The order in which the letter-sounds are taught should be followed exactly but the days and weeks the sounds are taught are just a suggestion. In each phase there are multiple weeks for revision so if your pace of teaching is slower it will not matter. If you are teaching year 0 class it is suggested that you start teaching the core lessons from the start again in terms 3 and 4, while also teaching new phase 3 letter-sounds.
Letters and Sounds can also be taught using Phonics Groups. To use this method, students are divided according to their phonic knowledge rather than their year group. e.g. If you have 4 classrooms across years 0-2, then teacher 1 will only teach phase 2; teacher 2 teaches phase 3, teacher 3 teaches phase 4 and teacher 4 teaches phase 5. After each phase a phonics assessment is carried out and students who score 90% or higher move up to the next phase.
Free daily lesson plans and guidance are available at: