Fidelity vs. Flexibility: striking the right balance in your phonics programme

Systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programmes have become a cornerstone of teaching reading in English primary schools. Their structured approach provides a solid foundation for decoding skills. However, teachers often face a conundrum: how to balance fidelity to the programme with the need to adapt to individual pupil needs. This blog post explores strategies for achieving this balance, ensuring a comprehensive and effective phonics learning experience for all children.

Understanding Fidelity

While the Department for Education recommends schools take an approach to teaching phonics that is both rigorous and systematic, they do not say that you have to use all resources from a single scheme. Instead, fidelity means that your phonics resources should match the grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) in the order that you are teaching them, so it’s the progression rather than the programme that you are aligning with.

Fidelity also signifies a commitment to the core principles that underpin systematic synthetic phonics as a method of teaching phonics:

Explicit GPC instruction: phonics teaching should provide direct and systematic learning of GPCs. Teaching should introduce new GPCs in a clear and structured manner, allowing pupils to build upon their existing knowledge and develop a strong understanding of the relationships between letters and sounds.

Regular decoding practice: decoding fluency is crucial for confident reading. Pupils should be given plenty of practice decoding new words through phonics activities and reading decodable books that are carefully matched to their level of knowledge.

Tricky words: also known as common exception words, tricky words should be treated differently because they contain unusual or unfamiliar graphemes that they have not yet been taught.

Progressive learning: teaching should follow a logical sequence, building on previously mastered GPCs before introducing new ones. This ensures pupils develop a strong foundational understanding of the English alphabetic code.

Building wider skills: while phonics forms the foundation, it is vital to integrate it with other reading skills. This includes explicit vocabulary development activities and opportunities for applying decoding skills to authentic reading materials. 

Making Room for Flexibility

While fidelity ensures a strong foundation, flexibility allows you to cater for individual needs.

Pre-teaching and re-teaching

Using the data from the assessments within your programme, identify pupils who might require additional support with upcoming GPCs. Give them additional time to practice blending, sounding or decoding words that they might struggle with. Use visuals like mnemonics with pictures and corresponding sounds.

Not all pupils grasp concepts at the same pace. Don't hesitate to revisit challenging GPCs. Repetition through targeted activities or revisiting previous units can solidify understanding. Phonics practice pupil books can help children revisit topics and develop their skills.

Differentiation

Adapt activities within the programme to cater to different children’s needs. For advanced learners, provide activities that extend their knowledge, like decoding multisyllabic words or creating word games using the target sounds. For children who are struggling, provide additional practice with basic skills like sound recognition or blending. Use manipulatives, visuals, and simpler words for them to decode. 

Finding the balance: practical tips

Striking the balance between fidelity and flexibility requires careful planning and collaboration:

Deepen your own phonics knowledge: a thorough understanding of your chosen SSP programme's structure and progression is essential. This allows for informed decisions about where and how adaptations might be beneficial. Handbooks and training will give new and existing staff these tools.

Make data-driven decisions: use your data and formative assessment from lessons to identify strengths and weaknesses. This data then informs which aspects of the programme require additional focus or adaptations for specific groups of pupils.

Take a collaborative approach: share best practices and challenges encountered with colleagues or even other schools using the same programme.

Fidelity and flexibility are not opposing forces, but rather complementary elements that enhance the effectiveness of your SSP programme. By adhering to core principles while strategically adapting to cater to individual needs, you create a learning environment that empowers each pupil to become a confident and successful reader.

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