ELS Phonics (Essential Letters and Sounds)

“We aim for all children to read well, quickly”

What is phonics?

A method of teaching beginners to read and pronounce words by learning to associate letters or letter groups with the sounds they represent. There are 44 main sounds in the English Language. Each sound is represented by a grapheme (the written representation of a sound).

In the GLA we follow Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS). The key principles of ELS are based upon:

The delivery of whole- class, high-quality first teaching with well-structured daily lesson plans.
The use of consistent terminology by teachers, children and parents.
The use of consistent resources that support effective teaching.
Repetition and reinforcement of learning.
Regular and manageable assessment to ensure that all children ‘keep up’ rather than ‘catch up’.
The ‘E’ model

All of our pupils in EYFS and Year 1 have daily ELS lessons. ELS teaching also continues in Year 2 and into Key Stage 2. If required, some pupils receive ELS interventions to support the ELS principle of “Keep up not catch up.” This ensures all our pupils have the best start to early reading.

We regularly host ELS parent sessions which provide you with the opportunity to learn about how we teach phonics to your child/children. These sessions also inform you about reading with your child at home and giving you the opportunity to learn some sounds yourself! If you were unable to attend our most recent session or are new to our school please speak to your child’s class teacher as we are always very happy to provide more information.

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