Introduction of Jolly Phonics

AKNS is committed to reviewing how we teach at regular intervals and to finding ways to improve the education our children receive.

Jolly Phonics teaches the letter sounds in an enjoyable, multisensory way, and enables children to use them to read and write words.We have recently analysed our approach to early literacy and have been looking at ways to improve on the progress our children are already make in learning to read.  We have studied modern approaches to literacy and have decided to introduce a programme called Jolly Phonics.  Whilst a phonics-based instruction has been a part of our curriculum for a long time, we have not used a ‘synthetic’ approach, which is what Jolly Phonics is.

In a nutshell, Jolly Phonics is a thorough foundation for reading and writing. It teaches the letter sounds in an enjoyable, multisensory way, and enables children to use them to read and write words.

In Jolly Phonics the 42 main sounds of English are taught, not just the alphabet. The sounds are in seven groups. Some sounds are written with two letters, such as ee and or. These are called digraphs. Note that oo and th can each make two different sounds, as in book and moon, that and three. To distinguish between the two sounds, these digraphs are represented in two forms. This is shown below.

The above seven categories of sounds form the core of the Jolly Phonics programme. We have established a professional collaboration between ourselves and the Aga Khan Nursery, School in Kampala, where Jolly Phonics has already been introduced, to very good effect.  In the course of the next year we will be systematically introducing Jolly Phonics in an age-appropriate way in each of the classes.  We will also be offering parent sessions to explain the programme further.