FOR PARENTS · RECEPTION AND YEAR 1
My child is ahead in phonics: should I teach more at home?
Usually no: ask the teacher first. Schools teach phonics in a set order, and teaching sounds a different way at home can confuse a child. Read widely together instead.
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Your child has cracked the sounds and wants more, and the school book feels far too easy. The best way to help is usually not to teach more phonics at home, but to stretch them in all the other ways reading grows. This guide explains why, and what to do instead.
By the Litsee team · Last reviewed · About this guide
The short answer: ask the teacher, and stretch sideways
Being quick with phonics is great news. But phonics is one part of reading. The other part, understanding language, grows from talk and stories, and that's where you can make the biggest difference at home. As the EYFS framework puts it, “Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth.” (DfE EYFS framework).
Why not race ahead with phonics at home?
Schools teach phonics through a programme with its own order of sounds and its own way of saying them. The DfE says what matters is an approach that is “used with fidelity (any resources used should exactly match the Grapheme Phoneme Correspondence (GPC) progression of their chosen SSP approach)” (DfE).
Learning the same sounds in a different order, or with different names and actions, can be confusing for a young child. That doesn't mean you must hold your child back. It means checking with the teacher before you add new sounds, so home and school pull the same way.
Moving on at school
The national curriculum expects children to move on when they're ready. For Year 1 it says: “As soon as they can read words comprising the year 1 GPCs accurately and speedily, they should move on to the year 2 programme of study for word reading.” (DfE national curriculum).
So if your child is flying, it's reasonable to ask the teacher how the school stretches children who are ahead, and whether your child's reading book is still the right one. Easy decodable books still do a job, building fast, smooth reading, but you can ask. Our guide to a reading book that's too easy has a ready-written note for this.
Two books, two jobs
The DfE's reading framework describes the reading books children bring home in the early years like this: “Your child will bring home two books. One is for your child to read to you. It has been carefully chosen so that they can work out all the words. The other book has words your child may not be able to read yet. It is for you to read to your child and talk about together.” (DfE reading framework).
For a child who is ahead, that second book is where the stretch happens. Choose stories, poems and non-fiction you'd enjoy reading aloud, with richer words and longer plots than they could manage alone. Stop now and then to wonder about a word or a twist together, and let them read a sentence or two when they want to. The first book, the decodable one, still has a job: it keeps their reading accurate and quick, and it's a chance for them to show off what they can do.
Six ways to stretch a keen reader
Read harder books aloud to them
Talk about words
Let them write
Widen what they read
Retell and invent stories
Ask the teacher
Reading aloud is the big one. The national curriculum asks for “listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently” from Year 1 (DfE national curriculum), and the reading framework says: “Children benefit hugely from listening to family members reading aloud to them.” (DfE reading framework).
If they're bored by school reading
A keen reader can find decodable books dull. Keep the school book short, then make the rest of reading exciting: the DfE's tips remind parents that reading “it doesn’t just have to be books” (DfE). Let them choose library books, read the cereal box, follow a recipe or look up facts about the thing they're obsessed with this week.
Writing is another good outlet. Lists, labels, cards and little stories let your child use the sounds they know in a new way, and practise spelling without getting ahead of school. And let them teach you: a child who explains a sound or a tricky word to a grown-up, or reads a simple book to a younger sibling, gets real practice and a boost in confidence.
Questions parents ask
My child is ahead in phonics. Should I teach them more at home?
Talk to the teacher first. Schools follow their phonics programme in a set order, so teaching new sounds a different way at home can confuse a child. Stretch them instead with harder books read aloud, talk about words, writing and a wider range of reading.
Will my child be bored if the phonics is too easy?
Possibly, at times. Short phonics sessions and easy decodable books are part of building fluent reading, so they're still doing a job. Make sure reading at home is exciting: stories they choose, books read to them and things they want to find out about.
Can my child move on to harder phonics at school?
The national curriculum says that once Year 1 pupils can read the Year 1 sounds accurately and speedily, they should move on to the Year 2 programme for word reading. Ask the teacher how their school does that.
Is it bad to read harder books with my child?
No: reading harder books aloud to your child is exactly right. The national curriculum asks for stories and non-fiction at a level beyond what children can read on their own. The decodable school book is for them to practise reading; the harder book is for you to share.
Sources
- Choosing a phonics teaching programme (list of validated programmes) Department for Education, updated 16 February 2026, checked 3 November 2026
- National curriculum in England: English programmes of study (Year 1) Department for Education, September 2013, updated 16 July 2014, checked 3 November 2026
- The reading framework Department for Education, July 2023, updated 22 September 2023, checked 3 November 2026
- 10 top tips for parents to support children to read Department for Education, 16 July 2020, updated 25 April 2022, checked 3 November 2026
- Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework for group and school-based providers Department for Education, from September 2026, checked 3 November 2026
About this guide
Written by the Litsee team and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page.
The six ideas are our own suggestions. Every school organises phonics a little differently, so your child's teacher is the best guide to how they stretch children who are ahead.
Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email info@litsee.com and we will fix it. Last reviewed: .
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