At CtS, we teach early reading through the Read Write Inc. (RWI) phonics programme. This page provides a range of supporting documents to help you understand the sounds your child will be learning, including Set 1, Set 2 and Set 3 sounds, (special friends). These are letter combinations that represent a single sound.

When reading at home, we encourage parents and carers to support their child by:

• Identifying special friends within words
• Using Fred Talk (sounding out) to decode unfamiliar words
• Blending sounds together to read words fluently

If your child is finding a word challenging, please support them by helping them to recognise the relevant sounds or special friends, rather than providing the word immediately. This approach supports the development of their decoding skills and promotes independence in reading.

We kindly ask that reading at home remains a positive and encouraging experience, with praise given for effort and progress.