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Phonics

 

Phonics at St Mary’s Fields Primary School

St Mary’s Fields is a Universal school for the Knowledge Transfer Centre scheme for Phonics and Reading. This is a project for phonics and reading based on Letters and Sounds developed by Ann Smalberger, literacy consultant, called ALS Phoncs. ALS Phonics ensures a consistent approach from EYFS to KS1 and feeds into our provision for children in KS2 who arrive with no English.

All children in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 have daily phonic sessions and also learn to read and spell ‘tricky’ words; words which don’t rely on phonics.

All children work through the following phases:

  • Phase 1 focuses on listening, language and communication –recognising everyday sounds, rhythm and rhyme, alliteration and orally blending and segmenting.
  • Phase 2 focuses on learning all single sounds and how to read and write them in words.
  • Phase 3 focuses on learning simple digraph and trigraph sounds and applying these to words and sentences (for example, igh, oo, ear and er).
  • phase 4 focuses on learning adjacent consonants in words (for example, fl, pr, cr, and st).
  • Phase 5 focuses on learning alternative digraph and trigraph sounds and
  • applying these to words and sentences (for example, ie, ph, oe and ai).

Children in Year 2 start in September by recapping Phase 5 of phonics before moving on to spellings and grammar.

See how the different phases are covered in each year group below:

Chestnut – Phase 1

Hawthorn & Rowan – Phase 1 to Phase 3 in the Summer term.

Year 1 – Phase 3 to Phase 5 in the Summer term

Year 2 – Phase 5 to Phase 6 (Spelling focus)

Whatever It Takes Videos

Starting to learn to read-Things we can do at home

Mum makes sure the television is turned off and spends time helping her son do reading activities. Dad makes reading books an enjoyable time with his son and also hears him read.

Starting to learn to read- Things my child's school might be doing

Time is spent learning about letters and sounds. The school uses lots of fun activities and songs to keep the young children interested. The school gives lots of rewards to encourage the children to read.

Starting to learn to read-Things we can do when we're out and about

The family use their local library so that their son can enjoy more books. Dad lets his son choose his favourite books and shares good reading habits with him. They find a place in the library where they can talk and enjoy the books they have chosen.

Becoming a more confident reader- Things my child's school might be doing

The teacher listens to each child read and gives lots of praise. The teacher uses interesting reading books as a starting point for new activities. Children are encouraged to explore the meaning of words.

Becoming a more confident reader- Things we can do when we're out and about

Mum uses cooking together as an enjoyable activity to share reading for a purpose. Mum gives her daughter lots of simple reading tasks when they are out shopping together. Mum is always helping her daughter to learn new words without making it a test.

Able to read, but doesn't like reading- Things we can do when we're out and about

The family goes to places together where they can find interesting things to read. Mum takes an interest in her son’s reading even if she doesn’t really like dinosaurs. Mum gives her son some money to encourage him to buy his favourite book.

Able to read, but doesn't like reading- Things we can do at home

Mum knows that reading isn”t her son’s favourite activity so creates a balance between reading and playing. The older brother encourages Wasim’s reading through their interest in football. The family has a good mixture of books that will interest the children.

Able to read, but doesn't like reading- Things my child's school might be doing

The teacher guides the reading of each child and gives them personal tips for improvement. The teacher encourages children to use a dictionary to learn about words they might not understand. The school uses technology to introduce another approach to reading.