Pupils’ reading fluency is also evaluated.
• Formative assessment – Daily formative assessment opportunities are built into every RWI lesson. These opportunities provide our reading teachers with knowledge of which children are making slow, steady or speedy progress allowing them and myself to quickly intervene and support a pupil to ‘catch-up’ or to change group depending on what is the best option for the pupil.

We purchased the blended training package from Read Write Inc. which combines face-to-face training and in-school support with comprehensive online training.

I have been working closely with Debbie from Read Write Inc. As well as assessing children’s phonic progress, I have received guidance in how to lead weekly practice times and how to coach reading teachers, in lesson time, to build consistency and accountability.

I attend development days and work alongside Debbie to analyse current data from the RMT portal and decide next steps, implement daily one-to-one tuition to teach the most vulnerable children, implement weekly practice sessions and coach reading teachers, set online training pathways for individual staff, make the most of the Virtual Classroom in school and at home.

I also attended a Leadership Implementation Day and was shown the systems necessary to ensure success. I was shown how to upload data to the RMT portal and analyse it, ensure children are grouped homogeneously, organise and implement daily one-to-one tuition to teach the most vulnerable children, run weekly practice sessions and coach reading teachers and set online training pathways.

• Over the past few months, any new staff members who have joined and are working closely with children who need support in phonics have received appropriate training.
• Children in the Blossom provision who are following the phonics programme receive one-to-one phonics sessions every day for ten minutes.
• Children who are not in the Blossom provision but have not made sufficient progress also receive one-to-one phonics sessions for ten minutes each day.
• Staff are trained in phonics according to the needs of the children. This includes training for one-to-one sessions, group phonics, or storybook sessions.
• I liaise with Debbie from Ruth Miskin for regular updates and support. She works closely with us and visits for development days.
• I assessed the children for Summer 2 and the results were incredible. Many of the children are no longer on the phonics scheme. There are no phonics groups moving into Year 4 next year and no phonics groups moving into Year 5 from Year 4, something that has not happened in the past six years.
• The five children still receiving phonics in Year 3 now have one-to-one sessions to accelerate their progress.
• In Year 4, three children, two of whom are from the Blossom provision, will continue to receive one-to-one phonics next year.

• We have a development day scheduled with Debbie from Ruth Miskin on 7 July. During this session, I will be discussing the creation of personalised plans for children receiving one-to-one phonics support, to help accelerate their progress.
• In September, we will assess the new Year 3 pupils and group them based on their phonics needs.
• Use the Online Assessment Grouping Key to ensure children are appropriately grouped for their challenge levels.
• Carry out a grouping meeting to review progress, update groupings, set up the tutoring timetable, and share the assessment scores to teach to close gaps.

Tutoring Priorities

During September, I implemented the tutoring priorities set by Debbie during the July development day. I have spoken to staff individually to support pupils with Speed Sounds using the “same sound, different spelling” approach to reinforce phoneme recognition.

Leadership Priorities

I completed the leadership priorities set during the July development day. With Tom, I renewed the online subscription and arranged development days for November 2025. I have checked that all Individual Assessment Records were accurate and fully completed. I used paper comprehension passages to assess pupils and made sure the results were correctly recorded online. I have looked at the assessment data and identified what was slowing down children’s reading. I focused on three main areas: reading new words accurately, reading familiar words quickly, and keeping a good speed to understand what they read.

I have also emailed Debbie to request that the focus of the November development day includes a handover and support for Miss Whittaker, so she can take on these responsibilities confidently when I go on maternity leave later this year. I will be present during this session to ensure Miss Whittaker feels fully supported and understands each aspect of the process.

I introduced phonics teachers to the Personalised Pathways and demonstrated how these can be used to support them with teaching phonics. Working with Phonics teachers, I used the Individual Progress Records to identify tutoring needs for Storybooks and Sounds, ensuring each child received targeted support. I also provided opportunities for extra practice at 8:30am and throughout the school day using the personalised QR codes to reinforce learning. In addition, I met with phonics teachers to explain that I will review pupil progress, discuss challenges, and agree on next steps. These actions have helped ensure that interventions remain closely aligned with individual pupil needs and that staff feel confident in delivering consistent, effective support.

Analysing Data for this academic year

The Year 3 Sounds Tracker shows that 78 pupils (82%) read the Assessment 1 passage fluently, showing strong phonics skills and no need for further support. 17 pupils (18%) still need 1:1 phonics help to build fluency and accuracy. This information is being used to plan targeted sessions to boost decoding skills, while fluent readers move on to comprehension-focused activities.

The children were reassessed again in November, and the latest results are now available. In Year 3, the updated data shows that three more children have come off the phonics scheme within just five weeks, demonstrating strong progress. There are now no children in Years 5 and 6 requiring phonics support, and only five children in Year 4 still on the phonics scheme. This represents the strongest phonics data we have ever had. During our development day, I worked closely with Debbie, our Ruth Miskin representative, to review the assessments in detail. Miss Whittaker shadowed this process to develop her understanding of how to identify specific gaps in phonics knowledge. Together, we analysed the data, identified children who need further support, and planned targeted next steps to ensure every child receives the intervention they need to continue making good progress.

Next Steps for Tutoring priorities

Once children have securely plugged any gaps in their phonics knowledge, phonics teachers should focus on developing pupils’ fluency and comprehension through Story Green Words and Red Words. For Story Green Words, use the ACE (Action, Colour, Explain) strategy to deepen understanding in context and encourage rereading for accuracy. For Red Words, challenge pupils to build reading speed and revisit tricky words to strengthen automaticity and confidence. I will be using my coaching time to focus on these targets with phonics teachers and requested Miss Whittaker to do the same.

Leadership priorities

Alongside Miss Whittaker, we have set up personalised training pathways for our phonics teachers based on the specific areas identified during coaching and the needs of the children they tutor.

Each pathway includes targeted Ruth Miskin training videos that match the skills or techniques the teacher needs to strengthen.

Teachers now receive an automatic email notification whenever a video has been added to their pathway, reminding them that a new resource is available to support their delivery. This has been especially helpful, as teachers can quickly revisit a video to refresh their understanding before tutoring a particular element of phonics.

This process is new this year, and Miss Whittaker has now been trained in how to set up and manage these pathways.
She will continue to support phonics teachers in this way next year, ensuring ongoing, tailored development for staff and greater consistency in teaching.

Handover notes have been created and shared with Miss Whittaker to ensure she is fully prepared to lead phonics during my maternity leave. All relevant information, including updated resources, assessment data, and notes from the recent development day, has been organised and saved electronically for her to access at any time. In addition, all necessary contact details have been passed on so that she can reach out to our Ruth Miskin representative whenever she requires support.

• When beginning my role as Phonics Lead, I accessed online training videos to develop my knowledge and understanding of phonics teaching. As the year progresses, I will continue to engage with this training to further strengthen my expertise.
• I have assessed children that are currently on the phonics scheme and new children in school using the online assessment. With support from Debbie, I have then used the grouping key to ensure children are being taught at the correct challenge level.
• A development day has been planned for September 2026 with Debbie to provide training and ensure I am on track in my role as the new leader. This will be organised and booked by me.
• Personalised training pathways have been assigned on the Ruth Miskin online portal for phonics teachers, based on needs of the children they support. This can change as the child they tutor moves up through the stages of teaching and is reassigned when necessary.
• At the end of the spring term, two children (one in Year 4 and one in Year 3) demonstrated sufficient progress and no longer required one-to-one tutoring, resulting in them coming off the programme.
• As advised by Debbie, children who know all Set 1, 2 and 3 sounds will focus on storybook reading with their tutor. This supports the development of fluency and increases the speed and accuracy of word reading.
• All children have an individual progress record that identifies what they know and the areas they still need to develop. I hold a paper copy of these records, and each child’s tutor also has access to a copy to support targeted teaching.
• Each child has an individual QR code that can be scanned to provide instant access to the virtual classroom. This includes videos that reinforce the specific stage they are currently learning. For example, if a child is learning the Set 2 sound ‘oo’ with their tutor, they can access corresponding online teaching to support this learning. These QR codes are also sent home to enable additional practice outside of school.
• During the development day in November 2025, I was advised to support tutors in accessing ‘My Profile’ and selecting ‘Update Pathways’ to create personalized training pathways. This has since been completed.

Next Steps

• Share and discuss the ‘What to teach when – tutoring’ document with all tutors.
• Assess children at the end of the Summer 1 half term. Use the grouping key and ‘What to Teach When – Tutoring’ guidance to ensure children are being taught at the correct level of challenge.
• Continue professional development by regularly accessing and watching online training videos.
• During coaching sessions, spend dedicated time supporting phonics tutors by providing guidance and feedback to further develop their practice.
• Book development day for the next academic year.