Nursery World - Home Learning: Practitioners

Auditory discrimination is an important factor for children when
they are learning to read, and it is a skill that parents and children
can work on together at home. Penny Tassoni explains.

For a few years now, Reception classes have been urged to use synthetic phonics when teaching children to read. The synthetic phonic programme is a demanding one, especially for summer-born children or for those who are new to English. While this method of teaching reading and particularly the focus on starting children so early remains controversial, it is still important that early years settings find ways of ensuring that children are able to cope with its demands.

There are several factors that will affect a child's progress in reading. These include fluent speech as well as whether children have developed a love of books. Another factor in cracking the phonic code is also whether children have good auditory discrimination. This skill is something that children develop over time, but it is also a skill that early years settings and parents can work on together.

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