Early Reading and Phonics 
At Croft Primary School we use Monster Phonics to teach phonics to our children. Monster Phonics is a systematic synthetic scheme, it teaches children to read by enabling them to identify the letters and to blend the sounds together from left to right to read the words. Children will be able to use this knowledge to decode new words. It is a fun way to learn phonics since it is multi-sensory. Sounds are categorised into ten colour groups and each group has a monster character.
Children at Croft start Monster Phonics in Reception and continue through into key stage 2. We are an Ambassador School for Monster Phonics.
The programmes of study for reading at key stages 1 and 2 consist of two dimensions:
- word reading
- comprehension (both listening and reading).
Our teaching focuses on developing pupils’ competence in both dimensions; different kinds of teaching are needed for each and we have developed a clear reading pathway to illustrate this.
It is essential that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education. At Croft Primary School we prioritise learning to read with the main focus on keeping up rather than catching up, adapted provision for pupils with SEND and EAL and carefully planned interventions throughout school where needed.