Phonics & Early Reading
At Hunslet Moor Primary School we use Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) to give your child the best possible start with their literacy development.
What is Read Write Inc?
Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics programme which helps children learn to read fluently and at speed. The programme is designed for children aged 4-7. However, at Hunslet Moor we begin the programme in Nursery and will continue teaching RWI to children beyond the age of 7, as we use a stage not age approach.
How will RWI be taught?
All children are assessed regularly by our school reading team. From these assessments children are grouped into stages, where they work with peers on the same stage. Sessions are taught daily and range from 10 minutes in Nursery to 45 minute long lessons as children move through the sets.
RWI sets
Letter sounds are introduced in 3 sets. Below is a list of the order of sounds, along with a rhyme that your child should be familiar with. The rhymes in Set 1 support your child in forming the letter, Set 2 and 3 rhymes support with remembering each sound.
When saying each letter, we use pure sounds (‘ssss’ not ‘suh) this allows children to blend sounds into words.
Please watch the video below on how to practice the sound
In school we use a puppet called Fred. Fred is excellent at sounding out words and helps us to blend, we call this “Fred Talk”.
Please watch the video below on how to Fred Talk at home!
The Phonics Screening Check
To record children’s progress in reading, they each participate in a short assessment. During this time, your child will be asked to read 40 words which will be a mixture of real words and “alien words” (made up words). This check is for Year 1 children and any Year 2 children who did not pass in the previous year.
This year’s check will be taking place W.C Monday 9th June 2025
Please watch the video below for more information on the check.
What can I do to help my child at home?
- Revise the sounds taught in class.
- Your child will take home a reading book linked to the phonics sounds they are learning in class. This will be changed weekly. It is important that you read regularly with your child to support fluency and a love for reading.
- Your child will also receive a reading for pleasure book to either read, enjoy the pictures of or listen to it being read to them. This is a brilliant way to help immerse your child in an excellent story and get them excited about reading.
- Watch our RWI support videos. Access to these videos can be found through QR codes on our weekly sound letters and on our whole school dojo. Further videos can be provided by your child's class teacher upon request.
- Attend our phonics workshops and drop in sessions.
- Practice the letter formation rhymes in fun and exciting ways – write letters in paint, chalk or even glitter!
Videos to support at home
Regularly practicing sounds with your child is a really good way to get them to stick. The more sounds we know, the more words we can decode. The better we can decode, the better we can read! Here are QR codes with links to all of the Set 1, Set 2, Set 3 and additional sounds. Practice these regularly with your child at home and encourage them to join in (this will make it more enjoyable!)
If you have any questions, please request to speak to a member of the English Team via the school office
Greg Hall
Early Reading Leader
Rachael Burdett
English Leader
