OFSTED September 2023

Phonics Scheme

We use Unlocking Letters and Sounds which was validated by the DfE in December 2021.

We begin teaching phonics in the first few weeks of term in reception and children make rapid progress in their reading journey. Children begin to learn the main sounds heard in the English language and how they can be represented, as well as learning ‘common exception’ words for phases 2, 3 and 4. They uses these sounds to read and write and simple words, captions and sentences. Children leave reception being able to apply the phonemes taught in phases 2, 3 and 4.

In year 1 through phases 5a, b and c, they learn any alternative spellings and pronunciations for the graphemes and additional ‘common exception’ words. By the end of year 1 children will have mastered using phonics to blend and decode when reading and segment when spelling. In year 1 all children are screened using the national phonics screening check.

In year 2, phonics continues to be revisited to ensure mastery of the phonetic code and any child who does not meet age related expectations will continue to receive support to close identified gaps.

To ensure no child is left behind at any point in the progression, children are regularly assessed and supported to keep up through bespoke 1:1 interventions. These include GPC recognition and blending and segmenting interventions. The lowest attaining 20% of pupils are closely monitored to ensure these interventions have an impact.

Here are the videos for all of the phase 2 phonemes with actions - 

Phase 3 phonemes and action