At Fixby Junior and Infant school we have adopted and follow the Essential Letters and Sounds phonics scheme.

What is Essential Letters and Sounds?

Essential Letters and Sounds is a synthetic phonics programme published by Oxford University Press.

In the programme children learn sounds and the letters that represent them, and how to form the letters. Then, they read books written using only the letters they have learnt (and a small number of separately taught ‘Harder to Read and Spell Words’). This gives the children plenty of early success and builds up their reading confidence.

How will my child learn to read?

With ELS, there is a daily phonics lesson where the teacher teaches a new sound, or reviews sounds learned earlier in the week. This is shown to the class on the whiteboard. Children learn the letters that represent the sounds. They are then asked to read words and sentences with the new sounds in. Children will also practise writing the letters that represent the sounds.

The scheme builds up new knowledge, while practising previously taught sounds and words:

Phase 2 (EYFS)

• s a t p I n m d g o c k e u r h b f l ck ss ll

• Words containing these sounds, by sound-blending, e.g. m–a–t mat, c–a–t cat, g–o–t got.
• At school, they will read a phonics book matched to their phonics ability.

Phase 3 (EYFS)

• j v w x y z zz qu ch th sh ng nk ai ee ig oa oo ar ur oo or ow oi ear air ure er ow

• Words containing these sounds
• At school, they will continue to read a book matched with their phonics ability.

Phase 4 (EYFS)

• Word structures – cvcc- must /  ccvc- spin / ccvcc- stamp /  cccvc- scrap /  cccvcc- splint

Phase 5 (EYFS / Year 1)

• ay ou ie ea oy ir ue aw wh ph ew oe au ey a-e e-e i-e o-e u-e c
• The sounds introduced in this phase include
  • Alternative spellings for known sounds: For example the sound /ai/ can be represented by “ai”, “ay” or “a_e”
  • Alternative pronunciation for known graphemes: For example the letter c can make a /s/ and a /c/ sound.
• Words containing these sounds

It is really important to say the sounds clearly to help your child learn them. We say ‘mmmm‘ not ‘muh’ and ‘lllll‘ not ‘luh’ when teaching the sounds. This really helps children when they learn to blend sounds together to read words.

Phase 2 pronunciation

https://youtu.be/nBFnAcXHOUQ?si=KmlUaJa0UNyqdwA-

Phase 3 pronunciation

https://youtu.be/gDInVjBUGC0?si=A14PbUZ-lOBks7cU

Phase 5 pronunciation

https://youtu.be/8BwWD2ZlvBY?si=yJJ2ed-KBJ_l9Mgl