Phonics and Reading

Phonics at Baldwins Gate

At Baldwins Gate, we use the Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) programme to deliver high-quality phonics teaching that supports children in learning to read and spell with confidence. ELS provides a clear, consistent, and systematic approach to phonics, ensuring that all children are taught the essential skills needed to decode and encode words effectively. Through daily, structured lessons, children are introduced to new sounds and graphemes in a carefully sequenced order, allowing them to build on their knowledge progressively. We focus on blending for reading and segmenting for spelling, using engaging resources and strategies to reinforce learning and support retention. By using ELS across the school, we ensure continuity and progression in phonics, enabling every child to become a fluent and confident reader and writer.

To find out more about the teaching of phonics please visit our English curriculum page or view our phonic progression document here.

Reading at Baldwins Gate

At Baldwins Gate, we use the Literacy Tree scheme to teach reading across the school, ensuring a consistent and engaging approach that supports the development of key reading skills. This high-quality, book-based curriculum is centred around a diverse range of carefully selected texts, which inspire a love of reading while providing rich opportunities to explore language and meaning. Through these texts, we explicitly teach all comprehension skills—such as inference, prediction, summarising, and vocabulary development—within meaningful reading contexts. The scheme also supports the ongoing development of reading fluency, encouraging pupils to read with accuracy, expression, and understanding. By using Literacy Tree throughout the school, we ensure that every child has the opportunity to become a confident, skilled, and enthusiastic reader.

To find our more about the teaching of reading please visit our English curriculum page or view our reading policy here and our reading progression document here. If you would like to find out more about the books we share please click here.

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