Honey Wells (L6), along with nine other pupils, recently attended a training on phonics, led by the Norfolk Reading Project. The training was to support pupils who are going into primary schools to help support their reading. Due to the pandemic, children's reading is below the level which is expected at their age.

In this blog post, Honey reflects on her day...

"For my community service this year I chose to volunteer at West Earlham Primary School.

As teaching is an option for my future career, I thought this would provide me with some experience.

The teachers and pupils at the school were very welcoming, which made it extremely easy for me and the other volunteers to settle in. For us to effectively support little children in learning to read, the Norfolk Reading Project organised phonics training. They taught us the basic things you need to know about the teaching of reading and how it is taught in schools. This was very beneficial, as we got to learn about the specific terminology we might hear and any tips they have on reading with children. Therefore, we could then go into the next session at West Earlham feeling confident and prepared.

They also kindly provided us with some phonics sheets that we can use during the sessions. The learning of the English Alphabetic Code, which includes simple code and complex code, was especially helpful as we got to practice segregating words and using specific techniques. All the students that were present at the phonics training found it very beneficial and interesting.

Thank you to the Norfolk Reading Project for coming into school to do this."