Sorry for long post.
I'm looking for advice particularly from Early Years teachers or other parents who can advise me about the speed of phonics teaching (and offer advice on dealing with my obsessive worry over this!!!! Please be gentle with me ;-) )
DD at large primary (3 class entry); they set for phonics straight after October half term. DD in bottom set. Was not really surprised as she was not writing at all in the summer before starting and took until October to write her name, but I still felt a bit worried for her (she is 5 already btw)
I gave her lots of support at home and she really has come on. Teacher has been so positive about her changed attitude (in an initial meeting in early November, she suggested problem was concentration etc and now that has massively improved apparently).
What I am frustrated about is the fact that they have not introduced any of Phase 3 phonics to this bottom set yet, whereas the top group (30 children) are doing phase 4 (!) and the middle set (another 30 kids) are currently 'revising' all the phase 3 sounds. This is common knowledge as it comes home in the newsletter every fortnight.
Bottom set are still revising phase 2. Today's letter says they will revise b ff f and l and then introduce ch and sh in the next fortnight. My DD in fact knows almost every Phase 3 digraph because I have done them with her at home. I wanted to give her as much support as possible, she was ready for them, and we have had a lot of fun doing Jolly Phonics books and games etc, phoneme frames and so on. I was also frustrated that the school weren't teaching them to her (I know, I know, I might get slated for doing this!!). I also know, however, that at school she is very uncommunicative about what she knows and doesn't work as fast as other children. So she continues along in that group and I'm pretty sure her teacher does not know what she knows.
Do I accept their approach and accept that she won't reach the end of phase 3 until well into or the end of the summer term??? I feel she has been marked down as not able and feel frustrated that she is not covering what 2/3 of the year group of 90 have already done and what she can do at home? I have tried to raise this with the teacher but I wasn't very clear about my concerns. I also don't want to come across as undermining in any way or pushy and also naive - I know my DD doesn't sail through things but she can do more than what is being covered - writing sentences at home with support, for example. She can also write many words that contain digraphs (train, chips, goat, a random few I can think of!).
Am I making a fuss over nothing? Let them teach her at their own pace? Or should I try again to express my worries?
My online research tells me that not to have even started phase 3 by February is not the norm? That many YR teachers have covered all 44 (?) phonemes by Christmas? Am I right about this?
FWIW I am also a teacher, but secondary English, not primary.
Genuinely grateful for insights / advice.
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Slow to start teaching Phase 3 phonics in Reception?
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zzzz31 · 01/02/2019 22:53
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