Supersonic Phonic Friends!

At our school, this is led by Miss Stout

The Government strongly recommend the use of synthetic phonics when teaching early literacy skills to children. Synthetic phonics is simply the ability to convert a letter or letter group into sounds that are then blended together into a word.

Here at Flamstead, we are using the 'Supersonic Phonic Friends' (SSPF) programme to get children off to a flying start with their English.  SSPF is a method of learning based upon letter sounds and phonics, and we use it to aid children in their reading and writing.

Reading opens the door to learning. A child who reads a lot will become a good reader. A good reader will be able to read more challenging material. A child who can read more challenging material is a child who will learn. The more a child learns, the more he or she will want to find out.

The children are assessed regularly and grouped according to their ability. They will work with a SSPF trained teacher or teaching assistant for all of their learning.  All staff in school have been trained to use this programme.

Reading

When using SSPF to read the children will:

• Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple prompts
• Learn to read words using sound blending (Blend it with Ben)
• Read lively stories featuring words they have learnt to sound out
• Show that they comprehend the stories by answering questions about the texts

Writing

When using SSPF to write the children will:

• Learn to write the letter/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds
• Learn to write words by saying the sounds and graphemes (Segment with Seb)

Talking

When using SSPF the children will also work in pairs (turn, talk and tell):

• To answer questions
• To take turns talking and listening to each other
• To give positive praise to each other

Blending

Help your child learn to read words by sounding-blending at home - eg. c-a-t = cat, sh-o-p = shop. Children learn to read words by blending the letter-sounds that they have learnt and are shown in an attachment below.

Help your child to say the pure sounds ('m' not 'muh', 's' not 'suh' etc.) as quickly as they can, and then blend the sounds together to say the whole word.

Reading Books Sent Home

Children in Early Years who are learning the first 44 letter sounds and are not yet blending fluently will bring home picture books and a library book for you to read with them.

Once children can blend fluently and know the first 44 sounds, they will bring home phonics reading books which are pitched just below their ability level so that they can be successful readers at home.

Finally, don't worry if your child is struggling at first with their sounds and words, they will get there in their own time. If you have time (we know it is very precious!), we would urge you to try and read stories to your child before they go to bed. This will help develop a wider vocabulary which makes a vast difference to their quality of writing but it will also encourage them to enjoy a good story. Once you have done this a few times, you could then help them to read some sections or words to help them feel like confident and able readers.