Spelling begins in the Early Years through the teaching of Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, where children learn to segment words into individual phonemes and represent them using the correct graphemes. As children progress through Reception and Year 1, they develop their knowledge of the alphabetic code by learning alternative graphemes for the same phoneme and applying this understanding to both reading and spelling. Alongside phonics, children are taught to read and spell Common Exception Words that do not fully follow regular phonic patterns.

Once children have completed the Little Wandle phonics programme and have become fluent readers, spelling is taught progressively through the No Nonsense Spelling programme from Year 2 to Year 6. This builds on children's phonic knowledge while explicitly teaching spelling patterns, rules, morphology (prefixes and suffixes), etymology (word origins) and statutory spelling lists, enabling pupils to become confident and accurate spellers.

Support for children who find spelling challenging may include:

• Little Wandle Keep Up sessions to reinforce phonics and spelling knowledge.
• Small group or targeted spelling interventions.
• Phonics and spelling mats to support independent writing.
• Common Exception Word and statutory spelling word lists.
• Working walls displaying key vocabulary and spelling patterns.
• Multi-sensory spelling strategies, including oral rehearsal, magnetic letters, word building and handwriting practice.
• Pre-teaching and overlearning of key vocabulary linked to current learning.
• Additional adult support where appropriate to build confidence and accuracy.