There are many commercially available, systematic approaches to phonics and it is recommended that you, as a school, are consistent in using a research based, systematic scheme and that you are clear about progression between the early stages of primary.
At the same time however, it is important to be aware of the individual needs of your pupils and use their progression as the basis of your planning rather than the instructions of a scheme.
You should be particularly aware of the awareness of sounds (phonological awareness) of the pupils in your class. If a child is struggling to read then the Northern Alliance’s phonological awareness developmental continuum can help you to identify areas that need development and link you to supporting activities. This can be found here: https://highlandliteracy.com/emerging-literacy/phonological-awareness/
The outline of Argyll and Bute’s recommendations relating to phonics can be found here:
The extract from the Teachers’ Toolkit relating to learning to read can be found here:
Learning to read extract from Teachers’ Toolkit
This Language and Literacy site has many videos about improving early reading acquisition and development: https://lalco.org.uk/improving-early-reading-acquisition-and-development/
Other useful documents:
“The value of the ‘outdoor classroom’ is well documented with the growing awareness that meaningful learning takes place when children are physically active. All aspects of literacy development can be transferred to the outdoors and, for some children, it is a more productive learning environment. Children enjoy using natural materials and having the freedom to follow their interests in an alternative space.”
“It is important that some activities are matched to developmental stage, but it is also important that all children get the opportunity to work with all other children as they will teach and support each other. ”
