In Phase 1, taught in the Nest Nursery and consolidate and revisited in Reception, the children will learn to distinguish the sounds in the words we speak. Through games and play the children will be exposed to opportunities to develop their auditory discrimination and phonological awareness. This includes being able to tune into different sounds in the environment, remember and talk about them as well as being able to hear rhythm and rhyme in words. The children will start to be able to hear and use alliteration in words, such as amazing alligator, crazy cat, dancing dog. They will also start to practice segmenting out the sounds they can hear in simple words, such as d-o-g. 

This Phase is essential for the success of the following Phases. The children need to have a strong foundation in Phase 1 to be able to build on this in Phase 2. 

As we have a rolling intake in our Nest Nursery, we also have a rolling plan for phonics.

Here is our Phase 1 planning so you can see which aspect your child will be accessing at each point in their nursery journey. You can help your child at home with some of the activities below. 

On the BBC website, there are also lots of listening games you can play at home. These include listening out for different sounds of the weather, animals and sounds you would hear inside as well as out. 

Aspect 1 – Environmental sounds

Aspect 2 – Instrumental sounds

Aspect 3 – Body percussion

Aspect 4 – Rhythm and Rhyme

Aspect 5 – Alliteration

Aspect 6 – Voice sounds

Aspect 7 – Oral blending and segmenting

Updated October 2024