Phonics at Merton Junior School:

At Merton, we value the essential reading dimensions needed for early word reading and comprehension. We strive for our learners to conduct skilled word reading through: working out the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding); recognising familiar printed words; applying their understanding of the alphabetic code when spelling. Fluent decoding supports pupils’ comprehension as they don’t have to devote mental energy to individual words. A good grasp of phonics is also important for spelling, contributing to fluency and confidence in writing. (DfE 2012)

At Merton Junior School we build on the foundation provided by the infant school and give children the opportunity to revisit and apply their grapheme-phoneme correspondences (letters to sounds) through the Little Wandle SSP.

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised is a systematic synthetic phonics programme that supports children to develop the knowledge and skills they need to become confident, fluent readers. Our phonics teaching follows a clear, carefully sequenced progression, enabling children to learn and apply new phonemes and graphemes while developing their blending and segmenting skills. The reading books we use are carefully matched to the sounds children have been taught, allowing them to practise their phonics knowledge and experience success when reading independently. The books include a range of engaging fiction and non-fiction texts, providing opportunities for children to develop fluency, comprehension and a love of reading alongside their phonics learning.

What to expect:

Each week, children at Merton Junior School have the opportunity to select their own reading books from either our library and our book-band area (if appropriate).

If your child is reading a book with book-band colour of: pink, red, yellow, blue, green or orange, they will be partaking in phonics in some form. This may be managed in class, during our reading workshop sessions or as an intervention for reading.

If you require any further information, please see your child's class teacher or the online parent booklet.