Phonics in Year 1 | Newsletters

Phonics is the way in which children are taught to read and write, as pupils learn to hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish words.

At Feltonfleet, we teach synthetic Phonics - this is the most widely used approach, in which phonemes (sounds) associated with particular graphemes (letters) are pronounced either in isolation or blended together to form words.

This awareness of the relationship between letters and sounds provides a strong foundation for developing overarching Literacy skills, including improved comprehension and spelling ability. It is crucial in helping foster a life-long love of reading and lays the foundation for further academic success, in allowing children to access and understand all areas of the curriculum. 

In Pre-Prep, we are proud to use the Little Wandle scheme, which is a complete systematic synthetic phonics programme (SSP) established by the DofE. Through rigorous, structured, well-planned lessons, their pedagogy ensures optimum learning for the maximum number of children.

In Year 1, we strive to maintain pace, practice and participation by all children. Our pupils are actively engaged in lessons, achieved through the continual expectation of the pupils in chorus and individual oral response. This is immediately followed up by the activity of reading and writing words, as well as sentences, to apply new sounds. Through daily, weekly and termly reviews, children revise all the sounds taught in words, sentences and fully decodable books, in order to move this knowledge into their long-term memory.

We prioritise individualised learning, as pupils in Year 1 are matched to the phase they need, allowing for a more tailored approach. Through progression checks, our use of visual aids and regular practice sessions, children are supported every step of the way as their phonetic skills grow more confidently and accurately.  

Each week, pupils have specialised reading lessons focusing on growing their decoding, prosody and comprehension knowledge. This book is well-matched to their developing phonics knowledge and to ensure that early reading is prioritised, amongst other things! It also demonstrates to the children themselves their rapidly growing ability to read.