At our school we teach our early reading through Little Wandle.
Little Wandle provides a clear, step-by-step approach that helps children build their phonics skills gradually. This ensures that every child, no matter their starting point, can succeed and feel confident as they learn to read and write.
The program is carefully designed so that children start with the simplest sounds and move on to more complex ones as they become ready. This structured progression helps children gain a solid foundation in phonics that they can use to read and write with confidence.
Little Wandle supports all children, including those who may need extra help or those who progress faster. Teachers adapt their lessons to meet the individual needs of each child, ensuring that everyone can thrive.
We believe that Little Wandle provides our children with the best possible start in their reading journey, and we are excited to see them grow into confident, passionate readers!
Little Wandle is designed to give children a clear, structured path to becoming confident readers. It focuses on teaching phonics, which is the understanding of how letters and sounds work together to form words.
Teaching Phonics Sound
The programme starts with the basics—teaching children to recognise and say the sounds that each letter or group of letters make. For example, they learn that "s" makes the /s/ sound, and "sh" makes the /sh/ sound. This helps children decode (or sound out) words they come across while reading.
Blending Sounds Together
Once children are familiar with individual sounds, they start learning how to blend them together to form words. For example, they will blend "c", "a", "t" together to read the word "cat". This skill is essential for reading unfamiliar words.
Segmenting Words for Writing
Little Wandle also teaches children how to break words down into individual sounds (called segmenting), which helps them with spelling and writing. For example, if a child hears the word "dog," they will break it into the sounds /d/, /o/, /g/ to write it.
Sight Words
In addition to phonics, children are taught high-frequency words (also called “sight words”) that don’t follow regular phonetic rules. Children learn to recognise these words by sight so they can read smoothly and without getting stuck. For example, words like “the” and “was” are introduced early on.
Practice with Decodable Books
Children practice reading with specially designed decodable books that match the sounds they have learned. These books provide plenty of repetition, so children can feel successful as they practice reading words they’ve learned through phonics. This builds their confidence and fluency.
Ongoing Review and Practice
Phonics learning is reinforced through daily lessons and regular review. Little Wandle ensures that children continue to practice previous sounds while introducing new ones, helping them to remember and apply what they’ve learned over time.
Support for Different Learners
Whether children are learning at a faster pace or need extra help, Little Wandle includes strategies and activities that support all learners. Teachers adapt lessons to meet the needs of individual children, ensuring no one gets left behind.
By teaching children how to blend, segment, and recognise words, Little Wandle provides them with the tools they need to read with confidence. As they progress, they begin to read more fluently and independently, developing a love for reading that lasts a lifetime!
Every child, regardless of their ability, is included in our lessons. To ensure that no child falls behind, we use 'Keep Up' interventions. Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) receive extra support during lessons and tailored 1:1 sessions, designed to meet their individual needs. These sessions are based on either the Foundation for Phonics program or the LW SEND program, depending on their developmental stage.
In Reception and Year 1, we schedule Reading Practice Groups three times a week. Each group, consisting of up to 6 children, spends 20 minutes with a highly trained adult. During the first sessions, they focus on decoding the text. In the Prosody sessions, they work on reading with fluency and expression. Finally, in the Comprehension sessions, they check their understanding of the text.
To support the new program, we have made a significant investment in Harper Collins reading books that align with both the main Little Wandle program and the Rapid Catch-Up program for children aged 7+. This ensures that all children receive books that are suited to their phonics ability, helping them succeed in reading and fostering a love of reading for pleasure.
For children who require additional support, we have invested in the Rapid Catch-Up program to help close learning gaps for children in the spring term of Year 2 and beyond. Children identified as not meeting the expected standard in Reading are assessed using the LW Rapid Catch-Up Assessment and, if necessary, placed on the program. This includes both group and 1:1 session aimed at strengthening their grapheme knowledge and helping them meet the expected standard for their year group. For children with SEND, who may find the pace of the Rapid Catch-Up program overwhelming, an individual SEND assessment is carried out, and the most appropriate pathway and support plan are put in place to meet their needs.
Key Documents: Phonics & Early Reading
