Our Intent

At Hawkchurch Church of England School, our intent with the Read Write Inc. program is to provide a robust and systematic approach to teaching phonics, reading, and writing. We aim to ensure that every child becomes a confident and fluent reader, equipped with the skills necessary to decode and comprehend texts effectively.

Our objectives are to:

• Foster a love for reading and writing from an early age.
• Develop strong phonics skills that form the foundation for reading and writing.
• Enable children to read fluently and with good understanding.
• Encourage children to write clearly, accurately, and coherently, adapting their language and style for a range of contexts, purposes, and audiences.
• Support children in developing a rich vocabulary and an understanding of grammar and punctuation.

By implementing the Read Write Inc. program, we strive to create a stimulating and supportive learning environment where every child can achieve their full potential in literacy. We believe that these skills are essential for academic success and lifelong learning.

Implementation

Delivery of Phonics

-Initial sounds are to be taught in a specific order.

-Sounds taught should be ‘pure’ ie ‘b’, not ‘buh’ as this is central to phonic teaching and ability to recognise sounds in words.

-Pupils are to be taught that the number of graphemes in a word always corresponds to the number of phonemes. This greatly aids spelling.

-Set 2 sounds are to be taught after Set 1 (initial sounds).

-Letter names are to be introduced with Set 3 At Hawkchurch C of E Primary , phonics is taught across EYFS and KS1 as well as in intervention sessions across KS2 when needed, using the RWI programme of study.

This is a scheme, developed by Ruth Miskin, which provides a structured and systematic approach to teaching Literacy. We teach in this way because, research shows that, when phonics is taught in a structured way – starting with the easiest sounds and progressing through to the most complex – it is the most effective way of teaching young children to read. According to the DfE (Department for Eduction), ‘almost all children who receive good teaching of phonics, will learn the skills they need to tackle new words’. They can then go on to read any kind of text fluently and confidently, and to read for enjoyment.

At Hawkchurch, we realise the importance of phonics as it provides children with the building blocks needed to become successful readers. Through the RWI programme, they are taught how to recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes, identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make – such as ‘sh’ or ‘oo’ and then blend these sounds together from left to right to make a word. Children can then use this knowledge to ‘de-code’ new words they hear or see. Phonics resources are displayed in each classroom across the school, including the RWI sounds and tricky red words. The children are encouraged to use these to support their writing in all lessons across the curriculum.

Impact

The implementation of the Read Write Inc. (RWI) program at Hawkchurch Church of England School has had a transformative impact on our students’ literacy skills. Through this structured and systematic approach to teaching phonics, reading, and writing, we have observed significant improvements in our students’ reading fluency, comprehension, and overall confidence in literacy.

Key Impacts:

• Enhanced Reading Fluency: Students are now able to decode words more quickly and accurately, leading to smoother and more fluent reading.
• Improved Comprehension: With a strong foundation in phonics, students better understand the texts they read, allowing them to engage more deeply with the material.
• Increased Confidence: The success students experience with the RWI program has boosted their self-esteem and motivation to read and write.
• Closing the Achievement Gap: The program has been particularly effective in supporting disadvantaged students, helping to close the literacy gap and ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed.
• Parental Engagement: Resources  provided to parents and teacher/parent dialogue have empowered them to support their children’s learning at home, creating a collaborative effort between school and home.

Overall, the RWI program has been instrumental in fostering a love for reading and writing among our students, setting them on a path to academic success and lifelong learning.