The Five Key Skills of Jolly Phonics
Letter sound recognition is the foundation of early reading and writing. In Jolly Phonics Step 1, pupils are taught the letter sounds of English using a multisensory approach - each sound is introduced with a story, song, action and pictures to make learning fun, memorable and meaningful. Sounds are taught in a carefully planned order to maximise blending potential and avoid confusion, with tools like flashcards, games, songs and wall displays used daily to strengthen recognition and recall.
Learning to form letters correctly is essential for developing fluent and confident handwriting. In turn, this builds muscle memory and supports better spelling later on. In Jolly Phonics, letter formation is taught using a multisensory approach that combines visual demonstration, movement and sound. Pupils are guided through proper pencil grip, posture and stroke direction, while engaging activities – like writing in the air, tracing with fingers and using tactile books – help reinforce both fine motor skills and the connection between letters and their sounds.
Blending is the skill of merging individual sounds to read words, and it is introduced right from the start of phonics instruction. In Jolly Phonics, pupils practise blending daily using decodable words, beginning with oral blending and moving towards silent, fluent reading. Through repetition, modelling and engaging activities – such as word games, blending boxes and consonant-vowel drills – children build confidence and fluency. As they progress, blending includes more complex words with consonant blends, digraphs and alternative spellings, helping pupils decode unfamiliar words and become confident, fluent readers.
Segmenting is the ability to hear all the sounds in a word and write them down in the correct order – a crucial skill for developing early writing. In Jolly Phonics, this begins with simple listening activities and builds through daily routines such as finger tapping, robot arms and dictation. Pupils start by identifying initial sounds, then move to medial and final sounds, gradually applying this skill to spelling whole words, phrases and sentences. Through consistent practice – using tools like picture cards, magnetic letters and letter-sound cards – children gain the confidence and accuracy needed to become successful writers.
Tricky words are high-frequency words that cannot be fully decoded using regular phonics. In Jolly Phonics, 72 tricky words are introduced systematically, beginning from the /sh/ sound onwards. Pupils learn to spot both the regular and tricky parts of each word, supported by strategies such as saying it as it sounds, using word families, and following a simple look–cover–write routine. With regular practice through flashcards, games and dictation, children build confidence in reading and spelling tricky words – an essential step towards writing fluency and reading comprehension.
