Spelling Shed
Spelling Shed
Spelling Shed is an engaging online programme that helps children practise spelling patterns, rules and key vocabulary through games and activities. Regular spelling practice supports children’s reading, writing, vocabulary and confidence.
Weekly spellings
From Year 1-6, your child’s spellings will be shared on ClassDojo each Friday. These will reflect the spelling pattern, rule or group of words being taught in school.
A complete termly spelling overview can also be found on each year group’s class page on the school website. This allows families to see the spelling patterns and words that will be covered across the term.
Alternatively, a PDF covering all words from Year 1-6 can be accessed here.
Supporting your child at home
Children can access Spelling Shed using the username and password provided by school. Short, regular practice is most effective. We recommend approximately 5–10 minutes at a time, several times each week.
Parents and carers can help by:
- encouraging their child to say each word aloud;
- asking them to identify the sounds, syllables and spelling patterns;
- discussing the meaning of unfamiliar words;
- asking them to use each word in a sentence;
- practising words in different ways, such as look, cover, write and check;
- revisiting words from previous weeks; and
- praising effort and improvement rather than focusing only on test scores.
Children can log in to EdShed and Spelling Shed here. Further information is available on the Spelling Shed parents’ page.
National curriculum expectations
| Year group | Main spelling focus |
| Reception | Hear sounds in words and begin to represent them using letters through the school’s phonics programme. |
| Year 1 | Use phonics to spell words, learn common exception words and begin to use simple spelling rules and endings. |
| Year 2 | Apply more complex phonics, learn further common exception words and use prefixes, suffixes and different word endings. |
| Years 3/4 | Develop knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, word families and more complex spelling patterns, alongside the statutory Year 3 and 4 word list. |
| Years 5/6 | Apply increasingly complex spelling rules, investigate word origins and relationships, and learn words from the statutory Year 5 and 6 word list. |
Children are expected to apply the spellings they have learned in their independent writing, not only during spelling activities or tests.
These expectations come from the National Curriculum for English. The detailed spelling patterns and statutory word lists can be found in the National Curriculum English Spelling Appendix.
If your child has lost their login details or is finding their spellings difficult, please contact their class teacher.