Research shows that teaching Phonics in a structured and systematic way is the most effective way of teaching young children to read. Almost all children who receive good phonics teaching will learn the skills they need to decipher new and unfamiliar words. Phonics is taught through the ‘Read Write Inc’ scheme of work. Children are taught the skills for decoding, segmenting and blending and are introduced to new phonemes and graphemes as part of a systematic synthetic approach. The teaching of Phonics begins in the Early Years and continues throughout Key Stage One where children start to learn alternative graphemes, lesser known sounds and the more complicated spelling rules.

At the end of Year 1 children are required to sit the Phonics Screening Check to assess their ability to segment and blend words. Children are presented with 40 words – a mixture of real and pseudo words and they are expected to apply their phonics knowledge to read the words. If children are unsuccessful in Year 1 they have the opportunity to retake the check in Year 2. Phonics catch-up groups are put into place to support these children with additional interventions continuing in Key Stage Two if necessary.