What is Phonics?

“Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write.  It helps children hear, identify and use the different sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English Language.”

(National Literacy Trust)

How is Phonics taught at Himbleton?
At Himbleton, children in Nursery to Year 2 are taught phonics using the DfE approved Rising Stars Rocket Phonics programme which is a fully comprehensive, systematic synthetic phonics teaching programme.  It aims to ensure that every child becomes a lifelong reader and writer, as well as supporting children's speaking and listening skills in their own right.  

This is the method used to teach children to read by linking phonemes (sounds) and the symbols that represent them (letters and groups of letters, known as graphemes) which are pronounced in isolation and synthesised (blended together). 

Anticipated progress and aims

• Teach children how to connect letter symbols with the appropriate sound
• Phonemic awareness
• Increased independence and confidence when reading and sounding out unfamiliar words
• Increased understanding of syllables
• Spelling strategies
• Fun and enjoyable

Phonics Screening Check

Children in Year 1 will undertake the Phonics Screening Check (PSC) in June every year.  This is a check of a child's phonics knowledge which confirms whether a child is making the progress expected in the National Curriculum.  This check takes the form of 40 words divided into two sections of 20 words.  Both sections contain a mixture of real words and pseudo-words (words that are phonically decodable but are not actual words with an associated meaning).  Pseudo words (often known as alien words) are included in the check to ensure that a child is able to decode a word using their phonic skills.

If a child does not meet the expected standard in Year 1 in the PSC, interventions in school will support  learning and consolidation of the phonic sounds which are not yet secure and the test will be re-taken at the end of Year 2.

For more information about the Phonics Screening Check (PSC), click here.