Doncaster primary school achieves excellent early reading and writing results

Eighty-nine percent of Waverley Academy pupils passed their phonics screening check, compared with 65 per cent in 2019. Whilst the national average for the phonics check has not yet been published, in 2019 the benchmark was 82 per cent nationally.

Astrea launched the phonics literacy programme Read Write Inc. (RWI) across all 18 of its primary schools in 2021. The programme helps children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling.

Phonics is a way of teaching reading and writing by focusing on the sounds of individual letters and on the sounds of letters when they are combined. Children are encouraged to ‘sound out’ new or unfamiliar words.

These results are the first publicly available phonics results detailing how primary schools are performing since 2019 due to the disruption caused by COVID-19.

Louise Stanton, Principal at Waverley Academy, said: “For us reading is a whole school priority, progressing not only pupils’ reading skills but also developing a love of reading, that lasts a lifetime. We are absolutely delighted with our phonic outcomes, ensuring our children get the very best start.”

Rowena Hackwood, CEO at Astrea Academy Trust, said: “This is a phenomenal achievement after everything we’ve been through over the last few years, and I want to congratulate the children at Waverley.

“It is through the commitment we’ve seen from the staff leading, teaching, and tutoring in phonics who have had such an impact on the progress of Waverley pupils in early reading.

“Our successful launch of Read Write Inc. has put our primary schools in a very strong position to give our pupils the best phonics teaching now and in the future.”

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