Phonics
In Nursery, we lay the foundations for early reading and writing through Phonics. Phonics is the method of teaching the children the sounds that letters make, and how these sounds blend together to form words. In Nursery, we focus on Phase 1 Phonics.
Phase 1 is divided into seven aspects:
• Aspect 1 – General sound discrimination – environmental
• Aspect 2 – General sound discrimination – instrumental sounds
• Aspect 3 – General sound discrimination – body percussion
• Aspect 4 – Rhythm and rhyme
• Aspect 5 – Alliteration
• Aspect 6 – Voice sounds
• Aspect 7 – Oral blending and segmenting
Our focus in Nursery is on developing children's listening and speaking skills before they move on to recognising written letters. Through fun, engaging, play-based activities, children will learn to:
- Listen carefully to different sounds in the environment
- Hear and enjoy rhyme, rhythm and alliteration in songs and stories
- Begin to distinguish between different speech sounds
- Play games that encourage sound awareness and memory.
By the end of Nursery, children will be well prepared to take their next steps into reading and writing in a fun and engaging way in Reception.
We follow the new phonics scheme produced by Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. To help give your child the best start with their phonics, there is a page on the Little Wandle website dedicated to supporting parents and can be found here: https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/. With a wealth of resources, you will be able to watch, understand and correclty reinforce the teaching we deliver in school.
