Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English language.

Written language can be compared to a code, so knowing the sounds of individual letters and how those letters sound when they’re combined will help children decode words as they read.

Understanding phonics will also help children know which letters to use when they are writing words.

Phonics involves matching the sounds of spoken English with individual letters or groups of letters. For example, the sound k can be spelled as c, k, ck or ch.

Teaching children to blend the sounds of letters together helps them decode unfamiliar or unknown words by sounding them out. For example, when a child is taught the sounds for the letters t, p, a and s, they can start to build up the words: “tap”, “taps”, “pat”, “pats” and “sat”.

Have a look at the Little Wandle site for videos on how to pronounce the sounds and other helpful hints for you. 

• Little Wandle Phonics

In reception, the children have been learning sets of sounds.

We call these sets Phase 2 and 3. In Phase 4 the children learn the skill of blending 

the sounds to read words.

In year 1, we revise the sounds already taught and we add to the 'code' of sounds. This is phase 5. 

Phonics Test

In the summer term, the children will take part in a phonics test. This is a statutory test, and it checks the children can use the phonemes taught in Reception and Year 1 and that they can blend these phonemes to make words.  The test uses a mixture of real words and made up words. 

The test is done in a very friendly way with the teacher and all the children are encouraged to do their best and praised for their hard work. 

Parents will find out the result of the test at the end of year 1.