Parents often ask: How can I help my child to learn to read?

The most important thing you can do is read with your child.

Reading a book and chatting about books helps children to:

• Understand words and sentences
• Use a wide range of vocabulary
• Develop listening comprehension skills.

The number of books children are exposed to by age 6 is a positive predictor of their reading ability two years later.

Please see the Parents and Carers Phonics Screening Check presentation for further advice.

We have attached a couple of examples of past screening check materials for Year 1. However, Little Wandle is an early reading programme, so passing the PSC is only part of our ambition for your children. We want your children to be able to read with fluency, and that is why we progress beyond the PSC and complete the full alphabetic code as laid out in the 2007 Letters and Sounds progression. When children have secured this knowledge, we know they can read anything, and when they can read the final level of the Little Wandle books with a reading speed of 60 to 70 words per minute then we know they are well on their way to becoming fully independent readers. If you do choose to use these past screening check papers, please follow the guidance below:

The only time we teach alien words is in the summer term. We ensure children ALWAYS sound out alien words and remind them that these are never real words but the names of these adorable aliens!

Get the children to slow down when reading words! We have been aiming for fluency all year; now we are aiming for accuracy. Show the children the word cards without the sound buttons and make sure they identify the digraphs/ trigraphs before reading the words.

Chunking – this method really supports children reading the longer words. Remind children how to chunk up words. Make sure they get a chance to physically do this with words, covering the second syllable up with their hands as they read the first syllable.