Success For All Literacy at Webster Primary School
“Success For All” (SFA) is a comprehensive English approach designed to ensure that every child will read at the ageappropriate level or above by the end of Year Three then sustain this level thereafter. The programme emphasises
prevention and early intervention to respond to any child’s learning problems. SFA is based on extensive research into
the ways that children learn to read and write.
Teaching and Learning Styles
At the heart of the programme is 70 minutes of uninterrupted, daily (except for Wednesdays) English for Years 1-6.
Children are grouped across classes and year groups by their reading comprehension level. This gives each
teacher/teaching assistant the opportunity to work intensively with children grouped at the same reading
comprehension level and in smaller group sizes.
We attempt to cater for all learning styles by using a mixture of VAK approaches. The lesson has a balance of wholeclass, group, paired and individual teaching and learning. SFA uses a multi sensory approach so that children learn
variously from simultaneous visual, auditory and kinaesthetic activities which are designed to secure essential phonic
knowledge and skills. Typical activities include linking the picture mnemonic to an alliterative phrase and an alphabet
chant with corresponding actions. There are also kinaesthetic writing cues linked to each mnemonic, which, together
with Alphie the puppet, rhymes, chants and games help to bring the lessons alive and make the experience both
enjoyable and effective for children.
The children have the opportunity to experience a wider range of texts, which positively reflect a variety of
backgrounds, to support their learning. Children use ICT in English lessons to enhance their learning. Childen who speak
English as an additional language are grouped according to their level of English acquisition and reading comprehension
level. Suitable learning opportunities are provided and support in the child’s first language is given where appropriate.
SFA is unique in that it applies the use of co-operative learning strategies and techniques to the teaching of English
including phonics. The lessons are planned to ensure that children articulate their knowledge and understaning to their
partners to reinforce the learning that is taking place. Attention is focused on children’s speaking and listening skills
through continuous partner practice and patner talk with the expectation that phonic knowledge is applied to reading
and writing through the blending and segmenting of words.
Co-operative learning is embedded throughout the programme and focuses on individual pupil accountability, common
goals and recognition of group success. The opportunity to work with peers enables pupils to master basic reading skills
as they continue to grow as thoughtful learners.
SFA provides two discrete phonic programmes; one specifically tailored to the needs of Foundation Stage Children and
the other, Fast-Track Phonics, designed primarily for Key Stage One children but also as a Wave 2 or 3 intervention
programme for children who are underperforming in Key Stage Two. Phonics is taught daily (four times) throughout
Roots groups and three times per week in the afternoon in Years 1 and 2. Spelling is taught three times per week in
Wings classes. The spelling programme is linked to the National Literacy programme for spelling. Key words (high
frequency) words are taught in SFA lessons and assessments updated and passed to the next teacher each cycle.
Both programmes are fun, fast paced and systematic, building children’s skills in letter-sound correspondence and word
level blending and segmenting.
Beginning with an introduction to phonemic awareness and basic decoding skills, the children are led into a synthetic
approach to reading, which they then apply to a set of phonetically regular stories. Both programmes consist of fully
planned twenty –minute lessons that introduce all 44 phonemes begining with single letter sounds and moving onto
complex vowel phonemes.
There are built in activities for letter blending (stretch and read) in every lesson. Teachers use blending cards to model
left to right word-level blending then partner practice reading words using phonemes they have already been taught to
reinforce the same skills. All lessons begin with oral blending and segmenting as this is necessary preperation for wordlevel blending and segmenting. Children identify and count the constituent phonemes within words on their fingers and
within time, record these as graphemes in order to spell words. SFA uses a system of categorising words as either
“green” or “red”. Green words are a direct invitation to the children to decode them in safe knowledge that they are
phonetically regular and accessible to them, red words are either phonetically irregular or not accessible at this
particular stage of the child’s learning and the children are encouraged to learn them by sight. Red words provide a bank
of high- frequency phonetically irregular words, which include all the high frequency words in the NLS. These words are
introduced over time in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 alongside the teaching of the 44 phonemes.
Writing
In Roots groups there is an emphasis on talking in sentences. The children are given a sentence stem which they
complete orally. They say their sentence to their partner and whisper into their hands and write their sentence
independently.
In Wings groups the children complete a piece of writing at the end of each Treasure Hunt known as “Adventures in
Writing”. They consolidate each genre of writing with a task from a writing module on completion of each Treasure Hunt
where appropriate. Children have guided writing in class each week linked to their IPC theme (see writing long term
plan). Each half term writing is celebrated in a special writer’s assembly and a piece of work from every class is
displayed in the writing cabinet.
Assessment
Both initial and on-going assessments are integrated into the programme every eight weeks. In fast track phonics
individual assessments are built in after every 10 new sounds with 15 optional review lessons for use with children who
might be otherwise at risk of falling behind. In Fast Track ponics 2 and 3 , assessment is after every 5 new sounds with
optional rewiew lessons again. Throughout the programme, informal assessment is on-going through the use of partner
practice and checking activities.
In “Wings” groups a team score sheet is kept recording individual’s progress on every aspect of teaching and learning
within their group context. This is used to provide the teacher with daily and weekly on-going assessment of the
individual and group’s progress.
Children undertake optional tests or tasks at the end of each term in Years 1-6 to monitor their attainment.
Foundation Stage
English is taught throughout the Foundation Stage with children engaging in activities that meet ‘Development Matters’
strands and the statutory EYFS guidance.
Teaching and learning of English in Foundation will focus on Communication and Language, Reading and Writing although
links to other areas of learning are made through IPC themes.
Nursery
The children engage in daily phonics, speaking, listening, rhythmic and rhyme activities.
Most children in Nursery will begin to engage with the SFA Kinder Roots systematic phonics programme (see Reception).
Opportunities for developing story knowledge, questioning and speaking and listening skills are built into daily group and
choosing activities; these are usually linked to IPC themes. Mark making and writing activities are part of the
continuous provision both in and outdoors.
Reception
Daily phonics sessions continue in Reception with children following the Kinder Roots systematic phonics programme. The
programme includes mnemonic picture cards that support letter sounds and blending. Children learn to apply this
knowledge through specially developed phonetically regulated stories. The children take home and keep the Kinder Roots
shared stories. Children are grouped by ability across both Reception classes; this ensures that children are taught and
challenged at their level.
Teachers/ TAs listen to children read weekly and guided group reads take place once or twice a half term for each child.
Weekly writing opportunities take place in Reception, linking with the IPC theme and the whole school writing focus.