Phonics

A quick guide to phonics for parents

What is phonics?

The alphabet contains only 26 letters. Spoken English uses about 44 sounds (phonemes).

Once children begin learning sounds, they are used quickly to read and spell words. 

The phonics code breaker

Phoneme - a sound as it is said

Grapheme - a sound that is written

Digraph- two letters that work together to make the same sound

Trigraph - Three letters that work together to make the same sound

Split digraph - Two letters that work together to make the same sound, separated by another letter

To find more out about phonics please see the 'Parents Guide to Phonics' booklet below.

Sound Mats are a super useful resource. They show all the letters taught in each Phase and include pictures to help you remember how they should sound:

Fancy exploring some phonics games and resources yourself. Here is a treasure trove of websites to start you off: