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📖 What is Little Wandle?

  • A nationally recognised phonics programme created by Little Sutton Primary School and the Wandle Learning Trust.

  • Built on years of research and practice, with results consistently in the top 5% across England.

  • Designed to help every child become a confident, fluent reader while also developing a lifelong love of books.

  • Focuses on synthetic phonics — teaching children to connect letters and sounds in a clear, structured way.

 

🛠️ How it Works

  • Children learn the 44 key sounds in English (phonemes).

  • They practise blending sounds together to read words (decoding) and segmenting sounds to spell (encoding).

  • Carefully chosen storybooks 📚 are matched to each child’s level, so they experience success and enjoyment straight away.

  • Lessons are lively, interactive, and taught in small groups tailored to children’s needs.

  • Teachers are fully trained 👩‍🏫 in the programme and use regular assessments to track progress.

  • Extra support is provided through catch‑up groups or one‑to‑one sessions, with progress checked every 3–4 weeks.

 

🚀 Progression

  • Nursery: Children build strong foundations by:

    • Listening carefully to environmental sounds 👂 (e.g. birds, cars, instruments).

    • Playing with rhythm and body percussion 👏 (clapping, stamping).

    • Spotting rhyming words 🎶 (cat, mat, bat).

    • Hearing the first sound in words (e.g. t in tin).

    • Beginning to blend and segment simple sounds (e.g. c‑a‑t → cat).

  • Reception onwards: Children are introduced to books linked to the sounds they are learning.

  • Phases of learning:

    • Phase 2: First simple sounds and words.

    • Phase 3: More complex sounds and digraphs.

    • Phase 4: Blending longer words.

    • Phase 5: Advanced sounds and spelling patterns.

 

🏡 Support at Home

  • After reading their book three times in school, children bring it home 🏠 to practise fluency and share with family.

  • Parents can use tips printed on the book covers to guide reading.

  • Key advice for parents:

    • 🎤 Pronounce sounds clearly (no extra “uh” at the end).

    • 📚 Share a story every day — bedtime reading counts!

    • 💻 Explore online resources:

      • Little Wandle parent resources

      • YouTube lessons

  • Reading together builds confidence, strengthens vocabulary, and makes reading a fun family habit.

 

📝 Key Phonics Terms (Quick Guide)

  • Blend: Putting sounds together to read a word.

  • Segment: Splitting a word into sounds to spell.

  • Digraph: Two letters making one sound (e.g. ch, ee).

  • Trigraph: Three letters making one sound (e.g. igh).

  • Tricky Words: Words that don’t follow phonics rules (e.g. said, the).

  • High Frequency Words: Common words children learn by sight (e.g. I, you).

  • Grapheme: The written letter(s) representing a sound.

  • Phoneme: The sound itself.

 

👨‍👩‍👧 Parent Workshops

  • Held in the Autumn term 🍂 to help parents feel confident supporting phonics at home.

  • Staff demonstrate correct pronunciation, explain tricky words, and share practical tips.

  • Parents leave with strategies to make reading fun and effective at home.

 

💡 Why It Matters

  • Strong phonics skills give children the keys to unlock reading.

  • Reading fluently supports success across all subjects, from maths to science.

  • Most importantly, it helps children discover the joy of stories, imagination, and knowledge.

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