Literacy
Literacy Educational Programme
It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing).
Phonics and Early Reading
ALS Phonics: Letters and Sounds
Whitehall uses a systematic, synthetic phonics programme, ALS. This phonics programme is validated by the DfE.
This ensures a consistent approach to the teaching of daily phonics, guided and shared reading, and writing. Teachers and Teaching Assistants are trained in the ALS model of delivery for these aspects of the English curriculum. Training for new and existing teachers is updated each year.