At Huntingdon, we follow the letters and sounds framework. Teaching of Phonics begins in Foundation 1 and is taught in phases. Each phase has a character linked to it:
 | Phase 2 – Tim the giraffe | Phase 4 – Sandra the chimp |  |
 | Phase 3 – Chung the elephant | Phase 5 – Pete the lion |  |
Children are taught pure sounds, which can be practiced at home using the sound mats in your child’s reading diary. This should be done daily, alongside the high frequency word cards in your child’s folder. Teachers will make a note of any sounds or words to focus on. Here is a link to a useful website: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/learn-to-read-phonics/
The chart below highlights the expected end point for each half term from EYFS to Year 1.
Here is some of the resources we use every day, you will find some of these in the reading diary:
Here is some of the terminology we use on a daily basis with our children from EYFS:
Children are also taught sight words (tricky words) which link to each phase. These are words that cannot be decoded and need learning by sight recognition.
The best way to support your child at home is by daily sound, high frequency word and tricky word recall practice alongside daily reading. A further way to help is to encourage your child to write words with particular sounds in. This will allow your child to apply their skills to different contexts. There are also many free online games.