✏️ Spelling at Petteril Bank Primary School
🌟 Our Approach to Spelling
At Petteril Bank Primary School, we believe that strong spelling skills are essential for children to become confident writers and effective communicators. Our comprehensive spelling curriculum combines systematic phonics teaching in the early years with a structured spelling programme as children progress through the school. We use RWI in KS1 and Spelling Shed across KS2 to ensure consistent, engaging spelling instruction that builds on phonics foundations established in EYFS.
How We Teach Spelling
EYFS and Early Spelling
In Reception and the early stages of Year 1:
- Spelling is taught primarily through our Read Write Inc (RWI) phonics programme
- Children learn to hear, say, and write sounds in words (segmenting)
- They practice spelling simple words using the sounds they know
- ‘Tricky words’ (those that cannot be sounded out easily) are taught alongside phonics
- Daily handwriting practice reinforces correct letter formation
Spelling Shed Programme (Year 3-6)
From Year 3 onwards, we use the Spelling Shed programme to:
- Build on phonics knowledge with a structured spelling curriculum
- Teach spelling patterns, rules, and exceptions systematically
- Provide engaging, game-based practice both in school and at home
- Track progress and identify areas for additional support
Our Weekly Spelling Routine
Each week, children will:
- Learn new spelling patterns and rules through explicit teaching
- Explore words that follow the pattern and exceptions
- Practice using a variety of active spelling strategies
- Apply spellings in their writing across the curriculum
- Review and assess their learning
Spelling Strategies We Teach
We equip children with a range of strategies to help them become independent spellers:
- Sound out – Breaking words into phonemes (sounds)
- Syllabification – Breaking words into syllables
- Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check – A methodical approach to memorizing words
- Word families – Recognizing patterns in related words
- Etymology – Understanding word origins and meaning
- Mnemonics – Using memory aids for tricky words
- Spelling rules – Learning and applying spelling conventions
👨👩👧👦 How Parents Can Support Spelling at Home
1️⃣ Regular Spelling Shed Practice
All children have a personal login for the Spelling Shed online platform:
- Aim for 10-15 minutes of practice, 3-4 times per week
- Encourage use of the games and activities that make learning fun
- Review your child’s assignments and celebrate improvements
- Use the app on tablets or smartphones for flexible practice
2️⃣ Supporting Weekly Spelling Lists
- Practice new spellings using the Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check method
- Create word cards to play sorting and matching games
- Make connections between words with similar patterns
- Help your child notice these words in their reading
3️⃣ Making Spelling Fun
- Play word games like Scrabble, Boggle, or Hangman
- Create spelling scavenger hunts around the home
- Make word pyramids, adding one letter at a time
- Use magnetic letters or write in shaving foam/sand
- Draw pictures and write words to match
4️⃣ Reinforcing Phonics (EYFS/Year 1)
- Practice the sounds sent home in phonics books
- Use ‘Fred Talk’ to segment words for spelling (c-a-t for cat)
- Play I-Spy with initial sounds or blends
- Create sound collages with objects/pictures for each phoneme
- Use the RWI sound mats sent home to support correct letter formation
📊 Year Group Spelling Focus
Reception
- Spelling simple CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant, e.g., cat, dog)
- Writing initial and final sounds in words
- Beginning to write simple captions and sentences
- Learning to spell some high-frequency words
Year 1
- Spelling words containing taught phonemes
- Common exception words (the, said, come)
- Days of the week
- Adding suffixes -s, -es, -ing, -ed, -er
- Using letter names to distinguish between alternative spellings
Year 2
- Adding suffixes -ment, -ness, -ful, -less, -ly
- Contractions (can’t, didn’t)
- Homophones and near-homophones (there/their/they’re)
- Common exception words (door, floor, poor)
- Possessive apostrophes
Year 3/4
- Words with the /ɪ/ sound spelled ‘y’ (myth, gym)
- Prefixes (un-, dis-, mis-, re-, sub-, inter-, super-)
- Suffixes (-ation, -ly, -ous)
- Possessive apostrophes with plurals
- Words from the Year 3/4 statutory word list
Year 5/6
- Words containing silent letters (knight, solemn)
- Homophones and near homophones (advice/advise)
- Words with ‘ei’ after ‘c’ (receive, ceiling)
- Words with hyphens (co-operate, re-enter)
- Words from the Year 5/6 statutory word list
🌐 Helpful Online Resources
Spelling Shed
- Spelling Shed Login
- Weekly assignments based on classroom learning
- Games to reinforce spelling patterns
- Leaderboards to encourage engagement
- Downloadable resources for offline practice
Additional Resources
- BBC Bitesize Spelling
- ICT Games – Spelling
- Phonics Play – For Early Years/KS1
