EYFS ARE Spelling (All pupils must be taught these things)
Phase 1 (seven aspects)
Working on: Showing awareness of rhyme and alliteration, distinguishing
between different sounds in the environment and phonemes, exploring and
experimenting with sounds and words and discriminating speech sounds in
words. Beginning to orally blend and segment phonemes.
Phase 2
Working on: Using common consonants and vowels. Blending for reading and
segmenting for
spelling simple CVC words. Working on: Knowing that words are constructed
from phonemes and that phonemes are represented by graphemes.
Letter progression: Set 1: s, a, t, Set 2: i, n, m, d Set 3: g, o, c, k Set 4: ck,
e, u, r Set 5: h, b, f, ff, l, ll, ss
Phase 3 (Reception)
Working on: Knowing one grapheme for each of the 43 phonemes
Working on: Reading and spelling a wide range of CVC words using all letters
and less frequent consonant
digraphs and some long vowel phonemes.
Letter progression: Set 6: j, v, w, x Set 7: y, z, zz, qu
Working on: Reading and spelling CVC words using letters and short vowels.
Consonant digraphs ch, sh, th, ng
Working on: Reading and spelling CVC words using a wider range of letters,
short vowels, some consonant
digraphs and double letters.
Graphemes: ear, air, ure, er, ar, or, ur, ow, oi, ai, ee, igh, oa, oo
Phase 4 (Year Reception/Year 1)
Working on: Segmenting adjacent consonants in words and apply this in
spelling.
Working on: Blending adjacent consonants in words and applying this skill
when reading unfamiliar texts
Early Learning Goals:
At the end of reception children use their knowledge to write words in
ways which match their spoken sounds. They write simple sentences
which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt
correctly and others are phonetically plausible.
Year 1 (All pupils must be taught these things)
Spelling
Revision of Reception work
The boundary between revision of work covered in Reception and the introduction of new
work may vary according to the programme used, but basic revision should include:

all grapheme-phoneme correspondences which have been taught

the process of segmenting spoken words into sounds before choosing graphemes to
represent the sounds

words with adjacent consonants;

rules and guidelines which have been taught

vowel digraphs which have been taught
The sounds /f/, /l/, /s/, /z/ and /k/ spelt ff, ll, ss, zz and ck
The /ŋ/ sound spelt n before k
Division of words into syllables
The /v/ sound at the end of words
Adding the endings –ing, –ed and –er to verbs where no change is needed to the root word
Vowel digraphs and trigraphs
ai, oi, ay, oy, a-e, e-e, i-e, o-e, u-e, ar, ee, ea, er, ir, ur, oo, oa, oe, ou, ow, ue, ie, igh, or,
ore, air, ear, are,
Words ending –y (/i:/ or /ɪ/ depending on accent)
New consonant spellings ph and wh
Using k for the /k/ sound
Compound words
Phase 5 (Year 1)
Working on: Reading phonically decodable two syllable and three-syllable words.
Working on: Using alternative ways of pronouncing and spelling the graphemes
corresponding to the long vowel phonemes. (More able)
Working on: Spelling complex words using phonically plausible attempts
First 100 high frequency words
Pupils should be taught to spell:

words containing each of the 40+ phonemes already taught

common exception words

the days of the week

name the letters of the alphabet:

naming the letters of the alphabet in order

using letter names to distinguish between alternative spellings of the same sound

add prefixes and suffixes (most able):

using the spelling rule for adding –s or –es as the plural marker for nouns and the third
person singular marker for verbs

using the prefix un– (most able)

using –ing, –ed, –er and –est where no change is needed in the spelling of root words
(e.g. helping, helped, helper, eating, quicker, quickest)

apply simple spelling rules and guidelines, as listed in Appendix 1
 write from memory simple sentences dictated by the teacher that include words taught
so far.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Word
Regular plural noun suffixes –s or –es [for
example, dog, dogs; wish, wishes], including
the effects of these suffixes on the meaning of
the noun
Suffixes that can be added to verbs where no
change is needed in the spelling of root words
(e.g. helping, helped, helper)
How the prefix un– changes the meaning of
verbs and adjectives [negation, for example,
unkind, or undoing: untie the boat]
Sentence
How words can combine to make sentences
Joining words and joining clauses using and
Text
Sequencing sentences to form short narratives
Punctuation
Separation of words with spaces
Introduction to capital letters, full stops,
question marks and exclamation marks to
demarcate sentences
Capital letters for names and for the personal
pronoun I
Terminology
for pupils
letter, capital letter
word, singular, plural
sentence
punctuation, full stop, question mark,
exclamation mark
Year 2 (All pupils must be taught these things)
Spelling
Phase 6 (Year 2)
Working on: Recognising phonic irregularities. and becoming more secure with less common
grapheme-phoneme correspondences.
Working on: Applying phonic skills and knowledge to recognise and spell an increasing number of
complex words.
words with different phonemes
suffix ed for past tense and ing for present tense (intro drop e and double consonant)
compound words
common suffixes (s es ful y less ed ing)
common prefixes un dis
discriminate syllables in multisyllabic words (consolidate compound, suffixes, prefixes words)
ew, aw, au, ure, -tch
Adding s and es to words (plural of nouns and the third person singular of verbs)
Adding –er and –est to adjectives where no change is needed to the root word
Adding the prefix –un
Common exception words
apostrophes for contractions
In Year 2 Pupils should be taught to:
spell by:

segmenting words into phonemes and representing these by graphemes, spelling many
correctly

learning new ways of spelling phonemes for which one or more spellings are already known,
and learn some words with each spelling, including a few common homophones

learning to spell common exception words

learning to spell more words with contracted forms

distinguishing between homophones and near-homophones

add suffixes to spell longer words, e.g. –ment, –ness, –ful and –less

apply spelling rules and guidelines, as listed in Appendix 1

write from memory simple sentences dictated by the teacher that include words and
punctuation taught so far.
Revision of work from Year 1
As words with new GPCs are introduced, many previously-taught GPCs can be revised at the
same time as these words will usually contain them.
The /dʒ/ sound spelt as ge and dge at the end of words, and sometimes spelt as g elsewhere in
words before e, i and y
The /s/ sound spelt c before e, i and y
The /n/ sound spelt kn and (less often) gn at the beginning of words
The sound spelt wr at the beginning of words
The sound spelt –le at the end of words
The sound spelt –el at the end of words
The sound spelt –al at the end of words
Words ending –il
The sound spelt –y at the end of words
Adding –es to nouns and verbs ending in consonant letter –y
Adding –ed, –ing, –er and –est to root words ending in consonant-letter–y
Adding the endings –ing, –ed, –er, –est and –y to words ending in vowel-letter–consonant-letter–e
Adding –ing, –ed, –er, –est and –y to words of one syllable ending in a single consonant letter
after a single vowel letter
The /ɔ:/ sound spelt a before l and ll - all; ball
The /ʌ/ sound spelt o – other, mother
The /i:/ sound spelt –ey – key, donkey
Spelling Cont.
The /ɒ/ sound spelt a after w and qu – want, watch
The /ɜ:/ sound spelt or after w – word, work
The /ɔ:/ sound spelt ar after w – war, warm
The /ʒ/ sound spelt s – television,usual
The suffixes –ment, –ness, –ful and –less
Contractions
Words ending in –tion
Homophones and near-homophones
Common exception words
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Word
Formation of nouns using suffixes such as –ness, –er and by
compounding [for example, whiteboard, superman]
Formation of adjectives using suffixes such as –ful, –less
(A fuller list of suffixes can be found on page 46 in the year 2 spelling
section in English Appendix 1)
Use of the suffixes –er, –est in adjectives and the use of –ly in
Standard English to turn adjectives into adverbs
Sentence
Subordination (using when, if, that, because) and co-ordination (using
or, and, but)
Expanded noun phrases for description and specification [for example,
the blue butterfly, plain flour, the man in the moon]
How the grammatical patterns in a sentence indicate its function as
a statement, question, exclamation or command
Text
Correct choice and consistent use of present tense and past tense
throughout writing
Use of the progressive form of verbs in the present and past tense to
mark actions in progress [for example, she is drumming, he was
shouting]
Punctuation
Use of capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks
to demarcate sentences
Commas to separate items in a list
Apostrophes to mark where letters are missing in spelling and to mark
singular possession in nouns [for example, the girl’s name]
Terminology for
pupils
noun, noun phrase
statement, question, exclamation, command
compound, suffix
adjective, adverb, verb
tense (past, present)
apostrophe, comma
Year 3 ARE (All pupils must be taught these things)
Spelling
le words
common prefixes (un de dis re pre)
use prefixes to generate antonyms
adding y
adding s and es to nouns
irregular plurals (words ending in f ff and nouns which don’t add s)
silent letters knee gnat wrinkle
compound words common suffixes ly ful less er able
use suffixes to generate new words (ship, ful, ness, ment, hood, less, er, est,
ly, ish, dom, like)
short words within longer words
prefixes mis non ex co anti
contractions (pronouns)
homonyms
regular verb endings (incl single consonant, end in y, in e, hissing, buzzing)
Also irregular verb endings link to tense change
nouns adding s, es, ies nouns adding s, es, ies
The possessive apostrophe (singular nouns)
Pupils should be taught to:
 use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them
(Appendix 1)
 spell further homophones
 spell words that are often misspelt (Appendix 1)
 use the first two or three letters of a word to check its spelling in a
dictionary
 write from memory simple sentences, dictated by the teacher, that include
words and punctuation taught so far.
 Revision of work from Years 1 and 2
 Pay special attention to the rules for adding suffixes.
Yr 3 - The /ɪ/ sound spelt y elsewhere than at the end of words
Yr 3 - The /ʌ/ sound spelt ou
Yr 3 - The suffix –ly
Yr 3 - Words with endings sounding like /ʒə/ or /tʃə/
Yr 3 - Endings which sound like /ʒən/
Yr 3 - Words with the /k/ sound spelt ch (Greek in origin)
Yr 3 - Words with the /ʃ/ sound spelt ch (mostly French in origin)
Yr 3 - Homophones or near-homophones
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Word
Formation of nouns using a range of prefixes [for
example super–, anti–, auto–]
Use of the forms a or an according to whether the next
word begins with a consonant or a vowel [for example,
a rock, an open box]
Word families based on common words, showing how
words are related in form and meaning [for example,
solve, solution, solver, dissolve, insoluble]
Sentence
Expressing time, place and cause using conjunctions
[for example, when, before, after, while, so, because],
adverbs [for example, then, next, soon, therefore], or
prepositions [for example, before, after, during, in,
because of]
Text
Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related
material
Headings and sub-headings to aid presentation
Use of the present perfect form of verbs instead of the
simple past [for example, He has gone out to play
contrasted with He went out to play]
Punctuation
Introduction to inverted commas to punctuate direct
speech
Terminology
for pupils
preposition, conjunction
word family, prefix
clause, subordinate clause
direct speech
consonant, consonant letter vowel, vowel letter
inverted commas (or ‘speech marks’)
Year 4 ARE (All pupils must be taught these things)
Spelling
two syllable words containing a double consonant
regular verb endings s ed ing (link to tenses)
irregular tense changes irregular plurals
suffixes al ary ic
nouns and adjectives in to verbs by use of suffix ate ify en ise tion ity ness
adding suffixes to words ending in f
common endings ight tion ious ial ough
prefixes ad af al a
explore occurrence of certain letters within words eg v and k
explore occurrence of certain letter strings within words wa wo ss (also 00 ch sc)
common letter strings with different pronunciations (ough ear ight ou au ice)
collect and classify common roots (tele, aqua, dec)
extend compounding words (full y ive tion ic ist)
suffixes ible able ive tion sion
diminutives (mini ette ling micro )
links between meaning and spellings of prefixes and suffixes
dis re ed auto circum tele trans ette mini micro ling ive tion ic ist mis ex
bi trans
plurals s es ies
common letter strings
apostrophe in contracted words
Pupils should be taught to:

use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them (Appendix 1)

spell further homophones

spell words that are often misspelt (Appendix 1)

use the first two or three letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary

write from memory simple sentences, dictated by the teacher, that include words
and punctuation taught so far.

Revision of work from Years 1, 2 and 3

Pay special attention to the rules for adding suffixes.
Yr 4 - Adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words of more than one syllable
Yr 4 - More prefixes
Yr 4 - The suffix –ation
Yr 4 - The suffix –ous
Yr 4- Endings which sound like /ʃən/, spelt –tion, –sion, –ssion, –cian
Yr 4 - Words ending with the /g/ sound spelt –gue and the /k/ sound spelt –que (French
in origin)
Yr 4 - Words with the /s/ sound spelt sc (Latin in origin)
Yr 4 - Words with the /eɪ/ sound spelt ei, eigh, or ey
Yr 4 - Possessive apostrophe with plural words
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Word
The grammatical difference between plural and
possessive –s
Standard English forms for verb inflections
instead of local spoken forms [for example, we
were instead of we was, or I did instead of I done]
Sentence
Noun phrases expanded by the addition of
modifying adjectives, nouns and preposition
phrases (e.g. the teacher expanded to: the strict
maths teacher with curly hair)
Fronted adverbials [for example, Later that day, I
heard the bad news.]
Text
Use of paragraphs to organise ideas around a
theme
Appropriate choice of pronoun or noun within and
across sentences to aid cohesion and avoid
repetition
Punctuation
Use of inverted commas and other punctuation to
indicate direct speech [for example, a comma after
the reporting clause; end punctuation within
inverted commas: The conductor shouted, “Sit
down!”]
Apostrophes to mark plural possession [for
example, the girl’s name, the girls’ names] Use of
commas after fronted adverbials
Terminology
for pupils
determiner
pronoun, possessive pronoun
adverbial
Year 5 ARE (All pupils must be taught these things)
Spelling
properties of words ending in vowels other than e
spelling patterns in pluralisation s es ies
patterns in pluralisation f to ves and irregular plurals
prefixes auto bi trans tele circum
identify root words and derivations
explore spelling patterns of consonants and formulate rules ll becomes l as suffix
change y to I when add full
explore spelling patterns of consonants and formulate rules
words which have common letter strings but different pronunciations
possessive pronouns
suffixes cian sion ssion tion ation etion ition otion ution
unstressed vowels in polysyllabic words
spelling rules e.g. modifying e
spelling rules e.g. words ending in y
transform words change tense ed ing
negation un im il
comparative er est ish
verbs to nouns ion ism ology
nouns to verbs ise ify en
explore less common prefixes and suffixes in im ir il
unstressed vowels in polysyllabic words (ary ery ory ence)
common letter strings with different pronunciations (ight ear oo ough ie our cian
sion tion ssion)
explore spelling patterns of consonants and formulate rules
spelling rules for adding suffixes to words ending in e, y, ie (ing, est, er, ed, able, ish,
ful, less, ly, ment, ness, ous)
identify word roots, derivations and spelling patterns
Pupils should be taught to:

use further prefixes and suffixes and understand the guidelines for adding them

spell some words with ‘silent’ letters, e.g. knight, psalm, solemn

continue to distinguish between homophones and other words which are often
confused

use knowledge of morphology and etymology in spelling and understand that the
spelling of some words needs to be learnt specifically, as listed in Appendix 1

use dictionaries to check the spelling and meaning of words

use the first three or four letters of a word to check spelling, meaning or both of
these in a dictionary

use a thesaurus

Revise work done in previous years
New work for Year 5
Yr 5 - Adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words ending in –fer
Yr 5 - Use of the hyphen
Yr 5 - Words containing the letter-string ough
Yr 5 - Homophones and other words that are often confused
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Word
Converting nouns or adjectives into verbs using
suffixes [for example, –ate; –ise; –ify]
Verb prefixes [for example, dis–, de–, mis–, over– and
re–]
Sentence
Relative clauses beginning with who, which, where,
when, whose, that, or an omitted relative pronoun
Indicating degrees of possibility using adverbs [for
example, perhaps, surely] or modal verbs [for example,
might, should, will, must]
Text
Devices to build cohesion within a paragraph [for
example, then, after that, this, firstly]
Linking ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of
time [for example, later], place [for example, nearby] and
number [for example, secondly] or tense choices [for
example, he had seen her before]
Punctuation
Brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis
Use of commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity
Terminology
for pupils
modal verb, relative pronoun
relative clause
parenthesis, bracket, dash
cohesion, ambiguity
Year 6 ARE (All pupils must be taught these things)
Spelling
use word roots, prefixes and suffixes as a support for spelling eg aqua audi
con duo micro
meanings of spellings (connectives)
learn independent spelling strategies for spelling unfamiliar words
meanings of spellings (connectives)
revise and extend – patterns for unstressed vowels and consonants in
polysyllabic words
use what is known about prefixes and suffixes to transform words (ify, tion,
ness, ity, un, dis, de, il, anti, etc…)
spell unfamiliar words using what is known of spelling patterns and word
families
e.g. tt le ed ing ight ough qu phi phy ctu tch wr gue mb ps pt
pn gn
revise and use word roots, prefixes and suffixes as a support for spelling
eg aqua audi con duo micro
Pupils should be taught to:
 use further prefixes and suffixes and understand the guidelines for
adding them
 spell some words with ‘silent’ letters, e.g. knight, psalm, solemn
 continue to distinguish between homophones and other words which are
often confused
 use knowledge of morphology and etymology in spelling and understand
that the spelling of some words needs to be learnt specifically, as listed in
Appendix 1 of NC Framework
 use dictionaries to check the spelling and meaning of words
 use the first three or four letters of a word to check spelling, meaning or
both of these in a dictionary
 use a thesaurus
 Revise work done in previous years
New work for Year 6
Yr 6 - Endings which sound like /ʃəs/ spelt –cious or –tious
Yr 6 - Endings which sound like /ʃəl/
Yr 6 - Words ending in –ant, –ance/–ancy, –ent, –ence/–ency
Yr 6 - Words ending in –able and –ible
Yr 6 - Words with the /i:/ sound spelt ei after c
 Yr 6 - Words with ‘silent’ letters (i.e. letters whose presence cannot be
predicted from the pronunciation of the word)
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Word
The difference between vocabulary typical of informal
speech and vocabulary appropriate for formal speech and
writing [for example, find out – discover; ask for – request;
go in – enter]
How words are related by meaning as synonyms and
antonyms [for example, big, large, little].
Sentence
Use of the passive to affect the presentation of information
in a sentence [for example, I broke the window in the
greenhouse versus The window in the greenhouse was
broken (by me)].
The difference between structures typical of informal speech
and structures appropriate for formal speech and writing [for
example, the use of question tags: He’s your friend, isn’t
he?, or the use of subjunctive forms such as If
Text
Linking ideas across paragraphs using a wider range of
cohesive devices: repetition of a word or phrase,
grammatical connections [for example, the use of
adverbials such as on the other hand, in contrast, or as a
consequence], and ellipsis
Layout devices [for example, headings, sub-headings,
columns, bullets, or tables, to structure text]
Punctuation
Use of the semi-colon, colon and dash to mark the
boundary between independent clauses [for example, It’s
raining; I’m fed up]
Use of the colon to introduce a list and use of semi-colons
within lists
Punctuation of bullet points to list information
How hyphens can be used to avoid ambiguity [for example,
man eating shark versus man-eating shark, or recover
versus re-cover]
Terminology
for pupils
subject, object
active, passive
synonym, antonym
ellipsis, hyphen, colon, semi-colon, bullet points