EYFS and KS1:
Being able to read is the most important skill a student will learn. Reading has far-reaching implications for lifelong confidence and well-being. We are aware that learning to read can be challenging for some children, though many learn very quickly. An independent review of reading undertaken by the government concluded that:
“High quality phonic work should be the prime means for teaching students to read.”
Sir Jim Rose, The Rose Review of Reading 2006.
With this in mind, we launched Essential Letters and Sounds at Great Rollright in October 2025. Essential Letters and Sounds is a synthetic phonics program that provides a systematic approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling. Essential Letters and Sounds is fully compatible with the broad and rich curriculum available at Great Rollright School. It has improved phonics learning enormously!
What is Synthetic Phonics?
Synthetic phonics is a way of teaching children to read. It teaches children how sounds are represented by written letters. Children are taught to read words by blending these sounds together to make words.
For example, they will be taught that the letters ‘m-a-t’ blend together to make ‘mat’. A synthetic phonics programme, such as ELS, is a structured approach to teaching these sounds in a specific order to gradually build children’s learning. It is used daily during Reception and Year 1 to teach all the sounds in the English language.
How is ELS taught in schools?
With ELS, there is a daily phonics lesson in which the teacher introduces a new sound or reviews sounds learned earlier in the week. This is shown to the class on the whiteboard.
Children learn the letters that represent the sounds. They are then asked to read words and sentences with the new sounds in. Children will also practise writing the letters that represent the sounds.
Click on the picture below for a parent’s guide to ELS, which includes the order the sounds are taught and how to pronounce the sounds to support your child.
Below is the ELS progression map
KS2:
Our intent, implementation and impact statement for the teaching of reading
As a school, we have decided to produce our own termly reading newsletter, which is packed full of reading ideas and useful information. They can be found here, alongside any other reading-related enrichment activities we take part in as a school.
You can find a useful list of ways to enjoy reading with your child by following this link: ten-top-tips