At Springbank Academy we believe every child should have the opportunity to become fluent, confident readers. We recognise that reading is a key life skill and therefore it was essential we chose a phonics scheme which provided our children with all the skills they need to thrive. 

 

As a school we selected the phonics scheme, Essential Letters and Sounds. Essential Letters and Sounds has been built upon the latest research and understanding about how children learn to read. In Nursery, our children explore sounds in the environment, recognise phonemes in their names and start to learn single letter sounds. 

Within Reception and Year 1, we follow Essential Letters and Sounds Programme.

Our children in these classes, have daily phonics sessions, which include both reading and writing activities. During reading sessions, our colour banded books are also part of the Essential Letters and Sounds scheme. We enjoy books from a large selection of series including Word Sparks, Traditional tales and Hero Academy. 

If our children do not reach the expected standard at the end of Year 1, they follow the Essential Letters and Sounds catch up programme in Year 2. This follows the same sequence as the sessions taught in Reception and Year 1. The rest of our Year 2 cohort access phonics daily to further support their development in Reading and Writing. 

Year 2 phonics closely links to the Year 2 English curriculum and focuses on teaching grammar and spelling rules including prefixes and suffixes. 

 

You can support your child with phonics at home in many ways such as, identifying letters and words in the environment and in books. Daily reading at homewill support your child's reading and it will help them expand the breadth of their vocabulary. 

All books sent home in book bags are matched closely to your child's phonics ability and will include phonemes that are familiar to them. 

 

Our Phonics screening results can be found in the Impact Report section of the website

 

If you have any questions please email Hannah Clarke (Phonics Lead) on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.