PHONICS & EARLY READING
PHONICS & EARLY READING
INTENT:
At St Mary’s phonics will be taught in a progressive, sequential manner following a DFE approved scheme. We want our children to develop the phonics knowledge required to enable them to segment and blend in order to decode and spell accurately. Strong phonics knowledge and skills will enable children to read fluently. We want our children to leave Key Stage one as fluent, confident readers who have developed a love of reading and take every opportunity to read for pleasure.
IMPLEMENTATION:
We have chosen Monster Phonics—a systematic synthetic phonics programme that’s engaging, accessible, and effective for all learners in our early years and Key Stage 1 classes. Validated by the UK Department for Education and recognised globally, Monster Phonics provides an approach that makes phonics both clear and enjoyable. Monster Phonics is a proven systematic synthetic phonics approach, incorporating colour coding and character cues, making phonics both easier to understand and more memorable. Here’s how it works:
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Understanding Phonic Sounds: Children start by recognising and saying phonic sounds.
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Blending Sounds to Read: Children learn to blend these sounds to read words, gradually building fluency and confidence.
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Daily Practice and Progression: Children follow a structured lesson sequence, moving from simple sounds to more complex phonics patterns.
At St Mary’s, children are given reading books matched to their phonic knowledge to enable them to practise their skills in segmenting and blending words through consolidation and repetition at home, we expect that children will read these books independently. Alongside these phonetically decodable books we also give children an additional reading book which is aimed at developing wider reading skills such as prediction, inference, summarising and vocabulary this book should be shared with an adult and promote discussion which helps children develop the idea of reading for a purpose.
At the end of Year 1 children take the Phonics Screening Check and those children who do not meet the standard will continue to work on acquiring phonics knowledge in Y2 by completing a Monster Phonics intervention programme. Any children who do not achieve the phonics screening check by the end of Year 2 follow Fast Track Phonics intervention in Y3.
Children will also have a rich and varied experience of reading through regular engagement with high quality texts used to teach a wide range of skills as well as books read aloud by their teacher during class reading time and books selected from the class library for independent reading for pleasure.
How to Help at Home
A Parent's Guide to Monster Phonics can be found below. You will find practical tips on how you can reinforce phonics skills at home. Parents learn strategies for reading with their children, practising phonics sounds, and encouraging spelling through fun, everyday activities: https://ebooks.monsterphonics.com/parents-webinar/
If you would like to find out more about Monster Phonics, visit the parent information page here: https://monsterphonics.com/phonics-support-for-parents/
IMPACT:
All children will make strong progress from their starting points. Children will meet the standard in the Phonics Screening Check. They will confidently tackle reading unfamiliar words by segmenting and blending phonemes. Children will also recognise by sight tricky and high frequency words which will enable them to read fluently and to spell accurately.
As a result, children will become confident, fluent readers who will be able to apply their phonics skills to decode unknown words in new texts. They will enjoy reading a range of books independently and listening to adults read to them. Having learned to read they will, as they progress through school, be able to read to learn and consequently reach their potential in all areas of the curriculum. In addition to this they will take every opportunity to read for pleasure and continue to experience the joy of reading for the rest of their lives.
