Phonics

At Idle Church of England Primary School, we recognise that reading is a fundamental life skill and a key priority across our school. We are committed to ensuring that all children become confident, fluent readers as early as possible.

Rooted in our Christian values of love, courage and joy, we nurture a love of reading and support every child to grow in confidence, independence and enjoyment when reading.

Our Phonics Curriculum

We teach phonics through the Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) programme, which provides a structured, systematic approach to early reading.

We want our pupils to:

Develop secure knowledge of sounds (phonemes) and letter patterns (graphemes)
Learn how to blend sounds to read and segment words to spell
Build fluency, confidence and accuracy in reading
Develop a lifelong love of books and reading

Phonics teaching begins in Reception and continues into Key Stage 1, ensuring children develop strong early reading foundations.

What Our Child Learn

Children learn the full range of 44 phonemes and how these can be represented in different ways.

Through the ELS programme, pupils progress through clearly sequenced phases, developing:

Recognition of sounds and letter patterns
Blending for reading
Segmenting for spelling
Reading of decodable texts matched to their ability

By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils are able to apply their phonics knowledge confidently in both reading and writing.

How We Teach Phonics

Phonics is taught daily using a consistent, structured approach.

Each lesson includes:

Revisiting previously taught sounds and knowledge
Teaching a new sound or concept
Practising reading and spelling
Applying learning through reading or writing

Children have regular opportunities to:

Listen and respond
Practise speaking and reading aloud
Develop early spelling skills

All children receive high-quality teaching and additional support where needed, ensuring that everyone keeps up with the pace of learning.

Reading at Home

Each week, children receive a fully decodable reading book matched to the sounds they are learning in school.

Children are encouraged to read their book multiple times to build fluency, confidence and understanding.

We work closely with parents and carers to support reading at home, providing:

Weekly phonics focus sounds
Spellings linked to learning
Guidance and resources

Assessment

Children’s progress in phonics is closely monitored by teachers and leaders.

Regular assessments identify any gaps
Additional support is provided promptly
Progress is reviewed each half term

This ensures that every child is supported to keep up and succeed.

The Impact of Our Phonics Curriculum

By the end of Reception, children:

Recognise and read Phase 2 and 3 sounds
Begin to write simple words and sentences
Develop confidence in early reading and writing

By the end of Year 1, children:

Securely apply Phase 2–5 phonics
Read and spell with increasing fluency
Build confidence in independent reading

By the end of Key Stage 1, children:

Read fluently and with understanding
Apply phonics knowledge in reading and writing
Access a wide range of age-appropriate texts

Most importantly, our pupils develop a love of reading, leaving Key Stage 1 as confident and capable readers.