Phonics at Shipham
We proudly use Unlocking Letters and Sounds at Shipham. Unlocking Letters and Sounds was created by teachers and was validated by the DfE in December 2021, the scheme supports our children to read, spell and write fluently and quickly. All children at Shipham from Reception to Year 2, receive daily phonics lessons.
Phonics in EYFS
Children at Shipham begin their phonics journey in our Pre-School where they begin Phase 1 phonics. Then more 'formal' phonics teaching begins in the first two weeks of Term 1 in Reception. Children begin to learn the main sounds (phonemes) heard in the English Language and how they can be represented (graphemes), as well as learning ‘Common Exception’ words for Phases 2, 3 and 4. They use these sounds to read and write simple words, captions and sentences. Our children leave Reception being able to apply the phonemes taught within Phases 2, 3 and 4.
Phonics in Year 1 and 2
In Year 1 through Phase 5a, b and c, children learn alternative spellings and pronunciations for the graphemes and additional Common Exception Words. By the end of Year 1 children will have mastered using phonics to decode and blend when reading and segment when spelling. In Year 1 all children are screened using the National Phonics Screening Check.
In Year 2, phonics continues to be revisited to ensure mastery of the phonetic code and any child who does not meet age-related expectations will continue to receive targeted intervention and support to understand and close any identified gaps.
ULS supporting resources
