Phonics

Letters and Sounds

At Torridon, we use the DfE recommended scheme ‘Little Wandle’ to introduce reading and phonics to our children. This initially focuses on sounds around us and then moves on to introducing letter sounds (phonemes) which are represented by letters (graphemes). Here is a glossary to help with the technical vocabulary:

Phonics Glossary-KEY-GUIDANCE-GLOSSARY – Little Wandle

There are resources to help support your child with saying their sounds and writing their letters. There are also some useful videos so you can see how they are taught at school and feel confident about supporting their reading at home.

https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/

In EYFS and KS1, children have a daily phonics session. In Reception, we build from 10-minute lessons, with additional daily oral blending games, to the full-length lesson as quickly as possible. These are fast-paced practical and sensory lessons designed to keep the children engaged, challenged and on task.

Children in Reception are taught to read and spell words using Phase 2 and 3 GPCs, and words with adjacent consonants (Phase 4) with fluency and accuracy. Children in Year 1 review Phase 3 and 4 and are taught to read and spell words using Phase 5 GPCs with fluency and accuracy. As children progress into Year 2, they are also introduced to spelling rules as part of their phonics learning, examples of this include suffixes, prefixes, plurals and past tense.

We also have daily keep-up support for those who need additional practice. Keep-up lessons match the structure of class teaching, but in smaller steps with more repetition, so that every child secures their learning.

We use a wide range of exciting games and engaging resources to enthuse our children and support them with their learning, as well as using key websites including PhonicsPlay    https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/.

What is Phonics?

Children are given opportunities to apply their learning of these phonemes independently throughout the day and some children will also receive additional small group support to help build on their phonics knowledge. As children progress into Year 2, they are also introduced to spelling rules as part of their phonics learning, examples of this include suffixes, prefixes, plurals and past tense.