All children attending Highfield South Farnham School begin their learning journey to become expert readers and writers from their very first day. We begin this journey with Phonics teaching. The programme we use to help your children to achieve these goals is Phonics Steps.

Phonics Steps serves as a metaphor for the child’s journey through their learning. Each step they take moves them closer to mastering the fundamentals of the English language. In order to progress, children learning through our programme take small steps from sound to word, moving from phase to phase until they reach the top of their learning staircase and achieve big results!

Phonics Steps is a DfE validated full Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) programme which equips children with the necessary skills, knowledge and positive learning behaviours to become expert readers and writers.

'Little steps to big results' underpins the teaching and learning ethos of the programme, with learners accompanied on their journey by a range of relatable characters who understand, and experience with the children, the joy of learning to read and write.

The learning in Phonics Steps is sequenced across five phases corresponding to the original 2007 Letters and Sounds progression.

In each phase, learners walk in the footsteps of the children who’ve come before them and the characters they meet along the way.

Each of their names has been carefully chosen to match the phase that they represent. (E.g. Figgy the first phonics friend is alliterative and double syllable – some key Phase 1 sound patterns. The rest are decodable using sounds or patterns introduced at each phase. By the end of the programme, the children can decode each of the characters’ names.

 

 

Remembering the Phonemes & Graphemes

Each phoneme is linked to an easily recognisable illustration which helps children to learn and recall the sound. All phonemes have a corresponding action and song to help the children remember them.

 

Teaching of Tricky Words

 

• Children are taught to read and spell tricky words as they move through the phases.
• They are expected to spell the tricky words that they have learnt in the previous phase.

 

 

For more information please go to www.phonics.org.uk

To access the parent page, please use:

• • Username: hsfparent@phonics.org.uk
  • Password: Phonic$2024

Phonics at Home

We are delighted to be able to offer families the opportunity to purchase Phonics Steps Parent Packs to support their child's phonics learning at home.

These packs provide engaging resources and activities that are a replica of phonics teaching taking place in school, helping children to build confidence and fluency in reading and spelling. Working together at home and school can make a real difference to your child's progress and enjoyment of reading.

For our Reception children, we recommend purchasing Packs 2-4.

For our Year 1 children, we recommend purchasing Phase 5a onwards. As children progress through phonics at different rates, we encourage you to speak with your child's class teacher, who will be happy to advise you on the most appropriate phase for your child.

If you have already completed an order form, there's nothing more you need to do. Many of you will have had the opportunity to see the packs at our recent Meet the Teacher evening.

If you would like to purchase a Parent Pack and have not yet returned a form, please complete the attached order form and return it to school.

Thank you for your continued support. We are excited to work together to help every child develop strong phonics skills and a lifelong love of reading.