What are phonics? What are the phonic phases?

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1 Phonics At Stockcross CE Primary School we use a systematic phonics programme called Letters and Sounds. Letters and Sounds is divided into six phases, with each phase building on the skills and knowledge of previous learning. There are no big leaps in learning. Children have time to practise and rapidly expand their ability to read and spell words. They are also taught to read and spell 'tricky words', which are words with spellings that are unusual or that children have not yet been taught. When they are ready, children progress from books without words to simple stories with words and sounds. Progress from then on is usually rapid! What are phonics? What are the phonic phases? Phonics is the word used to describe the sounds the letters make. In simple terms, the word 'cat' can be read from its three sounds: c-a-t. These are not the names of the letters as we say them in the alphabet, but the sounds these letters make. Likewise, the word 'thick' is made up of three sounds: th-i-ck, where pairs of letters combine to make a single sound. Similarly, 'rash' is made up of three sounds: r-a-sh. At Stockcross CE Primary phonics are taught proactively and systematically to children by showing them the sounds of the letters (not the letter names) and how these sounds can be blended to run together to make short words. Former OFSTED director Jim Rose has said phonics - where children learn the sounds of all the letters and combinations of letters first - should be taught "first and fast" to young children. The teaching structure for phonics runs over 6 phases - these are summarised below with approximate timings and age expectations. Please note that a 'phoneme' is the sound of the letters and a 'grapheme' is what they look like written down. With all the increased focus on phonics and at such a fast pace it is important to also understand that children will only read when they are ready and that there phonics alone will not produce fluent readers. There are many other strategies to help children read that we deploy in school and that you can do at home such as sharing reading every day. It is of the utmost importance that children do not feel pressurised or stressed if they cannot grasp these aspects of reading straight away - to become a lifelong reader that gains great enjoyment from reading then reading needs to be seen as a pleasure not a chore.

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5 The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check This section is devoted to information on the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, and the following on phonics phases. The information is useful for all parents to know. The Government are introducing a Year 1 'Phonics Screening Check to ascertain children's attainment in reading phonetically by the end of year 1. The check consists of 40 words, 20 of them are known words (of which 40-60% are words that are likely to be outside a 6 year old's vocabulary) and 20 'nonsense' words that need to be sounded out by the child.

6 A sample of what the check will look like is shown here. It is set at Phonics Phase 5 (see above). The 'pass' mark is usually 32 out of 40! The check will take place in June. The results will be included in the end of year report. It is very important that the check is not seen as a 'test' and that children are not seen as 'failing' if they do not meet the high pass mark. The school will ensure that those that do not reach the required level receive extra support in readiness to re-do the check in year 2. Phase 6 Phase 6 phonics teaches alternative spellings for phonemes, adding prefixes and suffixes

7 Progression Through The Reading Scheme The reading scheme is divided into different coloured 'book bands'. We are currently checking the bands in our reading scheme so that they conform to these colour bands. Guide to NC level Book BAND and colour Guide to Average Age Guide to Average Year group 1A Pink(light) 0-6 FS 1B Pink (dark) 0-6 FS 2 Red 0-6 FS/Y1 1c ELG 3 Yellow 6-7 FS/Y1 1c 4 Blue 7-8 Y1 1b 5 Green 7-8 Y1 1a 6 Orange 7-8 Y1/Y2 2c 7 Turquoise 7-9 Y2 End of Term 1 2b 8 Purple 7-9 Y2 2b 9 Gold 7-9 Y2 End of Term 3 2a 10 White 8-9 Y2/Y3 3c 11 Lime 9-10 Y3 3b 12 Copper Y3 3b 13 Topaz Y4 3a 14 Ruby Y4/Y5 3a 15 Emerald Y5 4c 16 Sapphire Y6 4b-5 17 Diamond Up to Band 6 = Working within Level 1 Up to Band 10 = Working within Level 2 Up to Band 15 = Working within Level 3 Beyond 16 = Working at level 4+