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Hall School

a specialist college

for communication and interaction

Phonics and Reading at Hall School 

Introduction 

We recognise that and celebrate each of our pupils as individuals and identify that each pupil will learn differently. Therefore we need to use a range of different approaches tailored to their needs. 

We recognise the importance of phonic teaching for some of our pupils but appreciate that this approach is not suited to all. Consequently, sight word recognition approaches are also used. 

We recognise that alongside phonics and word recognition skills, our pupils also need opportunities to develop decoding and comprehension skills to promote a love of reading. 

Interventions 

Due to the severe and complex needs of the pupils at Hall School, including lack of verbal language; hearing impairments; difficulties with working memory and difficulties with reasoning skills, we recognise that phonics beyond phase one is not suited to everyone. Therefore the school is developing a reading program that all pupils can access. This incorporates visual learning and the development of the understanding that print in all forms carries meaning.  Some of the different interventions used at Hall School are listed below: 

TACPAC 

This draws together touch and music to create structured communication sessions. This suits our pupils who have sensory impairments, developmental delay, complex learning difficulties, tactile defensiveness, and limited or pre-verbal levels of communication. This is used with our pupils following the pre-formal curriculum. 

Sensory stories   

Sensory stories are used when teaching pupils following the pre-formal and semi-formal curriculum. These are short stories that include lots of sensory stimuli, which helps to provide pupils with an enjoyable immersive experience. For many of our students, these experiences are often the starting point for developing a love of reading.  

Twinkl phonics  

This DfE-approved phonics scheme follows ‘letters and sounds’ and provides coverage of phonic sounds, tricky words, and other essential skills. The scheme has been segmented into six levels, with access to supporting and engaging resources. This approach is used with our high semi-formal/formal learners (earwig area 8 and 9). Please see our EQUALS semi-formal curriculum for more detail. 

See and learn 

The ‘See and Learn’ teaching program provides activities and guidance to help pupils improve their speech, language, reading and numeracy skills. Many of our pupils need more explicit instruction, together with lots of practice and rehearsal to learn and retain new skills, and see and learn provides opportunities for extra practice and ‘over learning’ to embed and develop reading and literacy knowledge. This is well suited to pupils who cannot access phonics, but are able to develop whole-word sight reading  

Colourful semantics

The aim of this approach is used by pupils who are starting to develop language and have limited vocabulary.  It supports pupils to develop their grammar by linking the structure of a sentence (syntax) and its meaning (semantics). The approach helps pupils to organise their sentences into key levels. It is used in stages to help pupils to develop language and vocabulary in addition to grammatical structure. This approach also supports pupils to answer questions or generate responses to questions; develops the use of nouns, verbs, prepositions, and adjectives; and can improve storytelling skills. At the more advanced stages it can also be transferred to written sentences and written language comprehension. 

Blanks questioning 

 ‘Blanks levels of questioning’ is a framework that supports children to improve their understanding of language by developing children's verbal reasoning and abstract language capabilities.  

PECS   

Picture Exchange Communication System It is an alternative communication system to help people convey their thoughts and needs. This is used by many pupils across all curriculums. As well as supporting communication, it also supports the understanding that print carries meaning. As pupils move through the different phases they will develop the skill of combining symbols to make meaningful and purposeful sentences. 

Core boards  

 Many of our pupils are beginning to use core boards to support their communication for different reasons including requesting, commenting, instructing, questioning, and sharing opinions. This communication system also reinforces their understanding that print carries meaning. 

Phonics and reading across the curriculums 

EYFS 

The curriculum in the Foundation Stage offers many opportunities to develop the skills required for reading. These are developed through listening to stories, shared reading, role-play, and opportunities for talk through continuous provision. Children take part in phase one phonic activities based on environmental sounds, instrumental sounds, body percussion, rhythm, and rhyme. Within the Foundation Stage classroom, there is dedicated reading area that promotes the love of reading. Children are also introduced to the interventions above following some baseline assessment to find out which is most suited to the needs and abilities of the individual pupils. 

Pre-formal 

At Hall School, we work closely with our pre-formal learners to encourage and facilitate communication in all its forms. Our approach is pupil-led but will include, where appropriate some of the interventions listed above such as TACPAC, sensory stories and PECS. Some children may access some phase one phonics (environmental sounds, instrumental sounds, body percussion, rhythm, and rhyme) 

Semi – formal 

The EQUALS curriculum states that for many of our semi-formal learners “it is not necessary to explore the mystery of phonics” ​(EQUALS, 2016)​. It instead recommends that we focus on our learner’s total communication, developing functional language use and recognition. 

The majority of the students working at a semi-formal level at Hall School, therefore, will access a combination of the communication interventions listed above, with only a few semi-formal learners following a traditional phonics scheme beyond phase one. 

Formal 

The EQUALS formal curriculum states that “the phonics model does not work for every child” and puts a “greater emphasis on communication (with a capital C) for children who consistently struggle with poor reading and poor comprehension” ​(EQUALS, 2016)​. At Hall School, therefore, we use a wide range of communication tools and interventions to develop our formal learners reading and literacy skills, with an emphasis on functional reading skills. 


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