Any phonics and reading afterschool clubs or summer camps in London?

[javaprogrammer]

I do not know how to teach phonics and sound blending, so I need a club or summer camp to help getting my 3.5 year-old up to speed. The nursery is not academic and still playing all the time. My child only knows single-letter sounds and cannot read CVC words yet.

I see summer programs like
https://www.antlearning.co.uk/programmes/accelerated-reading-programme/
https://www.freereaders.co.uk/Reader-programs

Aware of anything similar in SW or W London?

@javaprogrammer If your child knows their single letter sounds now then there's no need to 'get her up to speed' as she is ahead already.
In the preschool year, that's when Nurseries usually introduce the single letter sounds (usually one per week). Once they start Reception, the year after, they then start phase 2 phonics which will be all the single letters and some digraphs and also begin to segment and blend to read short CVC words.

If you want your child to be reading the CVC because you are applying for 4+ assessments - then there is plenty of time for that too. Slow and steady is the best approach at this age.
If you send me a DM I can explain more.

@MyTwoDads
If a child learns graphemes and sound blending in reception, how is it possible they can read a book by Y1? Others comment their children can read a novel by Y2, it doesn't add up.

@javaprogrammer it most certainly does add up if your have an understanding of phonics and teaching English.

To cut a long story short:
*Reception autumn term = single letter sounds, double consonants (eg ll, zz, ff) and ch/sh/th/ck.
*Reception Spring term = vowel digraphs (eg ai, oo, oi)
*Reception summer term = consolidation of everything taught, longer words and suffixes (eg. -ed, ing)
This then allows the children to be able to write almost any word phonetically eg coat and then boan (instead of bone as this is an alternative spelling of the oa sound) and rain and then plai (because they haven't yet learnt -ay making the /ai/ sound)

*When they get to Year 1, the alternative sounds are taught and it is definitely trickier to get to grips with the different ways to write a sound eg /ai/ can also be written /a-e/ (cake) /ay/ (day) /ea/ (steak) /eigh/ (eight) /ey/ (prey).

Year 2 then moves over to teaching more spelling rules than explicit phonics.

From Reception the children are also taught the high frequency/tricky words (words that just need to be learnt because they are phonetic) such as 'what' 'was' 'she' 'has'.

All this steady structured approach enables children to learn to read and write independently. Most children will be able to ready longer books from the middle of Year 1. My son is currently in Y1 and reading Turquoise level books which is slightly above age expectations. So, by Y2 it is very possible that some children will be on free readers - not all children because as we know children are unique and learn at different rate - but the majority should be independent readers by Y2.
Sorry for the long reply!! 😝

Just read to your child at home. Some children love phonics, some never understand phonics or word blending and some learn to read by sight. Some children happily read a book in Y2, some don’t. And that’s all ok. Just read with your child everyday. Point out words on the back of the cereal pack, on the high street, on the motorway… words are all around you. Help your child understand them organically. Putting a 3.5 year old into classes is too early. Nursery is all about playing. So is Reception. They’re learning while they’re playing. Your child has got many years of school ahead of them, just trust the process.

I am looking at Oxford reading/writing schemes such as Read Write Inc and Floppy Phonics (Read with Oxford). My goal is to get my child up to major graphemes and recognising CVC words in 4 months

But why are you trying to do this? There’s absolutely no need, and it will make no difference to their outcomes long term. They will learn this in reception. If you try to teach it all now then either you’ll confuse and bore them and put them off learning it, or they will be bored in reception. There’s no advantage to teaching them phonics now, which is why you won’t find summer camps etc trying to teach this.

At this age sending your child to a camp for reading is likely a bad idea for social reasons. Most children thrive on more time with their parents this young.

Spend time showing them how to blend two letters together to make the correct sound, so don’t start with a CVC word like cat, just teach them that a and t make an at sound together and work from there. It doesn’t have to be on a timetable, give them time to try and experiment.

Only when they can blend two letters together should you move on to CVC.

There is no point giving them reader books before they can manage CVC sounds and worksheets or books are more boring than you teaching them directly. Work through different common two letter combinations of a consonant and a vowel (this is too early for blending consonants) like at an ba ca da and so on at first.

She's 3! As a teacher for many years with lots of Early Years experience for the love of all that is good I'm going to say you need to chill the fuck out.

She isn't behind, she doesn't need clubs or camps or to catch up she needs to play because that's what 3 year olds need!

Ok, maybe I should take your advice and tell the WUS 4+ assessors about chilling the fuck out, in a few months

I assume by that comment you are looking at private schools.
Even private schools mostly follow the national curriculum which is starting to learn phonics in Reception year.
Children don't need to learn it before.
That's what Reception is FOR.
The skills before Reception you need to teach your child are things like being able to listen and follow instructions and rules, independently using the toilet, independently eating lunch (if a packed lunch they need to know how to open packets), being able to dress and undress themselves, doing their shoes up, taking turns and sharing....all things like that.
Even in a private school that's what the teacher want from the children.

4+ assesments are play based. Even if your child can read they will do phonics in Reception as part of the Early Years curriculum.

It's worrying that you don't seem to have much understanding about what a 3 year old should be doing.

It seems you don't have a clue about what top school assessments are like.

Last year was the first time WUS held a 4+ assessment. I prepared 5 children for the assessments and you only need to know CVC words - nothing more. As I said, you have plenty of time to get there. Lots of parents fed back to me, so I do know the expectations and it sounds as if you're doing ok if your child knows the single sounds already.

‘The nursery is not academic and still playing all the time.’ That’s a good thing though! Play = learning and fun.
Why the rush?

@MyTwoDads There are rumours that WUS asks the children to write their names or draw pictures of their families etc. Truth or myth?

Have a look at your messages!

@javaprogrammer lol that happens in every 4+ assessments! All of them will ask the children to draw a picture (some leave it up to the child, some say what to draw) and then write their name.
Depending on the age of the child (birth month) they may or may not be able to do this well. They would expect the autumn children to be able to write their names (Sep-Dec) and the summer borns to have a good go at it or at the least recognise their name.

It sounds like you don't know what the 4+ assessments comprise of. (My Instagram has lots of FAQs and advice for 4+ and 7+ parents, I'll send you a link in a DM). It's important you know what the expectations are so you know to aim for.

I’m going to assume your rudeness to others is a result of (unnecessary) levels of stress over the 4 plus assessments. And for the sake of your child, who does not need the pressure you seem willing to impose I’ll give you some advice.

Unlike the 7 and 11 plus, schools are not looking for knowledge or attainment at 4 plus. What they are looking for is a child’s capacity to learn. That is why the assessments are in groups and play based.

My DD went to an ordinary local nursery. We did no teaching or tutoring. When she attended assessments we told her they were playgroups she was trying out to see if they were fun, and never once hinted that she was being judged. She went in calmly and had a lot of fun. She then got offers from all the schools we applied to, including that one in North London that people would walk over broken glass and give away a kidney in order to get their kids into.

She got in because she is naturally bright and curious and the head of the school we chose told us later that she stood out because she was helpful and kind to other kids, good at listening and engaging, and chatty and expressive. Those “skills” came from playing and spending lots of time playing with us and others. You do not need to teach your child to read. You need to ensure they are curious and engaged. That is not something tutoring and sending them to summer camps does.

Yes some kids are tutored at that age but are you aware that assessors look for that and try to weed those kids out? Because learning through being forced to learn is not the same as a child who actively wants to learn and the schools want the latter.

That's cuz pre school is still largely play based I know some are not but I know from my experience it's mainly play based. TBH the main school readiness skills are nothing to do with knowing letters and reading. Why did you choose that pre school as I know some do have a more academic focused approach but largely its learning through play. Please don't put your kid in classes all summer enjoy the time you have with them while they are still little also it will be absolutely miserable for the child they will be over learning before they even make it to school. Play based learning is so important for children

Had no idea what a 4+ assessment is until I googled it but it appears not to be about academics anyway.
This is what I found
The 4+ assessment is an informal, play-based school readiness evaluation, primarily used for Reception entry into independent schools. It typically lasts about an hour, focusing on social interaction, communication, independence, and motor skills, rather than academic memorization. Children are often observed in small groups by teachers to assess their listening, engagement, and behavior.

We have done this starting at 3 and sound in a similar place to you.

I am happy with that and it’s a good start on most other children so don’t worry.

They are expected to write their name but the legibility of that is questionable for my son 🤨

We have the read write inc packs and the PGP workbooks. Both really good.

I find that giving him the letters and asking him to make the word is as far as we can get atm. He cannot read the cvc, sound blend yet but can recognise first and last sounds.

And we also live next to a top private. It’s not as dramatic as your making it sound. They will want to see basic school readiness, attitude and ability to follow instructions and want to identify their strengths and weaknesses. So for my son that’s building, problem solving, numbers, weaknesses are handwriting / drawing.

I love “still playing all the time at 3.5yo”

Hurry up OP, most of us have got our kids working in the mills or the mines by age 4!

in truth my dd was writing quite nicely and sounding out words at this age.

My son on the other hand was miles behind

My son age 7 is now a lovely reader in Y2 - still not probably private school standard but it is astonishing how quickly he has move from stumbling on basic phonics to reading sentences with expression (not sure his comprehension is always perfect). Yesterday he was reading and we ended up discussing the difference between the definition of intuition and instinct. I thought, “how is this the little boy who couldn’t even write his name when he started reception!”

Good luck to you and your dc, whatever you decide to do about tutoring!

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