Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised 

At Stanhope As a school, we have chosen Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised as our systematic, synthetic phonics (SSP) programme to teach early reading and spelling.

At Stanhope, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic, synthetic phonics programme (SSP). We start teaching phonics in Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At Stanhope, we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

Little Wandle Spelling (Year 2)

Little Wandle Spelling is a new spelling programme designed to provide a seamless link from the main Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programme to learning spelling in Year 2.

Little Wandle Spelling aims to build on children’s knowledge of the alphabetic code and teaches them to spell with confidence.

 There are three parts to the programme at Year 2:

-Phase 5 review (Autumn 1)

-Bridge to spelling (Autumn 2)

-Spelling (Spring 1 onwards)

After a five-week review of Phase 5 in Autumn 1, children move on to the Bridge to spelling which teaches them how to ‘think about spelling’. Over five weeks in Autumn 2, the children complete the alphabetic code and learn the underpinning concepts of spelling. Once this learning is secure, children are ready to move on to the Year 2 Spelling units in Spring 1 and beyond.

The Phase 5 review (Autumn 1) and Bridge to spelling (Autumn 2) lessons are taught daily in 25- to 30-minute sessions, five days a week.

The 20 Spelling units (Spring and Summer) are designed to be taught in 15-minute lessons, four times a week. They provide full coverage of National Curriculum spelling requirements at Year 2.

 All lessons follow the familiar structure of Little Wandle phonics lessons, supporting children to make links to their phonics learning. Lessons build on prior knowledge to ensure children always start from a point of secure understanding.

Children continue to use their phonics knowledge as the primary approach to spelling but they are also taught to consider etymology, morphology and grammar when spelling new words.