At Longden, we use Twinkl Phonics to teach a systematic synthetic phonic approach. This is a clear way of teaching children to read, write and spell.  The sounds that children are taught are in a specific systematic order (not alphabetically),  so that children can begin to build words from these sounds as soon as possible. Phonics supports children to hear, identify and link the sounds that letters make (phonemes) and what the letters look like written down (graphemes). This helps children to recognise and read words, using knowledge of the sounds to read new and unfamiliar words.  

Our reading books are linked to this phonics scheme and we are purchasing additional books to support it. These are called Rhino Readers, and children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 use these books alongside the phonics scheme in class. We use online Rhino Readers books in class too. As children move through the school phonics and reading remains a high priority and staff use a range of schemes to ensure that children's individual needs are met.

We also use other reading books for 'Share with me' reading at home, and these help the children to use the phonics they have been learning in class to develop as a reader.

Further information on Twinkl Phonics can be found below.

Our phonics policy has further detail about phonics in our school.

Reading cloud is a library management system with an innovative online pupil engagement community which helps schools promote reading for pleasure and helps children develop positive attitudes to reading to become lifelong readers.  Please see the above document for further information.