Your child sees the word ship. They read it almost immediately. Then later, you ask them to spell ship. Suddenly they hesitate.
"S… h… i… p?"
Perhaps they write sip. Or shp. Or they know exactly what the word says when it is written in front of them but cannot work out which letters they need when the word disappears. For parents, this can be confusing.
If my child can read the word, shouldn't they be able to spell it?
Not necessarily. Reading and spelling are closely connected, but they are not the same process. When children read, they work from print to speech. When they spell, they need to work in the opposite direction: speech to print. And for many children, that second journey is harder. Understanding the difference can help us work out whether a child simply needs more spelling practice, has gaps in their phonics knowledge, needs to strengthen their segmenting skills, or is ready to learn more complex spelling patterns. Most importantly, it helps us give children the right support rather than simply asking them to memorise more words.
Reading and Spelling Are Two Sides of Phonics
When children learn phonics, they learn relationships between the sounds in spoken language and the letters that represent those sounds.
A phoneme is a unit of sound.
A grapheme is a letter or group of letters used to represent a phoneme in writing.
For example, in: ship
we can hear three phonemes: /sh/ /i/ /p/
but we write four letters: s h i p
That's because sh is a digraph: two letters representing one phoneme. Children need to learn these relationships for both reading and spelling. But they use them differently depending on the task.
Decoding: What Happens When a Child Reads?
When a child encounters an unfamiliar written word, they can use phonics to decode it.
Take: rain
A child sees the graphemes: r – ai – n
They retrieve the phonemes those graphemes represent: /r/ /ai/ /n/
Then they blend those phonemes together: rain
The information is already on the page. The letters are visible. The child needs to recognise them, retrieve the corresponding sounds and blend them into a word. In simple terms:
Reading = See the graphemes → retrieve the phonemes → blend → say the word
But spelling asks the child to do something different.
Encoding: What Happens When a Child Spells?
Suppose I say the word: rain
This time, there are no letters for the child to look at. They need to listen to the spoken word.
Then they need to identify the individual phonemes: /r/ /ai/ /n/
This process is called segmenting.
Next, they need to decide which graphemes represent those phonemes.
r – ai – n
Then they need to write them in the correct order. This process is often described as encoding.
Spelling = Hear the word → segment the phonemes → choose the graphemes → write the word
There are more decisions involved. And once children reach the more complex parts of the English spelling system, those decisions become considerably harder.
Why Spelling Can Be Harder Than Reading
Imagine your child sees: train
They recognise ai. They know it represents /ai/. They blend the word. Train. Excellent.
Now remove the word and ask them to spell train. They hear:
/t/ /r/ /ai/ /n/
They know the /ai/ sound. But how should they write it? ai? ay? a_e? a? ey?
There can be more than one grapheme representing the same phoneme. That's one of the complexities of English spelling. Reading gives the child the spelling. Spelling requires them to choose it. This is why a child can recognise a grapheme when they see it but struggle to retrieve it independently when spelling.
Recognition and Recall Are Different
Think about recognising somebody's face. You may instantly think: "I know that person."
But then someone asks: "What's their name?"
And suddenly you can't retrieve it. Recognition and recall place different demands on memory. Something similar can happen with phonics.
A child might look at igh and immediately know: /igh/
But when asked to spell night, they have to independently retrieve igh from memory. That is harder. This is one reason I wouldn't automatically assume something is wrong when spelling develops more slowly than reading. What matters is where the difficulty is happening.
First Check: Can Your Child Hear the Sounds?
Before worrying about spelling rules, look at segmenting.
Say: frog
Can your child break it into: /f/ /r/ /o/ /g/?
Try: shop
Can they hear: /sh/ /o/ /p/?
Try: chimp
Can they identify: /ch/ /i/ /m/ /p/?
A child who cannot reliably identify the phonemes in a spoken word is going to find spelling extremely difficult. They cannot choose a grapheme for a sound they haven't identified.
Blending and Segmenting Are Different Skills
This is another common source of confusion. A child may be very good at blending.
You show: c – oa – t
They say: coat
But if you say coat and ask them to tell you the sounds, they struggle.
Blending and segmenting are related, but one does not automatically guarantee the other.
Blending
Individual phonemes → whole word. Used primarily for reading.
Segmenting
Whole spoken word → individual phonemes. Used primarily for spelling.
Children need practice doing both.
Try Segmenting Without Writing
If writing itself is demanding for your child, separate the skills.
Say: fish
Don't ask them to write it.
Ask:
"What sounds can you hear?"
They might use counters:
🔵 🔵 🔵
/f/ /i/ /sh/
Or tap each sound on their fingers.
Or push an object forward for each phoneme.
The aim is to establish:
Can the child hear the structure of the word?
Only afterwards add the graphemes. This can be particularly useful when handwriting, working memory or the physical act of writing is adding another layer of difficulty.
Then Check Their Phoneme–Grapheme Knowledge
Perhaps your child can segment perfectly.
You say: chip
They tell you: /ch/ /i/ /p/.
But then they write: cip
Now we have learned something important. The problem probably isn't segmenting. They identified /ch/. The difficulty may be remembering that, for the phonics knowledge they have been taught, /ch/ can be represented by the grapheme ch.
That is a phoneme–grapheme correspondence issue.
They need to strengthen the connection between: the sound they hear and the grapheme they need to write.
This is why spelling errors can actually be incredibly useful. They tell us what the child understands.
Don't Just Mark the Whole Word Wrong
Imagine the target word is: ship and the child writes: sip
It is tempting to mark the word with a cross. Wrong. Next word. But look more closely. The child has represented:
/i/ → i
/p/ → p
correctly.
They have heard something at the beginning, but they haven't represented /sh/ accurately. That tells us much more than a red cross does. Similarly:
rain → ran may suggest the child hasn't represented the /ai/ phoneme accurately.
chop → cop may suggest uncertainty around ch.
night → nit may reveal a gap around igh.
The mistake helps us identify what to teach next.
Sometimes Children Spell Words Exactly as They Sound
You may see:
sed for said
wot for what
frend for friend
nite for night
These attempts can look very wrong to an adult. But they're often fascinating from a phonics perspective. The child is trying to apply their knowledge of the sound system. They may have successfully segmented much of the word but selected a plausible grapheme rather than the conventional English spelling. That's different from a child who cannot hear the sounds at all. Again: the type of error matters.
English Spelling Isn't Perfectly Predictable
If every phoneme had exactly one grapheme, spelling would be considerably easier. But English doesn't work like that. Take the /ai/ phoneme. Children may encounter it in: rain, play, cake, table and they. The same phoneme can be represented in different ways. And graphemes can sometimes represent different phonemes depending on the word. This becomes particularly important as children move into Phase 5 phonics. They are no longer simply learning that a sound can be written down. They are increasingly learning: which spelling is likely in which word?
This Is Where Phase 5 Can Feel Like a Big Jump
Earlier phonics learning establishes the alphabetic principle and builds children's knowledge of common grapheme–phoneme correspondences. Later, children encounter much more variation.
For example, they may already know: ai as in rain.
Then they learn that /ai/ can also appear as: ay in play or a_e in cake and in other spellings.
Knowing that several alternatives exist is only the beginning. Children gradually need experience of where those alternatives tend to occur.
For example, ay is commonly found at the end of words or syllables: play, day and stay while ai commonly occurs within words: rain, train and paint
These patterns aren't flawless rules, but understanding them gives children something more useful than guessing. This is one reason the QFE Phase 5B Workbook doesn't simply present lists of alternative spellings. It includes guidance to help parents understand the patterns too, so they can explain why one grapheme may be more likely than another.
"But They Can Spell It in a Test and Forget It Next Week"
This is another very common experience. Your child learns ten spellings. They practise them Monday. Again Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Friday morning, they score 10/10. Success. Then two weeks later, they write one of those words incorrectly in a sentence. What happened?
Being able to remember something for Friday's test isn't necessarily the same as having securely learned it. Children need opportunities to retrieve knowledge over time and use it in different contexts. That's why phonics and spelling practice should include more than copying.
Children can: read the grapheme, say the phoneme, find it in words, build words, segment words, spell words, read sentences, write sentences, and return to the same knowledge later. Retrieval and repetition matter.
Copying Isn't the Same as Spelling
If a child copies: train five times while looking at the word, they may produce: train, train, train, train, train - perfectly. But have they actually practised retrieving the spelling?
Not necessarily. The word is sitting in front of them. Compare that with:
Look at train.
Cover it.
Say the word.
Segment:
/t/ /r/ /ai/ /n/
Write it.
Check it.
Now the child has had to retrieve the graphemes rather than simply reproduce what they can see. Copying can have a place. But it shouldn't be the only spelling practice.
Reading More Helps — But It May Not Be Enough
Children who read regularly encounter written words repeatedly. That exposure matters. Over time, frequently seeing words and spelling patterns can help strengthen their knowledge of written language. But if a child has a specific phonics gap, simply telling them to "read more" may not resolve it. Imagine a child consistently struggles with alternative spellings of /ee/. They may benefit from explicit work comparing: ee, ea, e, y rather than hoping they eventually notice the patterns independently. Reading provides exposure. Teaching helps organise what they're seeing.
Writing Can Hide Phonics Knowledge Too
Sometimes the problem isn't actually spelling. A child may be able to tell you every phoneme in a word and identify the correct graphemes verbally, but writing is slow, tiring or physically difficult. Try asking them to spell using: letter tiles, magnetic letters, grapheme cards, a keyboard, or by telling you the letters while you write. If their spelling suddenly improves, you have learned something. The difficulty may be related to the writing process rather than phonics knowledge itself. We want to identify the actual barrier before deciding what support a child needs.
What Should Parents Look For?
If your child reads more confidently than they spell, watch what happens when they attempt an unfamiliar word. Ask yourself:
Can they segment the spoken word?
Can they identify the phonemes?
Can they match those phonemes to graphemes?
Do they know how the sounds they've identified can be represented?
Are they missing specific correspondences?
For example, digraphs or trigraphs?
Are alternative spellings causing difficulty?
Do they know several possibilities but struggle to choose between them?
Can they spell during phonics practice but not in independent writing?
Perhaps the knowledge isn't yet secure enough for automatic retrieval.
Does handwriting appear to be the barrier?
Can they spell more successfully orally or with letter tiles?
These observations are far more useful than simply deciding: "My child is bad at spelling."
What If They Guess?
Guessing can appear in spelling just as it can in reading. A child hears boat and writes something quickly without segmenting it. Encourage them to slow the process down.
Try:
"Say the word."
Boat.
"Stretch it."
B-oa-t.
"What sounds can you hear?"
/b/ /oa/ /t/
"What could represent /oa/?"
Now we're helping the child use a process rather than depend on memory or guessing. The goal is eventually for that process to become increasingly automatic.
Should Children Memorise Spellings?
Sometimes, yes. English contains words and word parts whose spelling cannot be completely predicted from the phonics knowledge a child currently has. Children will need to remember specific spellings. But memorisation shouldn't replace phonics. If a word contains four phonemes and the child can use phonics to represent three of them, we don't need to treat the entire word as an arbitrary visual shape. Use what is regular. Draw attention to what is unusual. That reduces the memory burden.
Tricky Words Aren't "Words Phonics Doesn't Work For"
This distinction is important. A tricky word is generally tricky relative to the phonics knowledge a child has learned so far. Parts of the word may still be completely decodable. Rather than asking children to memorise the whole word as a picture, identify: Which part can we decode? and Which part is tricky for us right now?
As children's phonics knowledge grows, words that once seemed difficult may become much more explainable.
Why Sentence Writing Matters
A child spelling rain correctly on a flashcard is one step. Writing: The rain fell all day. is another.
Now they need to: think of the sentence, hold it in memory, segment words, retrieve spellings, form letters, use spaces, consider punctuation, and reread what they've written. That's a much greater cognitive demand. This is why children need opportunities to apply phonics beyond isolated word lists. We want the knowledge eventually to support genuine writing.
How to Practise Spelling Without Turning It Into a Battle
You don't need an hour-long spelling lesson. Short, focused practice can be much more manageable. Try a simple routine.
1. Revisit the sound - Say the phoneme.
2. Recall the grapheme - Ask your child to write or build it without looking.
3. Read it in words - Use several examples.
4. Segment a word - Say the word and identify each phoneme.
5. Spell it - Choose the correct graphemes.
6. Use it in a sentence - Move from isolated spelling into meaningful writing.
7. Come back to it later- Tomorrow. Next week. In a different word.
Learning needs revisiting.
Find the Gap Before You Add More Practice
If your child is struggling with spelling, the answer isn't automatically: more spelling words. First ask: Where is the gap?
If they can't hear the phonemes, work on segmenting.
If they can segment but don't know the grapheme, revisit that correspondence.
If they know one spelling but not the alternatives, they may need later Phase 5 knowledge.
If they know the pattern during practice but can't retrieve it later, they may need more spaced retrieval and application.
If they know the spelling orally but struggle to write it, investigate whether handwriting is contributing.
Different problems need different support.
Start With a Phonics Assessment
If you're not sure where the difficulty sits, the QFE Phonics Assessment is designed to help you identify your child's current phonics stage and highlight areas that may need strengthening. It isn't about passing or failing. It's about answering:
What can my child already do confidently?
Where are the gaps?
What should we work on next?
Once you know that, you can choose support that actually matches your child's needs rather than starting again from the beginning or jumping ahead.
Choosing the Right QFE Support
Once you've identified your child's current phase, there are two main ways to continue.
Prefer Flexible Practice at Home?
The QFE phonics workbooks are designed for families who want structured learning they can use at their own pace. There are resources across:
Phase 5B — Alternative Spellings and Pronunciations
Activities revisit phonics knowledge in different ways so children aren't constantly learning a new task at the same time as learning new phonics. Depending on your child, you might complete a task each day or spend an entire week consolidating one sound or pattern. There is no prize for rushing through it. The aim is secure learning.
Would Your Child Benefit From Teacher-Led Learning?
For children who are comfortable learning online and benefit from routine, interaction and direct teacher guidance, QFE also offers live online phonics programmes. Sessions are approximately 25 minutes, with small cohorts of up to 10 children. Children practise phonics through reading, spelling and application rather than learning sounds in isolation.
This may be particularly useful for a child who: benefits from a consistent routine, enjoys learning with other children, needs encouragement and confidence, or responds well to direct teacher guidance. The important thing isn't whether a workbook or live programme is "better". It's: Which form of learning suits this child?
Reading Ahead of Spelling Doesn't Mean Something Has Gone Wrong
Finally, remember that reading and spelling do not always develop at exactly the same rate. A child may recognise far more words than they can independently spell. They may decode a grapheme before they can reliably retrieve it. They may understand a spelling pattern before it becomes automatic in their writing. That doesn't mean we ignore persistent difficulties. But it does mean we look carefully before assuming a child has failed to learn something.
Ask:
Can they hear it?
Can they segment it?
Do they know the grapheme?
Can they retrieve it?
Can they choose between alternatives?
Can they apply it independently?
When a child can read a word but cannot spell it, it can look like they've somehow forgotten what they know. Often, the explanation is simpler.
Reading and spelling are asking them to do different things.
Reading asks children to turn print into speech. Spelling asks them to turn speech into print.
For spelling, children must hear the phonemes, segment the word, retrieve the appropriate graphemes, choose between possible spellings and produce them in the correct order. That's a lot of work. So rather than simply adding another list of words to memorise: find the gap. Strengthen the underlying skill. Practise it. Revisit it. Then give children opportunities to use it in real writing. The goal is for children to develop the phonics knowledge and spelling strategies they can independently draw on whenever they want to put their own ideas into words.
Continue Your Child's Phonics Journey
Not sure which phase your child is currently working at? Start with the QFE Phonics Assessment to identify secure knowledge and possible gaps.
Once you know their stage, you can choose the appropriate Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4, Phase 5A or Phase 5B workbook, or explore the live online phonics programmes if your child benefits from teacher-led learning.
