Phonics and Reading at BCS

Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. It is the most essential skill a young learner can develop and we intend for all our children to be able to read as well as possible,  as quickly as possible -  in order to give them the best start to their learning journey and the best opportunities in the future. 

We teach Phonics through the fun, exciting, energetic and brand new Super Sonic Friends scheme. This scheme is based on a number of woodland creatures, each with a different phonics job to do and set in a beautiful rural habitat (not unlike Blackrod!) It is our hope and experience that our youngest learners relate directly to this familiar context to them.

The schools' complimentary reading system is split into two halves; ‘Learning to Read’ and ‘Broadening Reading Experiences’. As children are learning to read we use mainly Rigby Star Books and Pearson Phonic Bug books (both phonetically plausible to the stage of development of the reader) in order to provide a progressive system to help turn children into fluent readers, with a lifelong love of books.

As they become confident and fluent to a good standard (around Year 2 or 3) they will then transfer onto our Accelerated Reader system to broaden their reading experiences which takes children onto real novels. This system ensures that children are reading a rich and varied selection of books at the correct level for their reading range. 

Reading at home is a key part of our reading strategy and children celebrate with us in school how well they progressing through our 'reading challenge'.

We use the 'Spelling Shed' scheme for developing spelling knowledge and ability as children have become secure in their phonics knowledge and skills.

Hybrid Learning

At BCS, we use a number of online resources to support the teaching of English and to also support parents and pupils with their learning at home. Below, you will find links to some of our favourite resources: