At St. James’ Primary School, we strive to develop the full potential of all our pupils so that they become confident, literate readers. If children are able to develop as competent, fluent readers it is essential that they have secure understanding of letters and sounds. Phonic skills are essential to developing competent and assertive readers. At St. James we use a structured, systematic, and engaging programme called ‘Read Write Inc’. This is a method of learning that enables children to read and spell using and applying letter sounds.

In Reception children are introduced to Set 1 sounds (starting with sounds of the alphabet). This allows them to decode words using ‘Fred Talk’ where they sound out each letter and blend these together to read the word.  We also use ‘Fred Talk’ throughout the day where the teacher may ask the children to get their c-oa-t. The teacher is expecting the children to hear the sounds for the word coat and say the word back to them. The last word of the sentence is broken up into sounds for the children to blend aloud. Examples: get your s-n-a-ck or put away your t-oy-s. Alongside learning these sounds, the children will read carefully structured stories featuring the words they can sound out. Discussion about the story facilitates sound understanding, ensuring reading is both fun and purposeful.

Throughout Reception and Year 1, children then progress to learning ‘Special Friends’ (2 letters 1 sound) and ‘Chatty Friends’ (split sounds). As the children develop fluency in recognising and applying the sounds to reading words using their ‘Fred Talk’, we encourage them to ‘Fred in their Head’. This involves the children reading the sounds in their head and only speaking when they are ready to speak the whole word. Developing this skill improves word recognition ready for improving fluency/ speedy reading.