Curriculum

Our Phonics Curriculum

At Lingobirds, we follow the Phonics Hero curriculum, a highly structured and research-based programme built on systematic synthetic phonics. This approach is widely recognised across English-speaking countries as the most effective way to teach young children how to read and spell confidently.

Through our lessons, children are carefully guided step by step to develop strong early reading skills. They will learn:

The 44 phonemes (sounds) of English and the different letter patterns (graphemes) that represent them
How to blend sounds together to read words
How to segment words into sounds to support accurate spelling
How to read and spell tricky words (such as the, was, and said) that do not follow regular sound patterns
How to apply these skills to read words, phrases, and full sentences with confidence

By combining the proven structure of Phonics Hero with Lingobirds’ child-friendly teaching style, engaging lessons, and guided practice, we ensure that children build a strong, secure foundation in reading and spelling from the very beginning.

Part 1 : Foundation

In Part One of the phonics journey, children learn one clear way to read and write each of the 44 phonemes. This strong foundation prepares them for later stages, where they will learn alternative spellings and more advanced reading skills.

Part 2: Building Stronger Reading Skills

In Part Two, children learn to read longer words and understand that sounds and letters can work in different ways.

They begin with longer and multi-syllable words, then learn that the same sound can have different spellings and that letters can make more than one sound. From Levels 10–13, this knowledge is expanded to support confident reading and accurate spelling.

Part Three: Confident and Fluent Reading

In Part Three, children learn more sound–spelling patterns and different ways to read familiar sounds. This helps them read more fluently, spell more accurately, and approach new words with confidence.

Learning Overview - Letters and Sounds

There are three parts to Phonics Hero: Basic Code, Advanced Code, and Complete the Code. The 26 levels systematically teach children how to read and spell step-by-step using the 44 sounds of English, including tricky words.

Part 1 - Basic Code

Phase 2

Level	Target Sounds	Example Words
1a	s a t p	sat, pat, tap, sap
1b	i n m d	sit, nip, man, din
2a	g o c k	tag, cop, kid, kit
2b	ck e u r	rack, rug, sock, deck
3a	h b f l	him, back, fan, log
3b	ff ll ss	huff, hiss, hill, kiss

Phase 3

Level	Target Sounds	Example Words
4a	j v w x	jam, van, wet, fox
4b	y z zz qu	yell, zip, buzz, quick
5a	ch sh th ng	much, shell, them, sing
5b	ai ee igh oa	rain, queen, light, toast
6a	oo (zoo), oo (book), ar, or	shoot, hook, shark, pork
6b	ur ow oi ear	blur, clown, point, beard
6c	air ure er	chair, mature, flower

Part 2 - Advanced Code

Phase 4

Level	Target	Example Words
7a	CVCC & CCVC words	help, speech, moist, thump
7b	Polysyllabic words	treetop, driftwood, starlight, shelving

Phase 5 - New Graphemes

Level	Target Sounds	Example Words
8a	ay ou ie ea	play, ground, dried, speak
8b	oy ir ue aw	destroy, thirty, true, straw
8c	wh ph ew oe au	whisper, elephant, threw, tomatoes, August
8d	a_e e_e i_e o_e u_e	brake, concrete, smile, joke, prune

Phase 5 - Alternative Pronunciations

Level	Target
9a	i, o, c, g
9b	u, ow, ie, ea
9c	er, a, y, ch, ou

Phase 5 - Alternative Spellings

Level	Target	Example Words
10a	ch tu tch	cherub, picture, switch
10b	f ff ph	fish, fluff, dolphin
11a	j dge ge g	jazz, bridge, cabbage, giant
11b	r rr wr	robot, carrot, wrench
12	s c ce ss se	socks, pencil, bounce, kiss, house

Part 3 - Complete the Code

Level	Target	Example Words
13	sh ci ti	brush, special, station
14	ai a ay a_e	stain, apron, tray, whale
15	ee ea y e	sleep, dream, twenty, she
16	igh i y ie i_e	bright, blind, fly, fried, smile
17	oa o ow o_e	groan, hotel, crow, joke
18	oo ew ue u_e	tooth, threw, glue, prune
19	u oo oul	helpful, firewood, should
20	ar a*	market, banana
21	or au* aw* al* ore	report, launch, draw, seashore
22	ur ir er ear or	burst, birthday, germ, heard, artwork
23	ow ou	crown, ground
24	oi oy	boiling, destroy
25	air ear are ere	airship, pear, scarecrow, where
26	s si (zh)	treasure, television