Phonics

Phonics is a method of teaching reading and spelling by the introduction of sounds or phonemes.

At Peacehaven Heights Academy we follow the “Sounds Write” programme for the teaching of phonics. We teach the key elements of conceptual understanding, factual knowledge, and the three essential skills of blending, segmenting and phoneme manipulation necessary for learning to read and spell.

We teach phonics on a daily basis from nursery to Year 6. The children are taught all of the code needed to read, write and spell.

In EYFS and Key Stage 1 they explore polysyllabic words and learn the skill of segmenting a word into its syllables.

In Key Stage 2 they revisit the code to secure their knowledge into their long term memory. Alongside this, we focus on the study of the English language, exploring the morphology and etymology of words which will help children to understand the meaning of prefixes, suffixes and root words.

Regular assessment and effective interventions ensure that every pupil achieves the automaticity that underlies the fluency of every successful reader.