How we teach

Phonics for 2 to 4 year olds, one clear stage at a time

Young children learn through play, so every session is short, varied and hands-on. Sounds come first, then blending, then reading. We use the common UK order, so what your child learns matches the phases Reception teaches. Every reader and activity uses only the sounds and tricky words from its own stage and earlier ones.

The subjects, and what each age works towards

Phonics is the thread through every session, not the whole of it. Goals are things to work towards at your child’s pace, not a checklist to pass.

Talking and listening
Vocabulary, following instructions and first sentences, built by naming everything the child does.
Age 2 works towards
Responds to their own name, names body parts and follows one-step instructions.
Stories and books
A new picture book each week, read slowly, with pauses to point, predict and join in.
Age 2 works towards
Lifts flaps, turns board-book pages, points to pictures and joins a repeated line.
Ages 3 to 4
Retells the story and predicts what happens next.
Sounds, rhymes and phonics
Listening games and rhymes first, then letter sounds and blending, in the common UK order.
Age 2 works towards
Turns to and names everyday sounds and joins in the actions for five or more rhymes.
Ages 3 to 4
Stages 1 to 3: new sounds, blending and reading simple words.
Maths through play
Matching, sorting, counting, shape, pattern and measuring with real objects, never worksheets.
Age 2 works towards
Matches identical pairs, joins finger rhymes with one and two and notices one and two without counting.
Ages 3 to 4
Counting, number recognition and simple adding.
Science and the world around us
Hands-on discovery: our senses, our bodies, how things feel, taste, smell and sound.
Age 2 works towards
Recognises themselves in a mirror and photos and names the five senses through using them.
Art, making and fine motor
Paint, dough, mark making and role play that build the hand strength writing needs later.
Age 2 works towards
Explores paint and dough freely and holds a chunky crayon.
Ages 3 to 4
Mark-making, letter formation and crafts.
Singing and music
Songs, rhythm and instruments. Keeping a beat is early practice for hearing syllables.
Age 2 works towards
Claps and stamps to a beat and joins in the hello and tidy-up songs.
Ages 3 to 4
Adds clapping syllables.
Movement and coordination
Running, stopping, balancing and action games that teach listening and body control.
Age 2 works towards
Runs and stops on a signal and washes hands with help.
Feelings and independence
Settling in, following a visual timetable and naming feelings, so the child is ready to learn.
Age 2 works towards
Separates from a parent using the goodbye routine, follows the photo timetable and names happy and sad.

Your first six weeks: All About Me

Every new child starts here. Six weeks of settling in while they learn to name themselves, their body, their senses and their feelings. Each week has one picture book and one rhyme that run through every subject.

Week 1
Hello, Me!
Book
Where's Spot? by Eric Hill
Rhyme
Clap Your Hands
Working towards
Turns to their own name, names eyes, nose and mouth, and settles after the goodbye routine.
Week 2
My Body
Book
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
Rhyme
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Working towards
Names six or more body parts, counts fingers to five and starts two-footed jumps.
Week 3
Seeing and Hearing
Book
Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Rhyme
Sleeping Bunnies
Working towards
Tells sound bottles apart by shaking, spots which object is missing and knows we see with eyes and hear with ears.
Week 4
Touch, Taste, Smell
Book
The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
Rhyme
Pat-a-cake
Working towards
Uses words like soft, hard and sweet, shares one for you and one for me, and links each sense to the body part.
Week 5
My Feelings
Book
The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas
Rhyme
If You're Happy and You Know It
Working towards
Names happy and sad, sorts by colour and uses a calm-down breath.
Week 6
Review and Observe
Book
The child's choice from Unit A
Rhyme
Every Unit A rhyme
Working towards
Revisits favourites while the tutor checks what your child can now do alone and in new settings. You join for the last 20 minutes of the final session.

Next unit: My Family and Home. We will ask for a few family and home photos.

How we track progress

Start with a baseline
A short play-based check tells us where your child is today.
Watch every session
The tutor notes what your child does alone, with help, or not yet, with dated observations and photos kept in a portfolio.
Check it carries over
Each goal is marked Not yet, Developing, Secure or Mastered. Mastered needs proof in a new setting, such as naming body parts on a different doll.
Keep you in the loop
A short handover note after each session with one highlight and one idea for home, plus a weekly home card.
Review at the end of each unit
A chat with you: two strengths, one thing to work on and what comes next.

The reading path

Age 2
Stage 0: Listening
Hears and plays with sounds in words.
Words like: c-a-t... cat
Age 3
Stage 1
Blends and reads simple CVC words.
Words like: sat, pin, dog
Age 4
Stage 2
Reads words and short sentences with digraphs and trigraphs.
Words like: chip, rain, night
Age 4
Stage 3
Reads longer words fluently.
Words like: stamp, frog, sandwich
Confident 4 to 5
Stage 4
Reads with alternative spellings.
Words like: play, cake, phone

Every sound and tricky word

Stage 0: Listening

New sounds: No letters yet. Environmental sounds, rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, voice sounds and oral blending (c-a-t... cat).
Tricky words: None
Reading goal: Hears and plays with sounds in words. (c-a-t... cat)

Stage 1

New sounds: satpinmdgockckeurhbffflllss
Tricky words: the, to, I, no, go, into
Reading goal: Blends and reads simple CVC words. (sat, pin, dog)

Stage 2

New sounds: jvwxyzzzquchshthngaieeighoaoo(book)oo(moon)arorurowoiearairureer
Tricky words: he, she, we, me, be, was, you, they, all, are, my, her
Reading goal: Reads words and short sentences with digraphs and trigraphs. (chip, rain, night)

Stage 3

New sounds: No new sounds. Adjacent consonants: CVCC and CCVC words, then longer words.
Tricky words: said, have, like, so, do, some, come, were, there, little, one, when, out, what
Reading goal: Reads longer words fluently. (stamp, frog, sandwich)

Stage 4

New sounds: ayouieeaoyirueawwhphewoeaueysplitdigraphsa-ee-ei-eo-eu-ealternativepronunciations
Tricky words: oh, their, people, Mr, Mrs, looked, called, asked, could
Reading goal: Reads with alternative spellings. (play, cake, phone)

Phonics stages with new sounds, tricky words and reading goals.
Stage	New sounds, in teaching order	Tricky words	Reading goal
Stage 0: Listening	No letters yet. Environmental sounds, rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, voice sounds and oral blending (c-a-t... cat).	None	Hears and plays with sounds in words. (c-a-t... cat)
Stage 1	satpinmdgockckeurhbffflllss	the, to, I, no, go, into	Blends and reads simple CVC words. (sat, pin, dog)
Stage 2	jvwxyzzzquchshthngaieeighoaoo(book)oo(moon)arorurowoiearairureer	he, she, we, me, be, was, you, they, all, are, my, her	Reads words and short sentences with digraphs and trigraphs. (chip, rain, night)
Stage 3	No new sounds. Adjacent consonants: CVCC and CCVC words, then longer words.	said, have, like, so, do, some, come, were, there, little, one, when, out, what	Reads longer words fluently. (stamp, frog, sandwich)
Stage 4	ayouieeaoyirueawwhphewoeaueysplitdigraphsa-ee-ei-eo-eu-ealternativepronunciations	oh, their, people, Mr, Mrs, looked, called, asked, could	Reads with alternative spellings. (play, cake, phone)

Where your child starts

New children begin with a short, play-based check, so we place them on the path by what they can do, not by their birthday.

Age 2: Stage 0, plus a playful introduction to the Stage 1 letters in s, a, t, p order. Sounds, not letter names. No reading expected.
Age 3: Stage 1, plus oral blending, then reading CVC words.
Age 4: Stages 2 and 3, roughly what Reception covers in school.
Confident 4 to 5: Stage 4 for children who are ready to go further.

A session, block by block

Sessions last up to 1 hour 45 minutes, including arrival and handover. Two year olds do shorter, simpler versions of each block. The tutor watches and notes progress throughout, then gives you a short handover note at the end.

The 1 hour 45 minute session, block by block, for age 2 and ages 3 to 4.
Time	Block	Age 2	Ages 3 to 4
0:00 to 0:05	ArrivalA warm greeting at your child's height, a quick word with you, and an invitation tray of toys to explore.	The same for every age
0:05 to 0:15	Hello circleHello song, a photo timetable of the day, a feelings check and a mystery bag reveal.	Song and actions	Recall last sound and number
0:15 to 0:25	StoryThe week's picture book, read slowly with time to point, predict and join in.	Point and name	Retell and predict
0:25 to 0:35	Sounds and rhymesThe week's rhyme, then a listening game. Phonics starts here, with sounds from the approved progression.	Stage 0 listening games, first sounds	Stages 1 to 3: new sound, blending, reading
0:35 to 0:45	MoveA gross motor game: running, stopping, balancing, action songs.	The same for every age
0:45 to 0:55	MathsHands-on maths: matching, sorting, counting, shape, pattern and measuring.	Matching, sorting, counting to 5	Counting, number recognition, simple adding
0:55 to 1:05	Snack and chatHandwashing song, snack, pouring practice and conversation.	The same for every age
1:05 to 1:15	DiscoverScience or social studies: our bodies, our senses, our feelings and the world around us.	The same for every age
1:15 to 1:25	CreateArt, dough, mark making or role play. A different activity each day.	Sensory, scribbling	Mark-making, letter formation, crafts
1:25 to 1:35	MusicInstruments and songs. Families who opt in add a short Faith Moment; everyone else does a kindness activity.	Same, shorter	Plus clapping syllables
1:35 to 1:45	GoodbyeTidy-up song, a recap of the day and a short handover note for you.	The same for every age

0:00 to 0:05Arrival
A warm greeting at your child's height, a quick word with you, and an invitation tray of toys to explore.
The same for every age
0:05 to 0:15Hello circle
Hello song, a photo timetable of the day, a feelings check and a mystery bag reveal.
Age 2
Song and actions
Ages 3 to 4
Recall last sound and number
0:15 to 0:25Story
The week's picture book, read slowly with time to point, predict and join in.
Age 2
Point and name
Ages 3 to 4
Retell and predict
0:25 to 0:35Sounds and rhymes
The week's rhyme, then a listening game. Phonics starts here, with sounds from the approved progression.
Age 2
Stage 0 listening games, first sounds
Ages 3 to 4
Stages 1 to 3: new sound, blending, reading
0:35 to 0:45Move
A gross motor game: running, stopping, balancing, action songs.
The same for every age
0:45 to 0:55Maths
Hands-on maths: matching, sorting, counting, shape, pattern and measuring.
Age 2
Matching, sorting, counting to 5
Ages 3 to 4
Counting, number recognition, simple adding
0:55 to 1:05Snack and chat
Handwashing song, snack, pouring practice and conversation.
The same for every age
1:05 to 1:15Discover
Science or social studies: our bodies, our senses, our feelings and the world around us.
The same for every age
1:15 to 1:25Create
Art, dough, mark making or role play. A different activity each day.
Age 2
Sensory, scribbling
Ages 3 to 4
Mark-making, letter formation, crafts
1:25 to 1:35Music
Instruments and songs. Families who opt in add a short Faith Moment; everyone else does a kindness activity.
Age 2
Same, shorter
Ages 3 to 4
Plus clapping syllables
1:35 to 1:45Goodbye
Tidy-up song, a recap of the day and a short handover note for you.
The same for every age

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Ask about a founding place

Phonics for 2 to 4 year olds, one clear stage at a time

The subjects, and what each age works towards

Talking and listening

Stories and books

Sounds, rhymes and phonics

Maths through play

Science and the world around us

Art, making and fine motor

Singing and music

Movement and coordination

Feelings and independence

Your first six weeks: All About Me

Hello, Me!

My Body

Seeing and Hearing

Touch, Taste, Smell

My Feelings

Review and Observe

How we track progress

Start with a baseline

Watch every session

Check it carries over

Keep you in the loop

Review at the end of each unit

The reading path

Stage 0: Listening

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Every sound and tricky word

Stage 0: Listening

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Where your child starts

A session, block by block

Ready to ask about a place?