Phonics
Reading opens a window onto the world and is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children. Sam Henderson leads early reading across our federation, ensuring high‑quality teaching and strong pupil engagement. She carries out half‑termly assessments to make sure every child is placed in the right group to make the best possible progress. Below, you will find information about our phonics programme called Read Write Inc, to support reading at home.
Sam Henderson (our Early Learning Read)
SET 1 Sounds
The children learn 44 sounds (speed sounds). These are the letter sounds and not letter names. The speed sounds are divided into small groups - Set 1, Set 2 and Set 3. Once your child has learnt all of the sounds in one group, they can move on to sound blending the letters in that group to read words.
For example, once your child has learnt to read the first 5 sounds: m a s d t they can then start to read words that include these sounds such as mat, sat, sad, mad, at etc.
Your child will then learn the next five sounds and be able to read words with a combination of the ten sounds.
Read, write inc runs from the start of Reception and into Year 1 and Year 2.
SET 2 Sounds
Most children will learn set 2 in Reception during the Spring Term
SET 3 Sounds
Most children will begin to learn set 3 sounds in the Summer Term of Reception.
Red/ Tricky Words
Red words are those words which contain spelling patterns that cannot be sounded out. Some of the most frequently used words in the English language have an uncommon spelling pattern and don’t sound like they look, for example, said sounds like ‘sed’. Red words have to be learnt by sight. i.e said the I you
A good way to learn these words is to write them onto card/ paper to create flash cards. When you hold up the word your child should be able to say the word.
Green Words
Green words are words that your child will be able to sound out and then sound blend together, using the speed sounds they have learnt i.e mat, bin, dog, chin
Your child will be able to read a book more easily if they practice reading these words first.
Assessment
Year 1 - PHONICS SCREENING CHECK
The Phonics Screening Check is a test for children in Year 1. Children take it during June in a one-to-one setting with their class teacher.
During the Phonics Screening Check, children are asked to read (decode) 40 words. Most of these words are real words but some are pseudo-words. Pseudo-words are included to ensure that children are using their decoding skills and not just relying on their memory of words they’ve read before. Because some children may misread these pseudo-words based on their similarity to words in their existing vocabulary, each pseudo-word is clearly identified with an image of an alien. Most teachers and children, therefore, refer to pseudo-words as alien words.
Children who do not pass the phonics test in Year 1 will be supported to repeat the test in Year 2.
