At King’s Cliffe Endowed Primary School, we are committed to ensuring that every child develops strong foundations in reading.

We use Monster Phonics, a DfE-validated systematic synthetic phonics programme, to teach phonics in Early Years and Key Stage 1. Through a structured and progressive approach, children develop the phonic knowledge and skills they need to become confident and increasingly fluent readers.

Supporting Early Reading with Monster Phonics

Monster Phonics uses colour coding and character cues to support children in recognising and remembering different sounds and spelling patterns.

Through regular, systematic phonics teaching, children learn to:

• Recognise sounds: Children learn the sounds represented by individual letters and groups of letters.
• Blend sounds to read: Children learn to blend sounds together to read words, developing increasing fluency and confidence.
• Build their phonic knowledge: Teaching progresses systematically from simpler sounds and patterns towards more complex ones.

Find out more about Monster Phonics

Why Reading Matters

Learning to read is fundamental to children's education. Secure reading skills enable children to access learning across the curriculum and open the door to an increasingly rich range of books, ideas and experiences.

We also want children to develop a positive relationship with reading and experience the enjoyment, curiosity and imagination that books can bring.

Fully Decodable Books

Children learning phonics are provided with fully decodable reading books that are matched to their current phonic knowledge.

This gives children opportunities to practise the sounds and spelling patterns they have already been taught and apply their developing skills successfully when reading whole texts.

Children are encouraged to use their phonic knowledge to decode unfamiliar words rather than relying on pictures or guessing from context. As their knowledge and fluency develop, they are able to read an increasingly wide range of texts confidently and independently.

Monster Phonics decodable books

Supporting Phonics at Home

Parents and carers play an important part in supporting children's developing reading skills. Monster Phonics provides resources to help families understand the approach used in school and practise phonics at home.

The Parent's Guide to Monster Phonics includes practical advice about reading with your child, practising sounds and supporting spelling:

Monster Phonics Parent Webinar

Further information and resources for parents and carers are also available here:

Monster Phonics – Support for Parents

You can also find our recommended reading lists below, providing further opportunities for children to enjoy books and develop their reading at home.