Castleview School

'The more that you read, the more things you will know. 

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.'

Dr. Seuss

 

Key Documentation:

Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement 
National Curriculum Programmes of Study

 

Our Vision at Castleview

 

At Castleview, we aim to provide a stimulating and dynamic environment where children can interact with books, print, multimedia and spoken language. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that children develop a lifelong love of reading.

We believe that reading is at the heart of all learning, and we are committed to ensuring that every child becomes a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader. Through carefully planned and engaging activities, children develop strong phonics, comprehension and vocabulary skills, enabling them to access the wider curriculum with confidence.

Our curriculum is designed to provide rich opportunities for children to explore a wide range of texts, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry and digital media, fostering curiosity, creativity and critical thinking. We provide high-quality teaching and resources, ensuring that reading is both enjoyable and challenging.

At Castleview, we strive to create a culture where reading is celebrated both in and out of the classroom. We encourage children to share their reading experiences, discuss ideas and develop their understanding of the world around them. By nurturing these skills, we aim to ensure that all pupils leave our school with the confidence, knowledge and enthusiasm to continue their reading journey for life.

An Introduction to RWI Phonics
RWI Set 1 Sounds

RWI Set 2 and Set 3 Sounds

Parent FAQs

 

 

Phonics

At Castleview School, we use Read Write Inc. Phonics (RWI) to give your child the strongest possible start in literacy. This guide explains how the RWI programme works and provides some useful links to support your child at home.

Reading equips children with the skills they need to become confident, independent, life-long learners.

We can achieve this together by:

• Using Read Write Inc., a structured programme that helps children learn to read confidently at school
• Encouraging children to develop a love of books by reading to them daily, both at home and in school
• Providing access to a wide range of books to enjoy and explore

What is Read Write Inc.?

Read Write Inc. (RWI) is a complete phonics and literacy programme that helps children learn to read fluently and quickly so they can concentrate on developing comprehension, vocabulary and spelling skills. It is designed for children aged 4–7, but at Castleview School we use a stage, not age approach, meaning some children may continue with RWI up until lower KS2.

The programme was developed by Ruth Miskin. More information for parents can be found here:
https://ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/

How is RWI taught?

All children are assessed regularly by our trained RWI lead. These assessments allow us to group children according to their reading stage so they can learn with others at the same level.

Nursery

In Nursery, children will begin to listen out for initial sounds in words through oracy and within their play. In the summer term they begin to look at the initial sounds in set 1.

Reception

In Reception, children learn to recognise and read the sounds in words and to write these sounds using simple, memorable prompts.

 

Reading

Children will:

• Learn the 44 sounds and the letter(s) that represent them
• Read words using Fred Talk and sound blending
• Read a range of storybooks and non-fiction books matched to their phonics level
• Work with partners to practise skills
• Build comprehension through ‘find it’ and ‘prove it’ questions

Writing

Children will:

• Learn to form letters and letter groups using fun handwriting phrases
• Use Fred Talk to help them spell words
• Practise building and saying sentences before writing them

Talking

Working in pairs helps children to:

• Answer every question
• Practise every activity
• Take turns reading and talking
• Develop ambitious vocabulary

Progressing Through the Stages

Children in Reception work on sounds and read books that match their individual reading level. RWI phonics sessions are taught daily for 40 minutes.

Five key principles guide all RWI lessons:

• Purpose – Children understand the aim of each activity
• Participation – Every child is actively involved in learning
• Praise – Effort and progress are consistently celebrated
• Pace – Lessons move swiftly and effectively
• Passion – Engaging, enthusiastic teaching inspires children

Learning to Read: Fred Talk

Before teaching reading, children learn to say pure sounds (e.g., m not muh, s not suh) to help them blend words more easily.

At school we use a puppet called Fred, who can only speak in sounds. We call this Fred Talk—for example:
m-o-p, c-a-t, sh-o-p, b-l-a-ck.

 

A helpful example of blending with Fred can be found here:
Blending with Fred

Children are taught the RWI sounds in three sets.

Learning the Sounds in Read Write Inc.

At Castleview School, children are taught the Read Write Inc. sounds in three clear steps.

Step 1: Set 1 Sounds

Children begin with Set 1 Sounds, taught in a specific order and supported with rhymes that help them recognise sounds and form letters correctly. Nursery (summer term) and Reception pupils start here.

To support accurate pronunciation at home, please use this link:
Learning to Read at Home

Read Write Inc Sets 1, 2 & 3 Sounds

Blending Word Shorts

At this stage, children learn sounds only—not letter names.

Children are first introduced to each sound through a picture. This helps them associate the sound with its shape, making early reading and writing more accessible.

Step 2: Set 2 and Set 3 Sounds

After mastering Set 1, children move on to:

• Set 2 Sounds – long vowel sounds, taught in Reception and early Year 1
• Set 3 Sounds – alternative spellings for sounds, taught when children are confident with Set 1 and 2 (usually in Year 1)

 

Nonsense (Alien) Words

Alongside real words, children practise reading nonsense words. These help children apply their sound-blending skills confidently in unfamiliar contexts.

Nonsense words are also a key part of the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, so regular exposure helps build confidence and fluency.

 

Step 3: Red and Green Words

Throughout RWI lessons and storybooks, children meet two types of words:

• Green words – decodable words linked to the sounds they have learned
• Red words – words that are not easily decodable and must be learned by sight and understanding what the tricky sound is.

Dots and dashes are used to show how each sound in a word is represented, helping children read accurately and fluently.

  

 

Re-reading for fluency

Children read each RWI book three times. With each read, their decoding becomes more fluent, and their comprehension develops further.

Spelling

When children are ready to write (usually partway through Reception), they begin to develop spelling skills using:

• Fred Fingers – children pinch each sound onto their fingers before writing
• Sounding out to spell, rather than simply memorising lists
• Strategies that allow them to apply phonics independently whenever they get stuck

This approach helps children understand how words are built and supports long-term spelling success.

Phonics Screening Check

The Phonics Screening Check is a short, one-to-one assessment carried out with Year 1 pupils in the summer term. Its purpose is to check each child’s ability to apply phonics skills to read both real and pseudo (made-up) words. The check helps teachers understand how well children are progressing in early reading and whether they may need additional support.

Key Points About the Process

• The check takes place in June during Year 1.
• It is conducted individually with a familiar adult, usually the class teacher or Reading Lead.
• Children read 40 words: a mix of real words and nonsense/pseudo words marked by alien symbols.
• The focus is on decoding using phonics, not word meaning.
• The check usually takes 5–10 minutes per child.
• Results help teachers identify if a pupil needs extra phonics support.
• Children who do not meet the expected standard repeat the check in Year 2.
• It is designed to be low-stress, familiar, and supportive for the child.

How You Can Help at Home

Your child will begin bringing home reading books matched to their reading stage. These usually follow this order:

1. Phonics-based book – builds decoding, speed and fluency
2. Comprehension-based book – strengthens understanding and reasoning
3. Enriched reading book – broadens vocabulary and deepens comprehension through high-quality language

Please read regularly with your child and celebrate their progress—small steps make a big difference.

Useful Websites for Parents

Here are some helpful websites with information, games and activities to support phonics learning:

Ruth Miskin (RWI) – resources and guidance for parents

Ruth Miskin - Resources and guidance for parents

Oxford Owl

 RWI - a phonics guide for parents

 

 

 

Reading Schemes

 

Once the children have completed the phonics programme, we continue to develop reading through a variety of books, and reading genres, from a range of published schemes as follows:

• Oxford Reading Tree
• All Aboard
• Rigby Star
• Sunshine Spirals
• Cambridge
• Oxford Literacy Web
• Jumpstart

These books are book banded by reading level/complexity so that the children are exposed to a variety of fiction genres (including poetry) and non-fiction.  This allows the children to see different texts presented in a wide variety of styles.  Reading books are changed weekly, with children being encouraged to re-read books so that they become familiar with the texts and so as to encourage discussion with parents to aid comprehension.  The re-reading of books enables children to move away from simply decoding the text on the first read.  It allows children the opportunity to repeat and explore the language patterns and phrasing used, and to develop greater fluency and expression.  With fluency, attention to punctuation and appropriate intonation, comes understanding.  This ‘scheme’ and approach continues into KS2. The children may also supplement their given reading books with books from the class bookshelves and the school library so that they can choose books to take home, share and enjoy. 

 

Supporting your child at home

 

As always, we would encourage you to support the children’s learning at home and revisit concepts that they have studied at school in order to aid consolidation. These websites are great tools for you to utilise in order to do this:

RWI Parent Portal RWI Phonic Sounds through Oxford Owls Phonics Screening CheckReading Tutorials Listening to your child read  Ten Top Tips for Reading to Your Child