Phonics

Early Reading & Phonics

At Roby Park Primary, high‑quality phonics is a key priority because it lays the foundations for children to become confident, fluent readers and lifelong learners.

In Reception and Key Stage 1, we place strong emphasis on daily phonics and building children’s phonological awareness. These early years are crucial for developing accurate decoding, fluency, comprehension and—just as importantly—a love of books and stories.

Our Phonics Programme: Rocket Phonics (DfE‑validated)

We teach phonics through Rocket Phonics, a validated systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programme. It systematically teaches the alphabetic code, blending and segmenting, tricky/common exception words, and prosody, while nurturing a love of reading through story‑led lessons.

What children use:

• Target Practice Reading Books – fully decodable texts, written and illustrated by a range of authors and illustrators, precisely matched to the teaching sequence and progression.
• Digital Big Books – language‑rich stories used in lessons to introduce and revisit new grapheme‑phoneme correspondences and vocabulary in context.

Rocket Phonics complements our whole‑school approach and ensures books closely match each child’s current phonics knowledge, so every child can practise success and build confidence.

Find out more about Rocket Phonics → here.

Our Whole‑School Reading Scheme: Reading Planet

To start each child’s reading journey—and keep it growing—we have invested significantly in Rising Stars Reading Planet. In Early Years and KS1, children take home fully decodable books aligned with Rocket Phonics. As pupils move through school, Reading Planet provides a broad, engaging mix of fiction, non‑fiction and poetry to develop fluency, stamina and comprehension.

Explore Reading Planet → here.

How we make it work for every child

• Daily, structured lessons that are cumulative and revisited to secure long‑term recall.
• Regular assessment so books stay well‑matched and any gaps are identified quickly.
• Prompt keep‑up support (small‑group or 1:1) so all children can keep pace.
• Home reading routines that encourage practice and enjoyment—little and often makes a big difference.

Have questions about phonics or reading at home? Please speak to your child’s class teacher—we’re happy to help.