Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning
SPELLING IN THE EARLY YEARS
AT OUR LADY OF LOURDES CATHOLIC SCHOOL
What is Sounds-Write?
At Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, we use a proven Systematic Synthetic Phonics program called Sounds-Write to teach phonics. This comprehensive linguistic phonics program is designed to build essential reading and spelling skills for our students. Sounds-Write begins with what children naturally learn—the sounds of their language—and teaches them how to represent these sounds in writing. It provides a complete curriculum covering the necessary skills, concepts, and code knowledge for children to become proficient readers and spellers.
What will my child learn in Sounds-Write?
In Prep, children begin their phonics journey by being introduced to the ‘Initial Code’ through daily phonics lessons. This phase focuses on the most basic sounds and their corresponding letters, which children will learn to recognise and use. These sounds are taught in a specific, structured order, allowing children to gradually build their understanding of how letters represent sounds in words. By focusing on the sounds first, children develop the ability to decode and blend them, setting a solid foundation for their future reading and spelling skills.
As children progress through Year 1 and Year 2, they extend their phonics knowledge to larger, more complex words. This is when they start to explore the ‘Extended Code,’ which introduces them to a broader range of spellings and more challenging sound patterns. The ‘Extended Code’ helps children understand how letters and combinations of letters can represent sounds in more intricate ways, such as two or more spellings creating one sound. It also explores the rules for using different spellings in different contexts (e.g., how different spelling combinations can represent the same sound, like ‘ai’ in rain and ‘ay’ in play).
This progressive approach ensures that children continuously expand their phonics knowledge, starting with the basic building blocks and moving towards more complex spelling patterns. By the time they reach the end of Year 2, they will have a well-rounded understanding of the phonetic code, which will serve as the key to becoming confident, independent readers and spellers.
When is Sounds-Write taught?
At Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, students participate in Sounds-Write sessions four times a week, each lasting 30 minutes. Every lesson is structured to ensure a balanced approach to learning, with key components that build upon one another.
The lesson begins with a Daily Review (8 minutes), where students revisit previously learned concepts. This is an important part of the session, allowing children to refresh their understanding and reinforce their phonics knowledge.
A Lesson Focus (12 minutes) follows the review, where new phonics concepts are introduced and explained. This part of the lesson ensures that students continually build their skills and expand their phonics knowledge.
Finally, students engage in Consolidation (10 minutes) through reading and dictation activities. These activities help to solidify the concepts learned during the lesson, allowing children to practice and apply their new skills in context.
How can I help my child to learn to read and spell?
School and home working together support your child’s learning journey. Here are some ways you can help at home:
- Saying the sounds
We want your child to understand that letters are symbols that represent sounds. For example, when they see the letters < m > < a > < t >, they should say the sounds /m/ /a/ /t/ and then blend them to say the word ‘mat’. It is important that they pronounce the sounds correctly, saying /m/ (not "muh") when they see the letter < m >.
You can model how to say the sounds correctly by watching this video: Sounds Pronunciation Video - Writing the spellings of the sounds
After your child says the sounds and reads the word, encourage them to write the word while saying each sound aloud. You can model this by doing the same when writing a word. - Playing games with sounds
Engage in simple games where you break down words into sounds (segmenting) and blend the sounds back together (blending). For example, ask your child to bring you a /m/ /u/ /g/ or a /s/ /i/ /t/ from around the house. This helps them understand how spoken words can be pulled apart and put back together. - Reading with your child
When reading with your child, do the usual things like discussing the story plot and characters, and predicting what will happen next. Supporting your child with regular reading practice helps them gain confidence. Your child will bring home specific reading books, called ‘decodable books’, that align with their learnt phonics.
If your child struggles while reading, you can:
- Encourage them to follow the text with their finger from left to right.
- Ask them to ‘say the sounds and read the word’.
- Help them blend the sounds together if they need additional support.
A Free Course for Parents/Carers
We encourage all parents and carers to access the free online Sounds-Write course to understand further how to support your child with reading and spelling at home. To find out more, please visit Sounds-Write Support for Parents.
If you have any questions about reading and spelling, please feel free to speak with your child’s class teacher or myself. We are always happy to help!
Please enjoy some pics from our Prep classes from their Sounds-Write Lessons this term:




