Academy TrustLiteracy
At Fitzwaryn School, we champion a unique and holistic approach to reading and writing. We have developed and incorporate a spiralled approach to writing genres across each key stage (see attachments below). This ensures a progressive and comprehensive development of writing skills, supporting the acquisition of essential competencies at every level.
In addition, we have implemented a carefully curated school reading spine, offering a structured and engaging literary journey for all students. Our commitment to literacy is further strengthened by the incorporation of the Read Write Inc program, which provides tailored support for reading, enabling students to build strong foundations in language and communication.
Read, Write, Inc - Our Phonics Scheme
Read Write Inc., developed by Ruth Miskin, provides a structured and systematic approach to teaching literacy. It is used by more than a quarter of the UK's primary schools and is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers.
The Government strongly recommend the use of synthetic phonics when teaching early literacy skills to children. Synthetic phonics is simply the ability to convert a letter or letter group into sounds that are then blended together into a word.
At Fitzwaryn we are using the Read Write Inc (RWI) programme to support our pupils with learning to read. RWI is a method of learning based upon letter sounds and phonics. Our pupils will focus only on the reading part of RWI in phonics lessons and writing will take place separately within English lessons.
The children are assessed regularly and grouped according to their ability. They will work with a RWI trained teacher or teaching assistant daily either in a focussed group or on a 1:1 basis. Our team of highly trained staff make suitable adaptations so that all pupils learning phonics can access the scheme.
Our Read Write Inc 'Reading Leader' is Kate Murphy
Reading
When using RWI to read the children will:
- Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple prompts
- Learn to read words using sound blending (Fred talk)
- Read stories featuring words they have learnt to sound out
- KS4/5 will follow the Fresh Start module within the RWI scheme
- Answer comprehension questions about the story
Talking
When using RWI the children will also work in pairs:
- To answer questions
- To take turns talking and listening to each other
- To give positive praise to each other
Supporting your child’s reading
When reading with your child, it is important to pronounce letters as pure sounds, so they can blend the sounds together to say the whole word.
Please have a look at the ‘How to say sounds’ video if you would like to know more.