We are proud to have adopted the Sounds-Write approach to teaching phonics in September 2021. This linguistic approach to the teaching of reading and writing begins with what most children learn naturally (the sounds of their own language) and builds upon this by systematically and explicitly teaching the written code which we use to represent the 44+ phonemes in the English language.
Sounds-Write is based upon 3 core principles:
- Skills - segmenting, blending and phoneme manipulation.
- Concepts - letters are symbols of sounds, sounds can be represented by 1,2,3 or 4 letters, one sounds can be represented in many ways and finally, one spelling can represent different sounds.
- Code knowledge - the representations of the sounds in the English language are taught in the context of real words.
Watch the following introduction video to Sounds-Write from the official Sounds-Write website:
Sounds-Write in School
Click here to view our Phonics Curriculum Statement.
Sounds-Write is taught daily for up to 30 minutes in EYFS and KS1 at Highnam and we believe strongly in delivering this high-quality, systematic approach in whole-class sessions wherever possible.
From their first term in Reception, children will be immersed in each unit for two weeks at a time during which time they develop an in-depth understanding of the alphabetic code encountered within each unit before moving onto the next.
Once children have gained a secure understanding, they are given a fully decodable reader which matches closely to the sounds that they have just learned. The purpose of this is that the children are able to put into practice their understanding of the alphabetic code and their segmenting and blending skills without the need to guess. Children will read these books to a member of staff in their class at least once a week.
At the end of Year 1, your child will take part in the statutory Phonics Screening Check. More information on this can be found here.
Sounds-Write at Home
Click here to read the Sounds-Write guide for reception parents.
You can support your child at home by reading with them everyday. We encourage children to read their fully decodable reader at least 3 times.
Read 1 - Decoding (segmenting and blending)
Read 2 - Fluency and expression
Read 3 - Comprehension
It is important that all children engage in this model as even confident readers have room to improve! However, decodable readers only make up part of your child's 'reading diet' and so choosing and reading books for pleasure is also to be encouraged!
This can be via our class libraries which children are invited to choose from, from your own book shelves at home or through the local library.
