Phonics at Pelham Primary School

The teaching of phonics is broken down into 6 separate phases of either sounds or patterns. As the phases progress so does the expectation of the sound or pattern. It is the expectation at Pelham that pupils will be on phase 6 when they enter the KS2 however some children may still require teaching from phases 2-5.

Below is a general overview of how phonics is taught per year group or key stage:-

• Nursery - two letter sounds per week.
• Reception - four letter sounds per week plus a consolidating lesson on Fridays.

Whole class teaching for twenty minutes followed up by group work.

• Years 1 and 2 - whole class teaching everyday.
• Years 3 through 6 – Phonics teaching should be continued from the child’s phase, where appropriate.

All children are tracked and assessed every half term. In Year 1 pupils undertake a formal phonic test; if children do not meet the standard required they will re-take the test in Year 2. Those pupils falling behind receive intervention throughout the key stage and for transition into Year 3 in KS2.

Years 1 - 2 are given spellings appropriate to each child’s phase. Years 3 – 6 Spelling Bank is used to support the children when learning spelling patterns. These spellings are differentiated for each group and are tested weekly.

Expectations of Parents/Carers

Pelham expects Parents/Carers to be an integral part of their child's learning. Therefore it expects them to listen to reading regularly and help with the learning of letters and sounds along with the learning of weekly spellings.