All Aboard Phonics Introduction - Phonics Phase 3 - Resource

The All Aboard Phonics programme adopts a systematic synthetic phonics approach, designed to teach children the sounds of the English language in a specific order. Each new sound, or phoneme, is introduced alongside a character known as a pictophone, which acts as a visual cue to aid memory. For instance, the 'Toad About to Explode' represents the /t/ sound, and the 'Oon on the Moon' signifies the long-/oo/ sound. The method emphasizes learning the sound of each letter rather than its name, which is crucial for blending sounds to form words. As children progress, they are taught to segment words into individual sounds and to blend phonemes to say words, with particular attention to pronouncing the sounds accurately without any added schwa sound, such as "suh" instead of /s/.

Letter formation is another key aspect of the programme, encouraging children to adopt the correct pencil grip and to form letters starting from the appropriate point and in the correct direction. Decodable books are used to reinforce the phonics taught, with a colour-coded system on the back cover to help guide children to the appropriate books for their learning stage. The books are intentionally designed with diverse illustrations to resemble a typical library book and avoid any overt level indicators on the front cover, to prevent children from feeling self-conscious about their reading level. Additionally, the programme offers an online home reading app to support daily practice, and it provides comprehensive teaching guidance, including activities and resources for phonemic awareness, as well as online support in case of national lockdowns.