1. Welcome. Please sit four to a table.
Phonics Café
Welcome. Please sit four to a table.

2. What is ph-o-n-i-c-s? Words made up of sounds called phonemes.
Phonemes -single letters, pairs, threes
e.g. c-a-t, f-i-sh, l-igh-t.
26 letters, 44 sounds, over 150 ways to spell them!
s – sun, hiss, horse, circle, face.
Pure, clear sounds. No ‘uh’.
Fred Talk.
Special Friends – two or three letters, one sound.

3. What is the Phonics Screening Check (PSC)?
The phonics screening check is designed to confirm whether pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard. It will identify pupils who need extra help to improve their decoding skills.
DfE

4. All schools administer the PSC in the same week of June.
Two sections: section 1 – simple word structures, section 2 – more complex word structures.
The check consists of 20 real words and 20 pseudo-words (nonsense words) that a pupil reads aloud to the teacher.
The check is not timed – children work at their own pace.
Pseudo-words are shown with a picture of an alien so children do not mistake it for a real word.

5. Results and Reporting Threshold of 32/40 – this may change.
Summer-term report.
Opportunity to re-take check in Year 2 if threshold not met in Year 1.

6. Section 1

7. Section 2

8. Focus Sounds

9. Special Friends (digraphs)
ee th/ck creep thick

10. Special Friends (digraphs) with alternative pronunciationsow
blow cow
klow

11. Special Friends (digraphs) with alternative spellingsay
play rain
slaig

12. Special Friends who like to chat (split digraphs)
a-e cake i-e kite u-e cube, rude o-e robe, joke

13. Special Friends
tion attention
cious suspicious
ire fire
ure sure

14. Tricky (red) words Do not follow the usual spelling rules.
Cannot be sounded out in full.
Say the word.
Attempt to sound out.
Locate the ‘tricky’ part.
Say in an angry voice.

15. Phonics Screening Check

16. How you can help! Model how to blend.
Point out Special Friends before blending.
Read the RWI Storybooks.
Green words /Red Words.
Make up words (nonsense) using Special Friends and split sounds.
Use parts of real words e.g. foll in follow.
Change a sound/letter e.g. hair > jair
Play Fred games.

17. Set Sounds Book at home
New sounds
Examples
Review

18. At Palace Wood … Daily phonics. Groupings. On-going assessments.
Sounds with examples sent home.
Two storybooks sent home each week.
Practise checks.

19. Useful websites