Reception will begin their phonics journey starting with Phase 2. This phase follows Phase 1 which your child will have completed if they attended our Nursery. If you child is new to school and hasn't yet taken part in Phase 1 phonics, please do not worry - we plan for this and have many activities to help ensure that your child has all the essential skills needed to begin and make progress with their phonic journey. 

Phase 2 takes a minimum of six weeks, taking us into the Autumn 2 term. At the end of each phase the class teacher then assesses every child's phonics progress on a one-to-one basis. Following this thorough assessment the teacher will then devise a phonics plan for your child that is tailored to their needs.  If your child is secure with the content taught in Phase 2 then they will progress to Phase 3 phonics. If they have some areas for development then we will revisit those elements with your child remaining in Phase 2.  Please do not worry if your child has to revisit Phase 2 - it is very common and expected.

The most common reasons for revisiting elements of Phase 2 are:

- recognition of Phase 2 sounds are not yet secure. A child should know most of the Phase 2 sounds to move on.

- unable to blend and segment two letter (real or nonsense) words such as on, ip, ak, it and/or CVC words such as cat, leg, tin.

- unable to record sounds or write two letter or CVC words more independently.

- little recognition of high-frequency words.

Your child's class teacher monitors progress daily and when they feel your child is ready then they will make the move to Phase 3. It can take time to embed the phonic skills, especially if your child has not attended a nursery setting. If we have any concerns with regard to your child's progress then rest assured we would make contact with you and work with you to help your child receive the best phonics education possible.

Please find below all the documents we ask parents to use at home to help support their learning over the course of the Phase 2 program.  We ask that you do not use any resources or move onto the next week's resources - even if you feel that they are ready - as this can significantly hinder your child's phonic development.  We have very carefully and thoroughly devised our phonics to be progressive each week and relies on being secure in a range of skills, not just those that you work on at home. Thank you for your support and understanding. 

You will have had a paper copy of these sent home weekly for your convenience and so you know what we are working on at school.  The more practise you can fit in, the quicker progress may come and please don't forget to also make use of the useful website links on the previous webpage.   Have fun!