At Uffington, we deeply value the importance of developing a love of reading early in a child’s school experience. Phonics forms one of the essential building blocks for becoming a successful reader and writer. We ensure that every child is given the opportunity to develop their reading and writing skills through regular, rigorous, and systematic teaching.

Since January 2025, we have been following the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme for our phonics teaching. This programme is delivered through daily lessons to all children, with regular assessments to identify and address any learning gaps promptly.

To support this, we use Big Cat books that are aligned precisely with the phonics phase each child is working on within the Little Wandle programme. This alignment ensures that every reading book given to a child is phonically decodable, containing only the sounds and high-frequency words they have learned. This approach helps children experience success and confidence, as they should be able to read at least 90% of the book fluently when it comes home.

We also prioritise fostering a love of reading for pleasure. Regular reading sessions are held where children enjoy books and see adults modelling the joy and importance of reading. Alongside their phonically decodable book, each child is provided with a book to share with a family member purely for enjoyment. This book is not for independent reading but to promote a positive reading culture at home.

Our goal at Uffington is to ensure children master the necessary sounds, keywords, and reading skills to meet age-related benchmarks at appropriately mapped time points. Through this carefully structured approach, children will develop a lifelong love of reading, which will enhance their literacy skills and positively influence their writing and broader academic success.