EYFS and Year One

Our Early Years and Year One have phonics taught daily using FFT ‘Success For All Phonics’ programme (SFA Phonics). SFA Phonics is a government validated Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) programme.  The children learn a new sound daily and teachers follow the programme plans and use the programme’s resources. To support children, there is a fun daily Alphabet Chant that includes dynamic actions and each GPC (Grapheme Phoneme Correspondence) we teach includes an engaging picture and a mnemonic phrase that help the children link the grapheme to the phoneme that is being presented.

The teacher adds to their phonics working wall, using the SFA Phonics Picture Sound Card Wall Set cards. As well as the daily phonics lesson, the children are also given opportunities within their child led activities to apply their skills.

SFA Phonics resources are used within each lesson, including picture sound cards, green words (phonically decodable words) and red words (common exception words). Picture Sound mats are available at all times for the children and used within all other lessons in order to consolidate their phonics learning.

To support both teachers and children, phonics lessons follow a consistent daily structure. This consistent approach enables lessons to be taught with pace as everybody understands the routine and what is expected. The 25 minute lesson plan follows the same basic sequence each day:

• Review previously learnt GPCs
• Teach, practise and apply the new GPC

Phonics vocabulary is shared and taught to the children, this includes words such as: graphemes, phonemes, digraphs, trigraphs, split diagraphs and common exception words as detailed in the SFA Phonics programme plans.

SFA Phonics provides a comprehensive set of phonics assessment materials and the children are assessed every half term using the FFT Reading Assessment Programme as well as frequent formative assessment opportunities. SFA Phonics includes consolidation weeks to respond to any gaps in children’s knowledge and interventions and booster groups can be used in order to target children who need more specific sound input.  

Year 2

The children who did not pass the phonics screening check in Year 1 have separate phonics interventions with an adult using SFA Phonics resources and lesson plans. This is in order to target specific areas with each child. FFT’s reading tutoring programme (The Lightning Squad) is also used to deliver catch-up support and additional teaching.

Home Learning

For their home learning, some children are given picture sound mats to practice particular sounds, as well as alien words to segment and blend (within Year One). They are also given specific green and red words to practice and read, these are given out weekly in line with the SFA Phonics shared reader book that is sent home.

Further information on SFA Phonics can be found on the Parent Portal at: https://parents.fft.org.uk/ including helpful videos.