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Phonics
What is Phonics?
Phonics is a way of teaching children to read quickly and skillfully.
They are taught how to-
- recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes;
- identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make - such as ‘sh’ or ‘oo’; and
- blend these sounds together from left to right to make a word.
Children can then use this knowledge to ‘de-code’ new words that they hear or see. This is the first important step in learning to read. At Stansfield Hall we follow the Read, Write Inc. Phonics programme which meets the core criteria that define the key features of an effective systematic synthetic phonics teaching programme set out by the Department for Education.
Almost all children who receive good teaching of phonics will learn the skills they need to tackle new words. They can then go on to read any kind of text fluently and confidently, and to read for enjoyment. Children who are taught phonics also tend to read more accurately than those taught using other methods, such as ‘look and say’. This includes children who find learning to read difficult, for example those who have dyslexia.
