Initial letter sounds, blending cvc words, national expectations

[PeanutButterOnly]

Hi, just wondering what is the national expectation for age at which a child should know a) all initial letter sounds and use them in writing b) able to read and write CVC words? Just wanting to check for my 4 year old. Thanks in advance.

Change that from ’should’ to ’would ’. There is no ’should’ imo. Am just interested in what is average to check that I should not be too concerned!!

'Initial letter sounds' is a term left over from the bad old days when children were not taught phonics in a particularly systematic way. It has the meaning of 'the first sound in a word', which I'm sure isn't what you really mean.

In a good phonics programme children are systematically taught the 44(ish) sounds of which English words are made up; usually starting with one way to represent each sound and then the alternative ways that sounds can be represented. Many programmes start by teaching something like s,a,t,p,i & n, and use them for writing and reading immediately. So your question is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string! However, children should have been taught most of the common ways to represent sounds by the end of their 2nd year of instruction, but most will have been writing CVC words from quite early on (e.g satpin will give you the potential for sat, sit, pin, nip, tin, ant etc. after a week or so of instruction).

I hope you're not worried about your 4y old's progress!

In reception children are "expected" to

Writing: children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.

Reading: children read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also read some common irregular words. They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read.

Thanks mrz - not too worried but am wanting to check because with his elder sister I was v. laid back and then got a shock when they said she needed support with reading and writing early in Yr1.

He's doing RWI and today they did 'y'. He knows around the 25 sounds (one way to represent them) and a few of the sounds made from two letters i.e he is remembering what he's been taught as he knew only a few on entry to Reception. He can sometimes blend CVC words (just starting) and can write them with support. The teacher did mark him on the border for needing support with literacy but he is August-born so tbh I was surprised at that.

Thanks also maizieD!