At The Kite Academy Trust, we teach early reading through phonics, meaning pupils are taught to understand the relationship between written symbols and sounds.  We view reading as the most essential skill a child can develop; therefore, pupils continue to receive phonics instruction until they have secured their phonetic knowledge, ensuring that no child is left behind.  Our chosen DfE-validated phonics programmes used to teach phonics are Essential Letters & Sounds (ELS) and Little Wandle Letters & Sounds, which have both been developed using the latest research and understanding of how children learn.

In both programmes, pupils are taught to read by identifying the phonemes (smallest units of sounds) and graphemes (written versions of the sound) within words.

To find out more about the Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) and Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programmes, please follow the links below:

Essential Letters & Sounds

Little Wandle Letters & Sounds