Sounds-Write
First Rate Phonics
Empowering educational professionals to do one of the most important jobs; teach children to read and write.
Impact Statement
Intent
At Eastbury Community School, our intent is to provide a robust foundation in literacy through the implementation of the Sounds-Write phonics program. We are committed to equipping our students with the essential skills needed for reading, writing, and spelling success by delivering systematic, synthetic phonics instruction that aligns with the best practices endorsed by the UK Department for Education.
Implementation
Sounds-Write is embedded into our daily teaching routine from Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) through Key Stage 1 (KS1). Our teachers utilise a structured and sequential approach to phonics instruction, incorporating multisensory techniques to engage all learners. Lessons are carefully planned and differentiated to meet the diverse needs of our students, including those with SEND and EAL learners. Regular assessment and progress monitoring allow us to adjust instruction and provide targeted support where needed.
Impact
The impact of the Sounds-Write phonics program at Eastbury Community School, is evident in the progress our students have made in their reading, writing, and spelling skills. Through systematic phonics instruction, our children have developed strong phonemic awareness. Moreover, our students demonstrate a genuine love for reading and writing, empowered by their newfound literacy skills. The Sounds-Write program has not only equipped our students with essential foundational skills but has also laid the groundwork for their future academic success and lifelong love of learning.
Key Concepts
At Eastbury Community School Primary, we teach phonics using a linguistic phonics programme called Sounds-Write. Sounds-Write is a very highly structured, multi-sensory approach to teaching children to read and spell. Its structure and simplicity makes it a programme accessible to all learners and helps them to make excellent progress with their reading and spelling.
The four key concepts children are taught are
1. Letters are symbols that represent sounds
2. Sounds can be spelled using 1, 2, 3 or 4 letters
3. The same sound can be spelled in different ways
4. The same spelling can represent different sounds
The three key skills children need to master are:
1. Blending
2. Segmenting
3. Phoneme Manipulation
Sounds-Write Across the School
Children in our Early Years Foundation Stage begin with the Initial Code where they practise all three key skills whilst learning the 1:1 sound-spelling correspondences and securing their understanding of key concept 1.
This builds up confidence and phonic knowledge in a truly reversible system, enabling them to decode and encode a wide range of words and sentences. At first, children learn to read and write simple one syllable words with a CVC structure.
Complexity of word structure systematically builds up so that children apply their code knowledge to monosyllabic words with up to six sounds.
Once the initial code has been mastered, children continue to practise all three key skills whilst learning the extended code which explores key concepts 2, 3 and 4. Learning of the extended code is a lifelong process – we all continue to develop our understanding of this code whenever we encounter new words. Whilst learning the extended code, children read and write monosyllabic and polysyllabic words at an age-appropriate level.
Support for Parents and Carers
Do you want to help your child read and write?
Sounds-Write offer a free course for parents and carers to help you get your child off to a good start!
The course will show you how to:
- help your child take their first steps in reading and spelling.
- understand how to help your child build, write and read simple CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words.
- understand how to correct your child when they make a mistake in their reading or writing simple words.
- have a basic understanding of how phonics works.
Click Here: JOIN THE COURSE NOW!
Other Information
ECS Phonics Policy
Phonics and Early Reading Policy
