A variety of training sessions are available, both virtually and in-person with Clare Shivnan-Taylor, author of the Junior Learning Letters and Sounds DfE validated Phonics Programme.
You can book your preferred session through the BEST website at www.besttrust.uk or send an email to training@besttrust.uk.
For booking the Whole School CPD Introductory Session or After School Twilight, please email Claire Shivnan-Taylor at C.Shivnan-Taylor@ccmat.co.uk
Online Zoom Session: Available at £50 per attendee. Recordings of the session are also available for an additional £50.
Face-to-Face Half Day Sessions: Local schools wishing to attend can book these sessions at £80. These are conducted at our local premises.
Whole School CPD Introductory Session: Schools can book a half day whole school CPD introductory session for £350.
After School Twilight: A 2-hour session after school is available at £250.
About Clare Shivnan-Taylor
Clare Shivnan-Taylor is a dedicated professional who has been part of the primary school sector for eighteen years. She has experience in teaching across EYFS and KS1. She is a Specialist Leader in Education (SLE) specialising in Early Years & KS1 and has supported several primary schools in the Manchester area to improve the quality and consistency of daily phonics and early reading across EYFS, Key Stage 1 and into Key Stage 2. She now works as a School Improvement Lead in the Central Team of The Sycamore Church of England Trust.
Phonics Training and Moderating.
Clare is the co-author of Junior Learning Letters and Sounds DFE validated phonics programme writing four teaching planners from Nursery Phase 1 to Year 2 Phase 6. She leads all the SSP training and is passionate about teaching phonics and training new and experienced teachers to improve their practice. Clare has also been a Phonics Screening Check moderator for Bury LA since 2013.
Teaching Pedagogy
Clare strongly believes that children learn best when actively engaged in learning. Junior Learning Letters and Sounds includes resources to suit a multi-sensory approach; colour code vowels, consonants, and diagraphs to support visual learning, captions and mnemonics for auditory learners and active reading and spelling games to support kinaesthetic learners. Junior Learning’s investment in developing resources support all learners particularly those with SEND.
Junior Learning Letters and Sounds Programme
Nursery
Phase 1 Letters & Sounds introduces phonemic awareness formed in the front of the left brain (the area in charge of speech recognition). By practising the operations of phonemic awareness (oral matching, blending and segmenting), children develop an awareness that spoken words can be broken up into single sounds, and that these sounds can be blended together to make words. To do this, teachers use activities such as nursery rhymes, songs and alliteration.
Reception and KS1
The programme is designed to work with a whole class mixed ability approach to make it inclusive to all learners, schools can choose to adapt this approach if they have a few staff who are trained and can work in smaller teaching groups. There is additional catch-up session for those who need it. The aim of the programme is to ensure all children become confident and fluent readers and reach age related expectations each year in reading and writing. By the end of Reception year, all children will have learnt 44 graphemes and phonemes and will continue into Year 1 to continue to learn the alphabetic code including alternative graphemes and phonemes and the prefix and suffix work required for the spelling expectations in Year 1. By the end of Year 1 children will know all the graphemes needed to pass the Phonics Screening Check.
The programme continues into Year 2 with a Phase 6 teacher planner and the continuation of further teaching of alternative graphemes, prefix and suffixes and homophones. Children in Year 2 who have not met the standard required to pass the Phonics Screening Check will continue in Phase 6 with additional catch-up sessions to boost gaps in phonics knowledge.
Application of Reading
Phonic decoding skills must be practised until children become automatic and fluent reading is established. Fluent decoding is only one component of reading. Comprehension skills need to be taught to enable children to make sense of what they read, build on what they already know and give them a desire to want to read. Reading increases children’s vocabulary because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech. Furthermore, children who read widely and frequently also have more secure general knowledge. Children need to be given regular opportunities to apply the phonics they have learned to reading fully decodable books. The phonic progression matches the Junior Learning decodable books.
It is advisable that reading practice sessions take place up to twice or three times a week. This reading practice (group, one to one, paired) is guided by an adult at the child phonic ability. The reading session needs to have a clear focus. First children need to practise their decoding skills, this may be all they do in this session, and in a second reading practise the focus may be more on prosody (stress, intonation) and comprehension.
Home Reading
When children are learning to read, it is imperative that they practise independent reading with fully decodable books that are matched to their secure phonic knowledge. This will enable them to use the GPCs they know to decode the words and, with practise, develop fluency when reading.
It will also establish the habit of using phonics as the route to decoding unknown words, avoiding unreliable guessing strategies. Evidence and experience clearly shows that this is the most effective approach to ensuring almost all children learn to read.
When selecting books for home reading or independent reading practice, it is essential that the progression in the books must be cumulative, so children can practise the GPCs they have already learned in the programme. The decodable books must introduce new GPCs and tricky words in the same order as the teaching in the chosen scheme.
Key Stage 2
Junior Learning Letters and Sounds have extended the programme into KS2. It firmly believes that children need to continue to build on the phonetic teaching and learning as they continue to move into further alternative graphemes and common exception words. This includes Statutory Spellings for Year 3&4 and 5&6. Children will learn how to spell phonetically spellings required for each year group.
Training Availabliy
Currently, Clare offers training packages to suit the needs of the school.
Nursery Phase 1 Training. Online training £50, 90 mins
Reception Training which is a half day online CPD session OR two online Twilight sessions £250 consists of:
Reception Part One, an introduction to the programme planner, resources and decodable reading books and Phase 2
Reception Part Two, Phases 3 & 4
Year 1 Training which is a half day online CPD session OR two online Twilight sessions £250 consists of:
Year 1 Part One, Phase 5 and the introduction of sound families and Phase 5 Prefix and Suffix teaching mandatory to Year 1 spelling
Year 1 Part Two, Phase 5.5 alternative graphemes and preparation for Phonics Screening Check.
Year 2 Training, Phase 6. Online training £50, 90 mins
KS2 Training which is a half day online CPD session OR two online Twilight sessions £250 consists of:
Support and continuation of National Curriculum Spellings for Year 3, 4, 5 and 6. Each Year group will be given a PowerPoint consisting of all alternative spellings, homophones and statutory spellings continuing in a phonetically taught way that matches the way it has been taught in EYFS and KS1.
For Training contact Clare Shivnan-Taylor directly at C.Shivnan-Taylor@thesycamoretrust.co.uk