Helping your child become a confident reader

At Glenwood Primary School, we use Monster Phonics to support children as they learn to read and spell.

Monster Phonics is a fun, systematic phonics programme that uses colour-coded graphemes and friendly monster characters to help children remember different sounds. The colourful approach makes phonics engaging while helping children build the skills they need to become confident, independent readers.

What is phonics?

Phonics teaches children the relationship between the sounds they hear in words and the letters or groups of letters that represent those sounds.

Children learn to:

• Recognise and say individual sounds.
• Blend sounds together to read words.
• Segment words into sounds to help with spelling.
• Recognise common tricky words that cannot always be sounded out easily.
• Apply their phonics knowledge when reading books and writing.

Why Monster Phonics?

Monster Phonics gives children a memorable way to learn phonics. Each sound is associated with a particular monster and colour, helping children recognise and remember sounds more easily.

The programme follows a clear, structured progression, allowing children to develop their phonics knowledge step by step. As children become more secure with their sounds, they can use these skills to read increasingly unfamiliar words.

Most importantly, Monster Phonics aims to make learning to read positive, enjoyable and confidence-building.

How can I help at home?

There are lots of simple ways you can support your child:

Practise little and often. A few minutes of phonics practice each day can make a big difference.

Listen to your child read. Encourage them to use their phonics knowledge to sound out unfamiliar words.

Ask your child about the sounds they have learnt. You could look for those sounds together in books, signs, menus or packaging.

Read to your child. Sharing stories, poems and non-fiction books helps develop vocabulary, listening skills and a love of reading.

Praise their effort. Learning to read takes time, so celebrate progress and encourage your child when they find something difficult.

Blending sounds

When children are learning to read a new word, encourage them to look at all the sounds and blend them together.

For example:

s – a – t → sat

Try to avoid saying the sounds with an added “uh” sound (for example, “suh-a-tuh”), as this can make blending more difficult.

If your child is unsure, model the word calmly and let them have another go.

Reading at home

Regular reading is one of the best ways to support your child's progress. When reading a phonics book, encourage your child to use the sounds they know rather than guessing from the pictures.

It is also important to enjoy books together that your child cannot yet read independently. Reading aloud to your child builds vocabulary, develops comprehension and helps foster a lifelong love of books.

Working together

Your support at home makes a valuable difference to your child's reading journey. We will share information about the sounds and words your child is learning so that you can practise them together at home.

If you are unsure about how to pronounce a sound or support your child with their phonics, please have a look at the videos below.

Together, we can help every child become a confident, enthusiastic reader.