At the start of Phase Six of Letters and Sounds, children
will have already learnt the most frequently occuring
grapheme–
phoneme correspondences (GPCs) in the English language. They
will be able to read many familiar words automatically. When
they come across unfamiliar words they will in many cases be
able to decode them quickly and quietly using their
well-developed sounding and blending skills. With more complex
unfamiliar words they will often be able to decode them by
sounding them out.
At this stage children should be able to spell words
phonemically although not always correctly. In Phase Six the
main aim is for children to become more fluent readers and more
accurate spellers.
For full details, visit the Standards site to download a
guide on implementing Phase 6 of Letters and sounds in the
classroom.