Phonics Mat

In our school, we follow the Read, Write Inc scheme of phonics teaching. Each child in EYFS and Key Stage 1 has a daily Phonics lesson. In these phonics sessions, children access a balance of both Phonics and Spelling Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) lessons based on their individual needs and attainment. Children are taught in small groups, based on regular assessments so that their individual learning needs are accurately matched to the correct provision. Small Phonics sessions are delivered by teaching assistants and overseen by the class teacher, to provide complimentary teaching.

Sessions are lively, fast-paced and fun. In a session, children are taught either phonemes/digraphs/trigraphs, high frequency and/or tricky words and these are consolidated through reading and writing activities. There is an emphasis on paired work and lots of opportunities for speaking and listening, as well as reading and writing the sounds. All the sounds taught have a sound to match to enable children to contextualise the sound and remember it easier. 

At the end of Year 1 children have to take the National Phonics Test which tests children’s phonetic knowledge. Here, they are required to read real and nonsense words, applying the skills they have learned in their phonics lessons.