Phonics

At Wild Bank, we use the First Class Phonics scheme to teach children to read and write using phonics.

This scheme is the latest, most up-to-date systematic, synthetic scheme on the market and follows a well researched progression document. From Reception to Year Two your child will have daily First Class Phonics sessions. During these sessions, they will be taught how to use their knowledge of phonics to read and write. They will be introduced to the skills needed to segment and blend to read words and to segment to spell words. Your child’s teacher will be able to explain more about these skills and the Phase your child is on.

The First Class Phonics scheme is divided into twelve sections:

• Phase 1
• Phase 2
• Phase 3 Part One, Two and Three
• Phase 4 Part One and Part Two
• Phase 5 Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four and Part Five

Each section is divided into sets of letters and the children are taught a set of letters a week with time to learn how to read and spell words containing these letters. Teachers will use a range of resources to teach your child to read and spell words using these new letters. Your child will also play a variety of games designed to give them time to practise reading and spelling words, become more confident readers and spellers and to have lots of fun during their First Class Phonic sessions. 

Teachers keep teaching records to support communication between all the teachers and teachers that help your child to learn at school. They also use tracking grids to monitor progress and identify children who may need extra support. Teachers use guidance documents to ensure that children in each year meet the end of year expectations and are on track to meet national standards. They also have access to detailed planning grids and assessment methods to ensure your child makes the best progress possible in phonics. 

Your child will be sent home with a reading book which is closely linked to their First Class Phonics lessons in school. They will not bring home a reading book until they have been taught all of the sounds they need to know in that book. All of our reading books have been set so that your child can read every word independently. You may think that the book is too easy for your child, but if they can read every word that is perfect! It means they are using all of the skill they have learnt at school. 

If you would like to learn more about First Class Phonics, follow the links below or watch this video by one of the creators of First Class Phonics.