“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Dr. Seuss|

Our Phonics Programme

At Deanesfield Primary, we have chosen to use Bug Club Phonics, a comprehensive teaching programme and DFE approved systematic synthetic phonics scheme.

The scheme follows a clear progression of sounds but is closely linked with building pupil’s language and understanding of tricky words.

The Bug Club Phonics programme follows a consistent approach for all pupils learning their phonic sounds. The structure and sequence of letters and sounds taught are delivered in the same way each day with 5 key components in each session: introduction, revisit, teach, practise and apply.

At Deanesfield we believe in a creative and hands on approach to teaching. Our teachers at Deanesfield implement a multi-sensory approach in the teaching and learning of phonics which enables the children to learn from visual, audio and kinesthetic activities. Throughout the programme, teachers supplement the provided materials and embed the taught skills through a range of activities that they have identified to be successful. This helps to secure essential phonic knowledge and skills as well as ensuring the lessons are fun, interactive and engaging.

Decodable Reading Books

Children begin early reading as soon as they start to learn the first set of phonemes (single sounds such as s, a, t, p, i, n). With these phonemes’ children start to explore the important skill of blending. When children begin to blend sounds together they start putting and hearing words such as ‘sat, pin, tin, pit.

It is therefore crucial children have the opportunity to practise their blending skills and to consolidate their knowledge learnt in each phonics session. To aid pupils blending, we therefore use the Bug Club Phonics decodable reading books that have been written specifically to match the order in which grapheme-phoneme correspondences are introduced in class. These books are fully decodable, which means that every word in the book can be read using just the children’s developing phonics knowledge. For example, when the graphemes s, a, t, p, i, and n are taught at the beginning of phase 2, the children’s decodable books would contain words with only these sounds. Not only does this allow children to embed and secure their phonics knowledge, but it also allows them to experience success. This in turn builds their confidence, motivation and enthusiasm for reading.

Reading at home

Children will experience the most success in reading when we work in partnership together. Reading for pleasure, sharing stories at home or using a recipe shows children that reading is a useful skill. Research shows the importance of reading on a daily basis in developing children’s use and understanding of vocabulary and reading at home will enable them to practise and solidify their skills learnt at school.

Teachers will assign specific decodable e-books enabling the children to read at least 2 phonic books at home matched to their phonics learning. Physical books will be available to any families who are not able to access online versions. As well as assigning new books, they will be encouraged to re-read books that they have read at school through the library tool, because we know that repetitive reading strengthens children’s understanding of the text and allows them to develop a deeper understanding of phonemic awareness. Each time a child reads without stumbling, the reading process becomes more enjoyable and their success will provide great confidence.

Supportive resources and guides for parents

To support our parents we have attached supportive clips and guides. These resources will show you how to access the learning platform for Bug Club Phonics. These guides will also enable you to build on your own phonic knowledge, understanding and pronunciation of sounds, ensuring you as the parent are modelling the correct way for each phoneme.