Phonics4

• Who is Phonics4Parents for?

Phonics4Parents is designed to support the parents of children from Reception to Year 2 (4-7 years old) who are learning to read and write. It can also be used by the parents of junior age children who need support to catch up with their peers or children who are new to English.

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• My child brings Oxford Reading Tree books for home reading. They don't seem to be phonetic so what do I do?

Many home reading scheme books aren't phonetic and children are taught to read by repeated exposure to a growing vocabulary of limited words. Reading any book with your child will benefit them but be aware that in non-phonetic readers any non-phonetic words will need to be worked out using other strategies such as using the first letter sound as a clue, looking at the picture or context and if that is not possible then they will need to be given to the child as a 'freebie' (ie, tell them what it says!). Encourage them to use their phonic strategies for words that can be sounded out - there will still be plenty, and of course there will be lots of tricky words that they can spot.

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• My child has Special Educational Needs. Are the Phonic Units suitable for her?

Phonics4Parents is suitable for children with literacy learning difficulties and children with dyslexic tendencies. However we would strongly encourage parents of children with Special Educational Needs to talk to their child's class teacher before embarking on this (or any other) programme to check its suitability.

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• Does the programme take a lot of time?

No. All children are expected to spend a little time reading at home with an adult every day - about 15 minutes. You can use our Phonic Units to fulfill this requirement.

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• My child's school is following a phonics scheme. Is Phonics4Parents in line with this?

Many schools do use a commercially available phonics scheme such as Jolly Phonics or Read Write Inc​ alongside the Department for Education's Letters and Sounds programme. Phonics4Parents teaching sequence follows Letters and Sounds but will sit comfortably alongside other schemes, whichever one your child's school uses. You may find that the order that sounds are introduced may be slightly different (as they are from scheme to scheme) but the end point will be the same.

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• Will Phonics4Parents help my child with the Year 1 Phonic Assessment?

All Year 1 children are assessed during the Summer term to check their phonic knowledge and ability to sound out words. All the tested sounds are covered in the Phonic Units so your child will be well prepared.​

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• I am a working parent and my child sometimes reads with their childminder. Can I share the Phonic Units with them?

Yes, please do! We recognise that children don't always read with their parents or carers and that childminders, family and friends may also be involved. Our Phonic Units are simple and clearly laid out so that others can follow them but if they are new to phonics they may find it helpful to watch the explainer videos at the start of each unit.