Literacy 

New Phonics Mandate: Strengthening Early Literacy at Ocean Grove Primary School

From 2025, all government schools in Victoria will follow an updated Teaching and Learning Model, with explicit teaching at its core. This means teachers will give clear, step-by-step instructions so students understand exactly what they are learning and how to apply it.

A big part of this update is phonics and phonemic awareness for our younger students (Prep to Grade 2). Every day, they will have at least 25 minutes of focused phonics instruction. But what does that mean?

• Phonics is learning how letters and sounds work together to form words. For example, when children learn that ‘c’ makes a /k/ sound and ‘at’ says /at/, they can blend them to read "cat."
• Phonemic awareness is about hearing and playing with sounds in words. A simple example is changing the first sound in "cat" to make "bat" or clapping out the sounds in "dog" - /d/ /o/ /g/.

Research from Australia and around the world shows that teaching phonics in a systematic, synthetic way is the most effective way to help children learn to read. Systematic means we follow a clear order, starting with the easiest sounds and building up. Synthetic means we teach children to put sounds together (blend) to read words.

At Ocean Grove Primary School, we already use this approach as part of our strong literacy program. Instead of using a one-size-fits-all program, we base our teaching on the best research and tailor it to the needs of our students. Our reading results show this approach works, and we are proud of our dedicated teachers and hardworking students.

Of course, reading success is a team effort, and we want to say a huge thank you to our families! Your support at home—reading with your child, practising sounds, and making learning fun—makes a real difference. Whether it’s playing word games, listening to your child read, or simply chatting about their day, these small moments help build confident readers.

If you have any questions about these changes or how to support your child’s reading, please reach out to me or your child’s teacher. We’re excited to continue working together to help every child thrive!

Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our school community.

Thank you,

Kerryn McKeon

Literacy Learning Specialist