Early Reading Information

Since September 2023 we have been using the Department for Education validated systematic synthetic phonics programme (SSP) called ‘Little Wandle: Letters & Sounds Revised’. The programme is designed to teach children to read from Reception to Year 2, using the skill of decoding and blending sounds together to form words.

 “The Little Wandle programme provides a full progression through all commonly occurring GPCs* (sounds), working from simple to more complex, and taking into account the frequency of their occurrence in the most commonly encountered words.”

 At Gosforth Park First School, we are passionate about ensuring all children become confident and enthusiastic readers and writers, and we believe that Little Wandle Phonics provides the foundation in supporting children to develop these skills in order for this to become achievable. We are delighted with the results we have seen this year in our phonics screen but most importantly we are so proud to see the development of the children’s reading skills and pleasure and enjoyment in reading.

We start teaching Phonics in Preschool ('Little Wandle Foundation for Phonics') and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

 As a result, our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At Gosforth Park First School we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language and vocabulary development for all our children.

Please access the Little Wandle website (link below) to find more information. The 'For parents' section provides videos explaining how the scheme is implemented.

https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/