Phonics is essential for children to learn how to read and write. Without phonic knowledge children would find it very difficult to develop as readers and put sounds together to learn how to write.

At St. Luke's School we use the "Little Wandle: Letters and Sounds" program as our way of teaching children phonics. This consists of daily phonic sessions which are supplemented by Guided Reading and spelling/writing activities.  As part of our approach we send children home with a range of resources so they can 'practise' and develop whilst at home. Recognising all 26 letter sounds is a skill that all children need to use confidently in order to hear sounds in words when they are reading and writing.  As your child moves through KS1 he/she will learn a total of 42 phonemes (sounds) and will need to be accurate at reading and using them to spell words too.

Your child will also need to learn all 100 sight words by just looking at them as well as year group common exception words. These will come home in the form of sight word fans in Reception and sight word cards in Year 1 and Year 2. 

Click on the links below to hear sound clips of how each 'sound' should be pronounced.