What is Phonics?

Phonics is a method for teaching the sounds and spelling patterns of the English language and is taught every day, and throughout the day, at school.

• It is the knowledge of letters and the sounds they make.
• It gives us the skills of blending these sounds together to read words.
• Through it, we learn the skills of segmenting the sounds in a word and choosing the correct letters needed to spell it.
• Phonics is the step-up to word recognition. To be able to automatically read all words, both decodable and tricky ones, is the ultimate goal for all our children.

How is Phonics taught at KEPS?

We have a systematic approach to the teaching of phonics at KEPS which engages children in a fun and memorable manner. We use a DfE validated scheme called Twinkl Phonics, which provides the basis for clear, systematic teaching of the sounds (phonemes) and spelling patterns (graphemes) to support the children’s development in phonics. Our children first encounter the teaching of phonics in Pre-School with Phase 1 and is then consistently built upon throughout EYFS and Year 1. This will be continued into Year 2 and Key Stage 2 if required.

Decision Spelling - a dyslexia friendly spelling approach - is taught in Year 2 and KS 2. Children are taught in their own classes with some working in smaller groups to enable them to access the support which the need. Children are assessed regularly and groupings are altered accordingly if necessary.

Spellings at KEPS

At the end of Key Stage 1, some children may need further support in building on their phonetical knowledge and understanding, and so will continue to receive support as needed into Years 3-6.

All children in Years 1-6 will be given a number of words to learn each week. We use the Westover Green Spelling Programme; the children are systematically taught the spelling rules and requirements before embedding them throughout the week.

The Westover Green Spelling Programme can be found here: