When children start Phase 2 phonics, many parents suddenly find themselves faced with a long list of letter sounds and spelling patterns.
I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed when my son first started bringing phonics flashcards home from school.
Especially because I hadn’t learned to read using letter sounds!
So in this guide we’ll go through the sounds children learn in UK schools and how they are usually taught in Reception. You’ll also find simple examples and short videos so you can hear each sound clearly.
If your child is just starting Phase 2 phonics (where children first start linking spoken letter sounds to actual written letters), you might also find it helpful to explore some simple phonics worksheets for Reception alongside this guide.
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In phonics, children learn that words are made up of small units of sound called phonemes.
Each sound can be written using letters. These letter patterns are called graphemes.
Sometimes one letter makes a sound, and sometimes two or three letters work together to represent a single sound.
| Sound | Spelling | Example |
|---|---|---|
| /s/ | s | sun |
| /ai/ | ai | rain |
| /igh/ | igh | night |
Sometimes different letters can represent the same sound. For example c, k, and ck can all make the /k/ sound.
In phonics, children are shown the letters and taught the sound they make, rather than focusing on the sound notation at this stage.
The sounds below are the main phonics sounds children learn when they’re in Reception in UK schools.
Each button shows:
• the letters children see/are taught
• the sound those letters make when reading
• a simple example word
Click on each button to watch a short video where you can hear each sound.
Phase 2 Sounds
These are usually the first letter sounds children are taught in Reception.
The exact order of the sounds may vary slightly depending on the phonics programme your child’s school uses.
Two of the most common phonics programmes used in UK schools are:
Both programmes teach the same core sounds but may introduce them in a slightly different order.
The sounds are usually introduced in small groups, giving children time to practise and become familiar with each set before moving on.
Some parents find it helpful to practise sounds using short activities such as matching games, beginning sounds, letter tracing or simple reading worksheets. You can find our library of free phonics worksheets for early readers here.
If you’d prefer something more structured and pre-printed, my Helping Hand Workbooks phonics workbook brings many of these activities together in one place.
Once children know their sounds, the next step is learning how to put those sounds together to read words.
Learning these Phase 2 sounds allows children to start reading simple words like:
sat, pin, cat, dog
Children practise reading these simple words by blending the letter sounds together. For example: /c/ /a/ /t/ → cat. Our phonics blending guide explains how this works and what you can do to support your child at home.
If your child is just beginning to blend the letter sounds together, these blending practice worksheets can also help reinforce the skill.
Once children start blending these sounds confidently, many parents begin introducing simple reading books so their child can practise reading real sentences. If your child is at this stage you might find my guide to decodable books for beginner readers helpful.
Phase 3 Sounds
(these sounds are usually taught later in Reception)
Once children know the first letter sounds, they begin learning digraphs. A digraph is when two letters make one sound.
For example:
sh in ship
ch in chip
ai in rain
Although there are two letters, children learn to recognise them as one sound when reading.
Occasionally three letters work together to represent a single sound. These are called trigraphs.
For example: igh in night.
Children don’t need to remember all of these sounds at once.
They learn them gradually through regular practice at school and through simple letter sound recognition and reading activities at home.
Don’t worry that some sounds seem a little different in certain words. For example, oo can sound different in moon and book, and th can sound different in thin (soft th) and this (voiced th). Children learn these differences step by step in school and as they practise reading.
Once children are confident with these sounds, they usually begin practising reading longer words and simple sentences.
Many parents begin introducing decodable books at this stage, where children can practise reading words using the sounds they already know. You can explore a few examples of decodable book series in my guide to decodable books for beginner readers.
With time and practice, these small steps gradually build into confident, independent reading, and having a simple familiarity with the sounds can make it much easier to support your child along the way.
FAQs About Phonics Sounds (UK)
What are phonics sounds?
Phonics sounds are the individual sounds (called phonemes) that make up words.
Children learn these sounds so they can blend them together to read words and break them apart to spell.
For example, the word cat is made up of three sounds:
/c/ /a/ /t/
How many phonics sounds are there?
There are around 44 phonics sounds in English.
These sounds are taught gradually in UK schools, usually starting in Reception and continuing into Year 1.
What is the difference between a phoneme and a grapheme?
A phoneme is a sound.
A grapheme is the letters used to write that sound.
For example:
- the sound /k/ is a phoneme
- it can be written as c, k, or ck, which are graphemes
At this stage, children are usually shown the letters c, k, ck and taught the sound they make, rather than focusing on the sound notation.
What is a digraph in phonics?
A digraph is when two letters work together to make one sound.
For example:
- sh in ship
- ch in chip
- ai in rain
Even though there are two letters, children learn to read them as one sound.
What is a trigraph in phonics?
A trigraph is when three letters work together to make one sound.
For example:
- igh in night
- ear in dear
- air in hair
Why do some sounds have more than one spelling?
In English, the same sound can often be written in different ways.
For example, the /ai/ sound can be written as:
- ai in rain
- ay in play
- a-e in cake
Children are usually taught the most common spelling first, and learn alternatives later.
Why does “oo” and “th” sound different in some words?
Some sounds can be pronounced in more than one way depending on the word.
For example:
- oo in moon and book
- th in thin and this
Children learn these differences gradually through reading and practice.
When should my child know all the phonics sounds?
Children learn phonics sounds gradually.
Most children:
- learn the first sounds in Reception
- continue learning more sounds and spelling patterns in Year 1
Every child progresses at their own pace, and it’s normal for this to take time.
How can I help my child learn phonics sounds at home?
You don’t need to do anything complicated.
Simple things can help, such as:
- saying sounds together
- practising blending simple words
- reading short books
- using simple phonics worksheets
Even a few minutes of practice can make a difference.
Should I teach letter names or letter sounds first?
In phonics, children are usually taught letter sounds first.
For example:
- m is taught as /mmm/
- s is taught as /sss/
This helps children blend sounds together when reading words.
When should my child start reading books?
Children usually start reading simple books once they can blend sounds together.
At this stage, many parents begin using decodable books, where the words match the sounds children have learned.
You can explore this further in my decodable books guide.
Do all schools teach phonics in the same way?
Most UK schools follow a structured phonics programme, such as:
- Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised
- Read Write Inc. Phonics
The order of sounds may vary slightly, but the same core sounds are taught.
What if my child isn’t learning letter sounds yet?
Before children begin learning letter sounds, they usually spend time developing their listening skills and awareness of sounds. This stage is often referred to as Phase 1 phonics.
If your child is not yet learning letter sounds, that’s completely normal. Activities such as listening games, rhyming, and identifying sounds in words all help build the foundation for reading.
You can explore some simple Phase 1 phonics activities here.
If this guide has been helpful, feel free to share it with another parent who might find it useful too.