Bridging Phonics

Sounds and spellings

Which phase is this spelling?

Short reference pages for single spellings in the Letters and Sounds progression. They answer one question each and describe the published progression — they are not a phonics programme and do not replace a school's own guidance.

  • What phase is 'igh'?

    Phase 3. A trigraph — three letters, one sound — and the other spellings of the same sound taught later.

  • Is 'ow' Phase 3 or Phase 5?

    Both. Phase 3 teaches the sound in cow; Phase 5 adds the sound in snow. Which applies depends on the word.

  • When are split digraphs taught?

    Phase 5. What 'split' means, why the final e is part of the vowel spelling, and why 'magic e' describes it differently.