Schools in the UK, and increasingly around the world, teach children to read using ‘Synthetic Phonics’. This is simply a way in which we break words down into the smallest sounds. So, the sounds in the word ‘cat’ are /c/ /a/ /t/. We are saying words in an unnatural, or synthetic way.
 

At Moorlands, we use the FFT Success for All Phonics programme to teach phonics, which has been validated by the Department of Education and meets all their requirements for the teaching of phonics in schools. Every day your child will have about a 25-minute phonics lesson where they will be taught all the skills they need to use phonics to decode words for reading, and to break words down for spelling.
 

Your child will learn to read and write using phonics because it will be taught systematically. They will learn new skills and then learn to apply them by reading texts before moving on to the next skill.
 

In many ways, you can be guided by your child. They will understand the process well and may be able to help you through it. If you aren’t confident and need more support, ask a teacher, who will happily help.