Nicole Wilson, Assistant Head Teacher, Head of the Lower Schools and Head of Literacy, shares her tips on how to support your children when it comes to learning how to read.
Helping children learn to read is one of the most rewarding parts of early childhood. The foundations for reading and writing are built long before a child opens their first book — through conversations, play, and listening to the world around them.
The Early Years Framework reminds us that communication and language underpin all seven areas of development. Children’s back-and-forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for both language and cognitive growth. The more children are exposed to rich conversations, stories, rhymes, and vocabulary, the stronger their literacy journey will be.
Alongside this, literacy involves two crucial strands:
Language comprehension – developing understanding through talk, stories, rhymes, and everyday conversations.
Word reading – learning to decode sounds, blend them together, and recognise familiar words.
Here’s how you can nurture both of these at home — with simple, fun activities that also support your child in meeting the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) for reading.
Learning to Listen: The Foundation of Reading
Listening is the first step in literacy. In Reception, this is called Phase One. Strong listening skills help children process information, focus on detail, and prepare for phonics.
Try these activities:
Give multi-step instructions for everyday tasks.
Ask questions while reading stories to encourage recall and focus.
Play rhyming games and sound pattern games.
Explore musical instruments together.
Go on “listening walks” outside.
Hide a noise-making object in the house and ask them to find it.
These playful moments sharpen your child’s ear — vital for learning to hear and blend sounds later.
Phonics, Pure Sounds and Word Reading
The English language can be tricky! There are 26 letters in the alphabet, 44 speech sounds, and over 155 ways of representing them. That’s why phonics — breaking words down into sounds — is so important.
Pure Sounds
Phonics is taught using “pure sounds.” A quick search for pure sounds on YouTube will show you correct pronunciation. Supporting this at home is key because:
It makes blending easier.
It avoids confusion with older teaching methods you may remember.
From Sounds to Words: Blending and Segmenting
Children begin by learning individual sounds. Next, they practise blending them together to make words (c-a-t = cat). Later, they use segmenting to break words apart.
Fun practice ideas:
Go on a letter hunt around the house.
Spot letters and words on signs, magazines, and packaging.
Label everyday objects to connect written words with meaning.
Use the Alphablocks app or PhonicsPlay for games.
Link learning to interests (e.g., after learning “B,” have a baking afternoon or play ball in the garden).
Digraphs: Special Friends
Some sounds are made from two letters together, called digraphs (like th). You can use simple stories to make them memorable — for example, a tower and a horse story that ends with the princess saying “thank you.”
Reading at Home: Building Comprehension and Vocabulary
The curriculum highlights the importance of a language-rich environment. That means conversations, storytelling, role play, and giving children plenty of opportunities to use new words.
Ideas for home:
Share storybooks again and again.
Encourage your child to create alternative endings.
Let them change characters to make the story about themselves.
Choose a “word of the day” from the dictionary and use it together.
Enjoy rhymes, poems, and songs as part of daily routines.
Tricky Words
Some words can’t be sounded out — like me. These are called “tricky words.” They must be memorised.
Search “tricky words + your child’s year group” online for lists.
Play memory or matching games to practise them.
Repeat, repeat, repeat — consistency is the secret!
The “Three Reads” Rule
Repetition makes a reader. Try this sequence with new books:
First read: Your child decodes, sounding out words (slow but valuable).
Second read: You read aloud, modelling fluency and expression.
Third read: Your child reads again, now with more confidence. Use this opportunity to ask comprehension questions.
This cycle builds decoding, fluency, and understanding all at once.
Tying It All Together
By the end of Reception, children working at the expected level will be able to:
Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs.
Read words using their phonic knowledge by sound-blending.
Read aloud simple sentences and books, including some common exception words.
Nicole’s practical tips — from listening walks to blending games — give you the tools to support these goals at home in ways that are fun and meaningful.
Final Thought
Reading is not just about books — it’s about conversations, imagination, sounds, and stories woven into daily life. By making literacy fun, constant, and interactive, you’ll help your child build not only strong reading skills but also a lifelong love of words.
Further Resources
📘 For more about government guidance on reception learning, check out the link below:
Development Matters – Government guidance for EYFS
📙 And for a more in-depth read on the standards for learning, development, and care for children from birth to five, check out this link:
