For decades there have been ongoing conversations, here and across the world, on the best way to teach children to read. There is a myriad of systems, research insights and at times, conflicting guidance, but to me it’s simple: phonics just works!
In fact it works long-term, as the ground-breaking Clackmannanshire Report discovered. Systematic Synthetics Phonics programmes (SSP) not only does it close early gender gaps between boys and girls’ reading, but more generally it accelerates reading and spelling to several months beyond expected levels.
It’s been widely publicised that people with low literacy skills are more than twice as likely to be unemployed than those who can read beyond basic levels, and that better literacy opens doors to “being paid well [and] being able to afford better food and housing”.
Phonics is an ideal way to ignite children’s first love for words and help them to become life long readers.
Research by the National Literacy Trust suggests that 20 per cent of children in England don’t have books of their own so their exposure to reading opportunities at the very start of their learning journey is vital.
At nursery level, you will undoubtedly already have noticed some gaps between different children in terms of their comprehension; how they encounter words; how engaged they are with stories; even how they handle picture books as physical objects.
The way each educator approaches phonics, how they teach it to every child, can have a huge impact on closing those gaps, with the power to kick-start far-reaching benefits in schools as well as society. We can start making that positive impact in their very earliest years in education.
Types of phonics
The type of phonics being taught does make a difference to how individual learners benefit.
SSPs such as Bug Club Phonics are proven to be the most effective way to teach children to read, and are particularly effective for the lowest attaining 20 per cent of learners.
Unlike analytical phonics, in SSP children are taught letter sounds before they are introduced to books. This fundamental, building-block approach means most sounds can be taught within a few months; a springboard for more in-depth literacy learning to come.
To help further shrink any troubling gaps from the get-go, the best phonics resources are more than just words on a page.
Resources that are representative and include pictures of people and characters from a range of backgrounds, identities and abilities not only make every learner feel as if they belong but help to communicate the sense that phonics – and therefore reading and writing – are subjects for every learner.
I always recommend specialist phonics books that have “Read to Me” functions, allowing young ones to make progress by reading the text back to them – also making them ideal for some learners with SEND.
Phonics isn’t always easily understood by families but this is easily overcome. By letting them know what phonics is for, and how it fits with their child’s developing fluency and long-term societal outcomes, parents are far more likely to come onboard in the process and engage in at-home support.
Financial help with phonics is also available too. Until the end of the summer term, state-funded infant schools, primary schools, junior schools, special schools or pupil referral units working with primary-aged children are all eligible to apply for up to £9,000 of extra funding and support to improve their phonics offering for every learner!
Phonics is so much more than learning to read and write, it’s preparing your youngest learners for the exciting road to literacy and beyond – enhancing every community with the power of words, understanding and connection.
- For more information on phonics and funding, visit Pearsonprimary.co.uk/EnglishHubs
