We’re delighted to announce that as of January 2023, we are now offering a phase 1 ONLY membership aimed at nurseries and preschools in addition to our schools programme, to enable them to deliver phase 1 phonics with ease. We’ve had lots of emails from practitioners at preschool settings, saying that they really love our phonics programme, but as their children are of nursery age, have no need of the phase 2, 3, 4 and 5 programme.
With this in mind, we have added another membership level to our already very affordable school memberships, offering the phase 1 planning and resources at a reduced price. Phase 1 members will only be able to access the phase 1 planning and resources, and will not be able to access any additional phases, on-demand phonics training, intervention programme or decodable texts – these will remain as part of the school membership.
What does phase 1 phonics include?
Phase 1 phonics is the first phase of the Letters and Sounds programme, produced by the DfE in 2007.
Phase 1 phonics focuses on developing children’s listening skills and awareness of the sounds around them. It involves activities such as listening walks, where children listen for different sounds in their environment, and sound hunts, where they look for objects that make specific sounds. Children also learn to identify and discriminate between different sounds, such as those made by animals, musical instruments, and everyday objects.
Phase 1 phonics does not involve teaching children how to read and write. Its main goals are to help children develop their phonological awareness (the understanding that words are made up of sounds) and to lay the foundation for future reading and spelling instruction.
During phase 1 phonics, children are taught to listen attentively and to discriminate between different sounds. They are also taught to speak clearly and to use their voices to communicate. This is an important foundation for learning to read and write later on.
How to teach phase 1 phonics
- Start by introducing children to the different sounds that make up words.
- Help children develop their listening skills by playing simple sound games and activities, such as listening to and identifying different sounds in their environment.
- Encourage children to experiment with making different sounds using their voice and mouth, and show them how to combine these sounds to make words.
- Use everyday objects and actions to help children learn about sounds and words. For example, you could say the word “banana” as you hand children a banana, or say the word “jump” as you jump up and down.
- As children’s listening and attention skills improve, begin introducing them to the different letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make. You can use alphabet books, flashcards, and other resources to help with this.
- Encourage your child to practice blending and segmenting sounds in words,
If the above sounds a little daunting, then we can definitely help!
Phase 1 planning and resources – done for you!
We have created a tried and tested phase 1 phonics scheme, based on the progression in the Letters and Sounds framework – ideal for those who are perhaps new to phonics, or those looking for fresh ideas. Our phase 1 programme is perfect for key group teaching or an impromptu session when you have a spare 10 minutes before lunch. Packed full of fun songs, games and stories to fully engage young learners, our phase 1 plans and resources are the essential tool for nurseries and pre-schools.
The good news is, you don’t have to sign up and pay for our entire programme if you are only teaching phase 1! Our phase 1 specific membership is designed for preschools and nurseries to access high quality phase 1 teaching and learning ideas, that can be used daily, with over 50 phase 1 phonics lessons and accompanying resources., without the need to sign up for our entire phonics programme.
The easy-to-read plans require minimal resources, if any at all, and can easily be used by every staff member. Each week of our phase 1 phonics scheme comprises of 5 lessons that contain activities, songs and games. There are 10 weeks in total for phase 1, plus a phase 1 continuation guide to be used as long as is required.
Save hours of preparation time and get simple, fresh, tried and tested ideas that we know children love.
Fancy a closer look? Sign up for 14 days free access today – no card details taken, or obligation to sign up. Your free access will naturally access should you decide not to sign up.
