What is Phonics?

Phonics is a way of teaching children to read and spell by helping them understand the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent.

At Altrincham CE Primary School, we use the ActiveLearn Phonics Bug programme to support the systematic teaching of phonics. Children learn to recognise and pronounce sounds, blend sounds together to read words, and segment words into sounds to support spelling.

Our aim is for every child to develop the confidence, accuracy and fluency they need to become enthusiastic and successful readers.

We have a Parents Workshop all about Phonics which we do each year, Miss Todd led this at the very start of the school year. All information that was talked about is available in the presentation linked below;

Phonics Workshop Presentation

Bug Club video attached here for parents;

Here is the direct link to the website to access the online library; ActiveLearn: Login

Usernames and passwords have been given out or you can ask your child's teacher to give you this.

Our Approach to Phonics

At ACE, phonics is taught systematically, consistently and with high expectations. We follow a clear progression so that children build securely on their previous learning and know more, remember more and can apply their phonics knowledge independently.

Every phonics session provides opportunities for children to:

· revisit previously taught sounds and words

· learn and practise new sounds and graphemes

· develop accurate pronunciation

· blend sounds to read words

· segment words for spelling

· read and write words and sentences

· practise tricky and common exception words

· apply their phonics knowledge in reading and writing.

We make phonics active, engaging and purposeful, giving children plenty of opportunities to practise and apply their learning rather than simply memorising sounds.

What does phonics look like for our children?

A typical phonics session includes a combination of review, new learning, guided practice and independent application.

Teachers model sounds and blending clearly, children practise together and then have opportunities to demonstrate what they can do independently. We use questioning, observation and assessment throughout the session to identify misconceptions and respond immediately.

Children are encouraged to explain their thinking, listen carefully to one another and develop the confidence to have a go.

Supporting Every Child

We recognise that children learn to read at different rates. Our teaching is responsive to individual needs, ensuring that children who need additional support receive it quickly, while children who are ready for greater challenge are given opportunities to deepen and apply their knowledge.

We use ongoing assessment to identify:

· sounds and graphemes that children have not yet secured

· difficulties with blending or segmenting

· misconceptions in pronunciation

· gaps in knowledge

· children who need additional opportunities to practise

· children who are ready to move on or apply their learning in more challenging ways.

Where children need additional support, targeted intervention is put in place promptly. This may include additional small-group teaching, extra opportunities to practise specific sounds or blending, or individual support.

Children who are secure are not simply given more of the same. They are challenged to apply their phonics knowledge in increasingly complex words, sentences, reading and writing.

Learning to Read

Children are taught the alphabetic code progressively, learning the sounds represented by letters and groups of letters (graphemes). They practise blending these sounds together to read words and develop their ability to recognise familiar words quickly and automatically.

Phonics Bug provides a structured sequence of learning, with children regularly revisiting previously taught sounds while being introduced to new ones. Children apply their phonics knowledge when reading words, sentences and carefully matched books.

As children become more confident, they develop increasing fluency and independence when reading. We encourage children to read with expression, develop their understanding of what they have read and, most importantly, develop a genuine love of reading.

Blending – sounding out words

Blending is an important part of learning to read. Children are taught to say the individual sounds in a word and then blend them together to read the whole word.

For example:

c – a – t → cat

sh – i – p → ship

Children are encouraged to use their phonics knowledge to work out unfamiliar words rather than guessing from pictures or context.

Segmenting – spelling words

Children also learn to segment words into their individual sounds in order to spell them.

For example:

dog → d – o – g

fish → f – i – sh

This helps children apply their phonics knowledge when writing independently.

Tricky Words

Some words cannot be easily decoded using the phonics patterns children have been taught. These are sometimes referred to as tricky words or common exception words.

Children are taught to recognise these words and practise reading and spelling them as part of their phonics learning.