Decodable Book Progression and FAQs

Decodable books, also known as phonic readers, are books that contain words only using a range of phonemes that children have learnt and know tricky words.  These phonemes are gradually introduced (starting with s, a, t, p) using a week-by-week progression. Decodable books also use a small number of common exception words (or tricky words) also introduced gradually.

The first books in phases 2 and 3 have simple CVC (consonant vowel consonant words) e.g. hat, bat tip. As children progress, they encounter more complex words with the full range of phonemes that children have learnt.

Decodable books only select letter sounds within the text that are familiar to children (according to the progression). This empowers children to focus on decoding as they apply their explicitly taught phonics skills. Decodable books will increase confidence in young readers as children can rely on their newly developing phonics skills to read an unfamiliar text.

Decodable books are most effective when children are first learning to read.  Book-banded (or levelled) programmes may confuse children if used adjacent to decodable books as these levelled books are not decodable. This guidance shows how our Letters and Sounds decodable books can be age-graded according to book bands.