Learning to read is one of the most important skills a child will ever develop, and phonics is the key that unlocks it. In Shrewsbury, our phonics tutors support children from age 4 to 7 who need extra help with blending, segmenting, and recognising letter-sound correspondences. We use the same systematic approach as schools, reinforcing what's being taught in the classroom.
Systematic Synthetic Phonics
Schools in Shrewsbury use systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programmes — typically Letters and Sounds, Read Write Inc, or similar. Our tutors follow the same structured approach, teaching sounds in the correct order and building from simple CVC words (cat, dog, pen) to more complex blends and digraphs. This consistency between school and tutoring is important for young children.
Blending and Segmenting
Blending (pushing sounds together to read a word) and segmenting (breaking a word into its individual sounds to spell it) are the two core phonics skills. Children in Shrewsbury who struggle with these need lots of practice with immediate feedback — exactly what a one-to-one session provides. Our tutors use magnetic letters, sound cards, and phonics games to make this practice engaging.
Building Reading Fluency
Once a child can decode individual words, the next step is reading sentences and then stories fluently. Children in Shrewsbury who can sound out words but read very slowly often lose track of meaning. Our tutors work on building reading speed and expression through repeated reading of decodable books matched to your child's current phonics stage.
Early reading difficulties in Shrewsbury don't have to become long-term problems. The sooner a child gets the right support, the faster they catch up. Get in touch to arrange an initial assessment and find out how our phonics tutors can help your child.