Phonics
At Holy Trinity, learning to read is of upmost importance from the very beginning. We recognise that daily systematic phonics and consistent high-quality phonics teaching is key for developing fluent readers and writers.
To support our children, we use a systematic synthetic phonics programme called Bug Club Phonics. The Bug Club phonics programme is a sequence of learning centred around letter sounds, blending sounds together to read and spell words and applying these skills across the curriculum. Using Bug Club, the children learn to read fluently and are equipped with strategies to help them along their learning journey. As well as making progress, the children enjoy their phonics lessons and love to read and discuss their phonics books.
“There are cool stories like The Park and Dolphins.” - Year 2 Pupil
“ I love it. I get to learn new things, play games with words and come up to the board.” - Year 2 Pupil
We believe that this rigorous teaching of phonics enables children to access a broad and exciting curriculum and ensures that they flourish as learners throughout their time at Holy Trinity. These fundamental skills not only hold the key to the rest of the curriculum but also have a huge impact on children's self esteem and future opportunities throughout their lives.
Children can log onto the Bug Club Phonics and read books that have been chosen by their class teacher to support them in consolidating and practicing their phonics and reading skills. A step by step guide on how to access this can be accessed here.
Phonics Documents
Reading
At Holy Trinity, we are passionate about reading. Our goal as a school is to create confident, fluent and functional readers. We strive to promote a love of reading in every child that will last a lifetime. We want each child to be confident when reading and to be able to find information when they require it. When the children leave Holy Trinity, we want them to know authors and books that they love.
Throughout the school, there is a passion for reading and story time is a daily occurrence. Classroom libraries are stocked with a wide range of text types which the children are able to access throughout the day. There is a balance between fiction and non-fiction books available and we have a range of booked linked to subjects we learn across the curriculum.
Each class has a chosen story book and they are carefully selected so that they either link with an aspect of the curriculum or would appeal to the children within that class.
What are we reading this term?
Nursery - Dinosaurs Roar, Dinosaurs Stomp, SuperTato and SuperDaisy
Reception - Stick Man, Poles Apart and Tyrannosaurus Drip
Year 1 - Instructional Texts
Year 2 - Matilda
Year 3 - The Iron Man
Year 4 - The Hatmakers
Year 5 - Hidden Figures and 100 Classic Chinese Poems
Year 6 - Beetle Boy and King of the Cloud Forests
We promote reading in a number of ways in Holy Trinity. During the academic year, reading events are organised across school and we work closely with families to nurture a love of reading.
Two of the biggest events are World Book Day and our annual Book Fair.
In EYFS, the Nursery and Reception children enjoy story time with our school Reading Buddies from Year 5 and 6.
At Holy Trinity, we also have dedicated team of Reading Ambassadors who work together to promote a love of reading throughout the school. Our Reading Ambassadors help organise reading events and choose stories to include in our class libraries.
The Teaching of Reading
Reading begins with phonics in Holy Trinity in our Nursery class. Children begin to work on their speaking and listening sounds before making their way through the phonics phases. IN EYFS and KS1, phonics is taught in a systematic way through the use of Bug Club Phonics. This approach enables children to segment and blend phonemes which is essential for early reading.
Reading lessons in Holy Trinity are always adapted to the needs of each individual class. In all key stages, there is a strong focus on reading fluency and comprehension. In KS1, these lessons are a mix of targeted group sessions and whole class reading lessons.
In KS2, lessons are typically whole class and continue to use independent reading, paired reading, echo reading and shared reading to build children's reading fluency and comprehension. Texts are selected to be engaging, challenging and with as many opportunities as possible to explore new vocabulary.
Reading Documents
Links for Learning