Foundation Skills

At Wentworth, we believe that every child deserves the strongest possible start to their learning journey. ‘Strong Foundations’ and ‘Foundational Skills’ refers to the guidance published by the Department for Education and Ofsted that highlight the essential knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours that enable children to thrive throughout primary school and beyond.

Word Reading Foundational Skills Progression Grid

Strand	EYFS	Year 1	Year 2
Phonological Awareness	Hears and identifies environmental sounds Recognises rhyme and alliteration Claps syllables Oral blending and segmenting	Confident oral blending and segmenting Uses phonological awareness to support decoding	Applies phonological knowledge automatically when decoding unfamiliar words
Phonics Knowledge	Recognises taught graphemes Knows corresponding phonemes Begins to read simple CVC words	Secure with Phase 3–5 Reads a wide range of decodable words Applies phonics to unfamiliar words	Secure with full alphabetic code Reads multisyllabic words using taught GPCs Applies phonics flexibly and confidently
Blending for Reading	Blends simple CVC words with support Begins to blend unfamiliar words independently	Blends confidently and consistently Moves from slow blending to more automatic reading	Blending is automatic and fluent Reads with increasing speed and accuracy
Common Exception Words	Recognises a small set of high-frequency words	Reads taught common exception words automatically	Reads a wide range of exception words fluently and in context
Automaticity	Begins to recognise familiar words quickly Relies on decoding	Increasingly automatic with familiar words Decodes new words efficiently	Reads most words on sight Decodes unfamiliar words rapidly and accurately
Morphology	Notices simple endings in spoken language	Reads words with simple suffixes	Reads words with a wider range of prefixes and suffixes
Reading Vocabulary	Builds a small bank of independently read words Recognises patterns in simple words	Expands reading vocabulary through phonics and exposure	Reads a broad range of words across subjects
Application in Texts	Reads simple decodable books Reads from left to right Turns the page in a book	Reads decodable books with increasing fluency and expression	Reads age-appropriate texts with fluency, accuracy, independence

Handwriting Foundational Skills Progression Grid

Strand	EYFS	Year 1	Year 2
Physical Readiness	Develops hand and finger strength Builds gross-motor stability Improves hand-eye coordination	Uses controlled movements Maintains stable posture	Writes with stamina Maintains control and fluency
Mark-Making	Explores marks and patterns Imitates shapes	Forms letters with increasing control	Writes with consistent control and fluency
Pencil Grip	Moves to tripod grip	Uses tripod grip consistently	Maintains correct grip automatically
Letter Formation	Begins correct starting points Forms name letters Uses formation families	Forms all letters correctly Consistent size Letters sit on line	Forms letters fluently Clear ascenders/descenders
Spacing & Presentation	Begins left-to-right Emerging finger spaces	Regular finger spaces Consistent size Neat presentation	Consistent spacing and line placement across longer pieces
Beginning to Join	Not expected	May begin understanding joins	Learns basic joins Knows non-joining letters Develops fluency
Fluency & Stamina	Writes short words with emerging control	Writes sentences with growing fluency	Writes longer pieces with stamina and pride

Spelling Foundational Skills Progression Grid

Strand	EYFS	Year 1	Year 2
Phonological Awareness	Hears sounds; Segments simple words Maps sounds to letters	Segments words to spell Uses phonological awareness	Segments multisyllabic words Applies phonological knowledge automatically
Phonics Knowledge	Writes letters for sounds Spells simple CVC words Begins using digraphs	Uses Phase 3–5 GPCs Applies phonics to unfamiliar words	Uses full GPC range Spells multisyllabic words using phonics and rules
Common Exception Words	Writes some high-frequency words	Spells taught CEWs accurately	Spells a wide range of CEWs consistently
Spelling Patterns	Notices simple patterns	Learns basic rules (s, es, ing, ed) Understands vowel digraphs	Applies wider rules (drop e, double consonants, y→ies)
Morphology	Notices endings like s, ing	Spells words with simple suffixes	Spells words with prefixes and suffixes (un-, dis-, re-, -ful, -less, -ment, -ness)
High-Frequency Words	Writes familiar words Attempts story words	Builds growing bank of correctly spelled words	Spells a wide range of high-frequency and curriculum words
Application in Writing	Uses phonics to attempt words	Applies spelling in sentences Begins self-correction	Applies rules consistently Proofreads for accuracy