English

Teaching Phonics at Otterburn Primary School & Nursery

At Otterburn, our aim is to get children reading as soon as possible and to inspire a life-long love of books. We teach early reading and spelling through Read Write Inc. Phonics (RWI), a structured and highly successful phonics programme.

We work in partnership with families to ensure that every child becomes a confident, fluent reader. We do this by:

• Teaching daily Read Write Inc. Phonics lessons in small groups, matched to children’s reading stage
• Reading aloud to children every day to develop vocabulary, comprehension and enjoyment of stories
• Providing access to a wide range of books in school and through reading books sent home.

What is Read Write Inc. Phonics?

Read Write Inc. Phonics teaches children to:

1. Read letters by their sounds (called Speed Sounds)
2. Blend these sounds together to read words (called Fred Talk)
3. Read the words in Storybooks and develop understanding of what they have read.

Children first learn Set 1 sounds, including single-letter sounds such as m, a, s, d and early “special friends” like sh, ch, th and ng. They then move on to Set 2 and Set 3 sounds, which cover more complex spelling patterns needed for fluent reading.

The programme is designed for children aged 4–7, but older children continue to receive phonics teaching if they need extra support.

How will my child learn to read?

During Read Write Inc. lessons, children:

• Practise reading and writing Speed Sounds
• Use Fred Talk to blend sounds together to read words, for example c–a–t → cat
• Read short Blending Books and then fully decodable Storybooks that match the sounds they know
• Take home black-and-white copies of Storybooks and Book Bag Books to build fluency and comprehension.

We also have a daily story time so children hear rich language and develop a love of stories.

How you can help at home

We provide a range of resources to help you support your child’s phonics learning at home:

• Books and cards – to practise saying and writing Set 1, Set 2 and Set 3 sounds
• Storybooks for your child with simple activities and questions inside to support you.

Guidance on how to listen to your child read, how to use Fred Talk and how to praise and support them is included in the attached Reading at Home booklets.

We also encourage you to read a bedtime story every night. The more you enjoy stories with your child, the more they will enjoy reading for themselves.

QR Codes for Set 1 Sounds

For children working on Set 1 sounds and Set 1 Special Friends, we provide a sheet of QR codes and web links which take you directly to short Speed Sound video lessons that mirror the teaching in school. Each video lasts around five minutes and allows your child to revisit sounds they have learned in class.

These videos:

• Help children practise and build confidence with their phonics
• Give you a simple way to join in with your child’s learning at home
• Form part of your child’s homework.

To comply with licensing and copyright agreements, please do not share these QR codes or links on social media or with anyone outside Otterburn Primary School. The current links are available until 10 March 2026.

Further information and downloads

For more detail on how to support your child, please see the attached documents or visit the Read Write Inc. website: https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/