WHAT THE GUIDANCE SAYS

Sound it out,
then blend.

Phonics teaches children that letters are a code for sounds.

An adult and a young child seen from behind, sitting together on a sofa by a window, sharing a small picture book — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Pure sounds
Left to right
Books that match
Small habits for reading together

The DfE says daily lessons should begin as soon as children start Reception. At home, the Department for Education's advice is simple: say the sounds cleanly, blend them from left to right, and read books your child can actually decode.

Updated 14 October 2026

THE SHORT ANSWER

Help them decode,
not guess.

Children learn the code at school.
Home is where they practise it.

SOUNDS

Say them pure

The DfE reading framework says it is easier to blend /s/ /p/ /or/ /t/ than /suh/ /puh/ /or/ /tuh/ to read 'sport'. Keep consonants short and clean.

Try a reading moment

BLENDING

Left to right

With an unfamiliar word, the DfE leaflet for parents says to sound it out and blend from left to right rather than looking at the pictures to guess.

How to help

BOOKS

Read books that match

Schools send home 'decodable' books written with the letters and sounds your child has learnt, so they can work out every word.

Why it matters

A QUICK READING MOMENT

What is happening
on the page?

Pick a moment that often comes up when reading together to see what the guidance suggests. The bar shows how much the guidance suggests stepping in.

Based on Department for Education guidance for parents and schools. Your child's teacher can tell you how their school's phonics programme does things.

Reading moment

Choose a momentThey read the book easilyThey meet a word they don't knowThey guess from the pictureYou say 'suh', 'puh', 'tuh'Most words are too hard

They read the book easilyRead it again

Rereading is good. The national curriculum says Year 1 pupils should reread these books to build up fluency and confidence in word reading.

They meet a word they don't knowSound and blend

Encourage them to sound out the word and blend the sounds from left to right. Once they have read it, talk about what it means.

They guess from the pictureBack to the letters

The DfE advice for parents is to blend the sounds rather than look at the pictures to guess. Decodable books are designed so they don't need to.

You say 'suh', 'puh', 'tuh'Clip the sounds

Avoid adding the extra 'uh'. Clean, short sounds such as /s/ and /p/ are much easier for a child to blend into a word.

Most words are too hardAsk for a match

Books sent home should match the letter-sound links your child can already decode. Ask the teacher for a book with the right level of phonics.

Sources: STA, Phonics screening check: information for parents; DfE, The reading framework; national curriculum in England, English programmes of study.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Most children pass,
and phonics pays off.

One figure from this year's Year 1 check,
one from a review of 228 studies.

82%

Pupils meeting the expected standard

Up from 80% in 2025, and 89% by the end of Year 2. Disadvantaged pupils were at 68% in Year 1, against 86% for other pupils.

YEAR 1 CHECK · DfE 2026

+5 months

Average extra progress from phonics

The Education Endowment Foundation rates the evidence as high, from 228 studies. It notes phonics improves reading accuracy but not necessarily comprehension.

IMPACT · EEF

England phonics results published by the Department for Education on 8 October 2026. The DfE does not publish school-level results for the check.

A cloth school book bag with a slim early reading book and a small reading record notebook on a hallway bench — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

FOUR HABITS TO TRY

Little and often,
at home.

None of this needs special materials. It is about backing up what your child is learning at school with the books they bring home.

Point out the sounds
When you read together, highlight the sounds. Teaching usually starts with single letters such as s, a and t, then moves to pairs such as ee, ch and ck.
Keep the sounds clean
Say /m/, not 'muh'. The reading framework says avoiding the extra sound makes blending easier.
Read the book bag book
The decodable book from school is matched to what your child knows. Let them read it to you, then read it again.
Use the reading record
Most schools use a reading record so teachers and parents can share what a child has enjoyed and found tricky.

WHY THE BOOK MATTERS

A book they can
decode, every word.

English uses 26 letters for 44 or so sounds, and the DfE says it has more than 70 common sound-spelling links. Decodable books follow the order the school teaches them in, so a child never meets a spelling they have not learnt yet.

The reading framework says schools should help parents understand that books sent home should match what children can already decode, and that guessing from pictures, first letters or context should not be needed. Sharing other stories aloud still matters too.

Wooden letter tiles spelling a short word on a kitchen table, with a child's hand sliding one tile into place — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Questions

Questions people ask

What is systematic synthetic phonics?

It is the way schools in England teach reading: children learn the sounds that letters and letter groups make, in a planned order, and blend them from left to right to read words. Daily sessions start in Reception.

What is the Year 1 phonics screening check?

A short check in June with 40 words in two sections of 20, mixing real words and pseudo-words. Pseudo-words come with a picture of an imaginary creature, so children know not to look for a real word.

Do I need to prepare my child for the check?

The DfE leaflet for parents does not ask for special preparation. It suggests encouraging a love of books, highlighting sounds when you read and helping your child sound out and blend unfamiliar words.

What happens if my child does not pass?

The teacher shares the score in the second half of the summer term, and the school should tell you what support it is putting in place. Children who have not met the standard re-take the check in Year 2.

Why does my child bring home such simple books?

They are decodable books, written with the letters and sounds your child has been taught, so they can read every word themselves. The national curriculum says Year 1 pupils should reread them to build fluency.

Sound it out,
then blend.