KS2 AND KS3 Autumn 2 Blog and Checklist

Phonics in KS2 and KS3: giving pupils the tools to read unfamiliar words

by Emma Woodward, Hub LeaD

Imagine arriving in an unfamiliar town. You’ve memorised ten road signs, and you recognise them when you see them. Then you reach a junction and every sign is new. Now imagine you’ve been taught ten letter–sound correspondences securely and know how to blend them. You can work out unfamiliar signs made up of the spellings you know. As you learn more of the code, you can read more of the signs and find your own way.
That’s why phonics still matters in Key Stage 2 and 3.

Every letter–sound correspondence a pupil learns and can use in blending gives them a way into more words.

For pupils who still struggle to decode, the Department for Education’s Reading Framework recommends systematic synthetic phonics, with teaching and practice matched to what pupils know.

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Teach the code pupils are missing
Start by finding out which letter–sound correspondences pupils know securely and whether they can blend them to read unfamiliar words. Teach from that point in the school’s phonics programme, give pupils frequent practice with closely matched decodable texts and check regularly that they can apply what they’ve learned to new words.

Avoid using approaches such as the Spotlight method as a substitute for systematic phonics when pupils still need to learn the code. A pupil may remember a word they’ve practised many times. To see whether their decoding is improving, give them an unfamiliar word that uses the same spelling pattern and listen to how they work it out.

Keep phonics practice age-appropriate and continue sharing rich, age-appropriate texts through class reading and discussion. A Year 5 or even a Year 8 pupil can enjoy a challenging novel with their class while practising the specific part of the code that will help them read more independently.