Parent Workshops

At Barrow URC Primary School we run regular ‘Phonics for Parents’ workshops for parents or carers who are interested in learning about phonics and how to help your child read and write.  If you are unable to attend any of our teacher led workshops, you can download the contents below:

EYFS & Year 1 Phonics Workshop led by Mrs Porter, Miss Crossley and Miss Walker (Wednesday 13th September 2023)

Year 1 - Phonics Screening Test Guide for Parents led by Mrs Porter (Monday 6th March 2023)

EYFS - Phonics Workshop led by Mrs Cox (Wednesday 5th October 2022)

Phonics at Home

To support your child's phonics at home you can enjoy unlimited, free access to selected games on Phonics Play. The games cover several phonic phases and your child can play these as many times as they like! 

Letter Formation and Handwriting at Home

To help our children learn their letter formation we use formation phrase handwriting patters.  

It is recommended that when teaching letter formation,a phrase is used embed the directionality.  All adults who teach letter formations are encouraged to use the same apporach as children learn effectively through repetition.

The chart below provides and overbook of the formation phrases linked to Red Rose Letters and Sounds, these are the phrases that the teacher use at school.

Year 1 Phonics Screening Test

At the end of Year One all the children in the country take an assessment called a Phonics Screening.  They have to read 40 real and nonsense words.  Examples can be found below.  When the Phonics Screening Test was introduced in 2013, the Department of Education produced a Guide for Parents - this can be accessed on the link below.