What is Phonics?

If you’re a parent of a young child, you’ve probably heard the word phonics everywhere. Schools talk about it constantly, children bring home sound sheets and tricky words, and suddenly you hear your child talk about digraphs and segmenting despite the fact that you have never heard or said those words before yourself!

In simple terms, phonics is the method we use to teach children how to read and write by connecting sounds to letters.

Children learn that:

• letters represent sounds

• sounds can be blended together to read words

• words can be broken apart into sounds to spell them

For example, a child learns that the letters c-a-t represent the sounds c-ah-t. Then they blend those sounds together to read the word cat.

It sounds simple — and in many ways it is — but phonics is an incredibly powerful foundation for reading.

Phonics terminology lowdown:

• phoneme - the smallest unit of sound such as the sound “ah” in cat. Sometimes referred to as “sounds”.

• grapheme - the written letter or letter group representing a phoneme such as the letter a which spells the sound “ah” as in cat. Sometimes referred to as “letter names”.

• short vowel sound - when vowels say their sound e.g “ah” as in cat or “uh” as in bus.

• long vowel sound - when vowels say their names, such as the “ay” sound in play.

• digraph - two letters making one sound, e.g. sh in ship

• trigraph - three letters making one sound, e.g. igh in night

• split digraph - a-e pattern making the long vowel sound, as in cake or shine. There are five split digraphs: a_e, e_e, i_e, o_e, u_e.

• blend - adjacent letters each retaining their sound, e.g. bl-, str-

• blending - merging phonemes to read a word

• segmenting - breaking a word into phonemes to spell

• grapheme–phoneme correspondence - GPCs, the relationship between graphemes and phonemes

• decoding - reading words by seeing a grpheme (letter), converting that into the corresponding phoneme (sound) and blending the sounds together to say the word (otherwise known as “sounding it out”!)

• encoding - spelling by segmenting the word into its phonemes (sounds) and converting that into the corresponding grapheme (letter or letters).

• onset - the initial consonant sound or cluster in a syllable

• rime - the vowel and following consonants in a syllable, e.g. -at

• alternative pronunciation - different sounds for the same grapheme, e.g. ow in cow/slow

• common exception words / tricky words / memory words / sight words - words that do not fully follow phonics rules and must be recognised by sight

• high frequency words - words that children will come across frequently so we teach these early on

• letter formation - correct handwriting of letters

• SSP or Systematic Synthetic Phonics - teaching phonics in a clear, structured, step-by-step way. Most schools in the UK teach reading through an SSP programme.

Why does all this matter so much?

Reading is the key that unlocks almost every other area of learning. A child who can read confidently can access stories, science, maths problems, instructions, information, and eventually the wider world around them. Reading opens doors.

Phonics gives children the tools to begin that journey successfully.

Without a secure understanding of phonics, learning to read becomes based on comprehension alone - trying to decifer the meaning of the sentence based on the small number of words you already know in that sentence. This is laborious and although it would mean that children were learning to read from any book, including stories they love, it can be a very frustrating process and many children give up and switch off. Phonics is a code that children can use to work out the words on the page in addition to other clues. When children understand how sounds and letters work together they suddenly have a powerful tool in their reading toolbox.

Isn’t reading more than phonics?

Yes , absolutely.

Phonics is not the whole of reading. Reading also includes:

• building fluency

• enjoying stories

• developing a love of books

• understanding vocabulary

• developing comprehension

But phonics is the starting point that helps children crack the reading code.

What does phonics teaching look like?

Phonics teaching in the UK is:

• structured

• step-by-step

• repetitive in a positive way that makes the lessons predictable, thereby reducing cognitive load

• active and engaging

Children practise recognising sounds, reading words, spelling words, and applying their learning in books.

They gradually move from simple words like:

• sat

• pin

• hop

to more complex words like:

• light

• train

• splash

Over time, these skills become automatic and fluency starts to develop.

Why do some children struggle with phonics?

Every child learns differently.

Some children pick up phonics quickly, while others need much more repetition, support, and confidence-building. Difficulties with memory, speech and language, processing speed, attention, or dyslexia can all affect how easily phonics is learned.

For some children, reading becomes emotionally loaded very early on. They begin to believe they are “bad at reading” when actually they simply need teaching that works for their brain.

This is why patient, encouraging support matters so much.

The individual journey

Phonics should never feel like pressure or performance.

The goal is not just to produce children who can read, but children who feel confident, capable, and willing to keep trying.

Learning to read is a journey. Some children sprint, some wander, some need a helping hand along the path for a little longer. That’s okay.

With the right support, encouragement, and teaching, children can grow into confident readers and confident readers gain access to a world of possibility.