When do children usually finish phonics programmes in primary school?

[MaisieMolly]

Just interested in experience really, when did you child finish their schools phonics programme, and what was the programme? And what comes next?

My y1 child has just finished read write inc at May half term. The what comes next seems to be a lot less structured so I’m a bit lost with how to keep supporting!

I think it's the end of Y2 - my Y2 DC still does phonics lessons but complains about them being boring because he's reading chapter books at home. Our programme is Little Wandle.

Make sure DC has library books. Supporting isn’t just boring phonics. Branch out into good books for young readers and poems. Read to him as well to increase vocabulary.

Typically they finish at the end of Y1. The Y1 phonics screening check is taking place this week and this will inform teachers for Y2. Those that do not pass will have continued phonics sessions during Y2 and will take the test again at the end of Y2.

Most schools will focus on spelling rules in Y2. They should now have the building blocks to help them be better at writing and reading (in theory!).

I think my DC finished phonics by the end of Y1, although children who are struggling with phonics may continue for longer.

At my DC’s primary school, children who’ve finished the phonics scheme get moved onto Accelerated Reader for their reading books, which is more about comprehension than about decoding the words.

As far as supporting them goes, once my DC had got to the point where they could manage all the basic phonics stuff, I was focused more on trying to get them reading for enjoyment, as it’s a lot easier to get them motivated to practice reading if they’re given access to something they enjoy reading.

So in addition to listening to them reading their school reading books, I’d suggest continue reading to your child, take them to libraries, and try to introduce them to a range of authors and genres to help them figure out what sort of thing they like reading.

Ours do daily phonics lessons until the end of year 2. They are split into groups by ability (and occasionally have a few year 3 kids join too).

Once they’ve learnt all the sounds, they focus on comprehension, spelling, and more general grammar.

They move off the reading scheme according to ability, with most leaving year 2 as free readers.

Phonics, when introduced, was meant to be the magic bullet to eliminate poor reading skills. It tends to bore some dc and a varied diet is much better.

Our school uses RWI. When they finish the phonics programme (end of grey group) they roll them onto RWI comprehension which is another structured programme, just different to phonics. Gradually they focus more on spelling, punctuation, grammar - more like an English lesson than phonics if that makes sense!

Ours aim for them all to finish grey by the end of Y2 so it sounds like yours will be one of the first to roll off - perhaps thats why it seems unstructured right now. Mine finished during Y2 with the bulk of the class so I'm not sure how they managed the faster finishers - perhaps the faster Y1's joined with the Y2's for comprehension, I'm not sure.

From Y3 in English ours don't mix up years for English, the whole class does broadly the same work, but there are 3 levels of difficultly that the children choose depending on where they are at.

DD moved onto chapter books at Xmas, but continues to have phonics lessons at the moment. The year is split into a few groups, so those who havw accelerated get more stimulated, and those who need more help get it too.

Reading is more about developing fluency and tone, and ensuring comprehension skills for us right now, as well as ensuring a love of reading (even if it does mean the Rainbow bloody fairy books).

She told me that she for full marks in her screening yesterday (and she could see it on the teacher's scoring sheet?) , but we will have to see... (the phonics screening has been v low pressuure, and the children were largely unaware it's an official assesment as they are still so little!)

It is dependant on school and scheme, but most schools will finish 'phonics' after the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, and move on to spelling rules, grammar and comprehension in that timetabled slot.

I totally agree with the people saying you can support by encouraging reading for pleasure. Once the can decode, reading becomes about developing fluency. It really helps if they can find books they enjoy, so visit the library to discover different authors and genres. Lots of children like to read series books at this age, as they enjoy the predictability and familiarity.

Basically, just enjoy reading now. The hardest bit is over in terms of teaching them how to read. Now it's about honing those skills. The children who hone them the quickest tend to be those who gain real pleasure from reading and practise it every day to the point where it's no longer a chore, they actually want to read.