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In England, early reading is taught through systematic synthetic phonics (Department for Education [DfE], 2014; DfE, 2021). Decodable readers are therefore strictly controlled to align with a specific grapheme–phoneme correspondence teaching order. Almost every word in the text matches the GPCs that have been explicitly taught.

However, “decodable” only works if the child can:

• Recognise the grapheme

• Say the expected phoneme

• Blend the sounds accurately

If any one of these processes is insecure, the book is not truly decodable for that child.

Traditional decodable readers contain many words that align precisely with the taught sequence and only a small number of high-frequency words, which must still be decoded in line with phonics principles (DfE, 2021). The focus is primarily on the mechanics of decoding. While this supports accuracy and practice, vocabulary range is tightly controlled and narrative interest can be limited.

In contrast, levelled readers are structured around high-frequency and predictable words. Repetition supports early success and the material may feel more like “real reading”. However, predictability and memorisation can mask insecure grapheme–phoneme mapping. The child may appear fluent without having secured accurate phonological decoding.

This creates a gap.

Decodable readers prioritise decoding accuracy.
Levelled readers prioritise access and flow.

Neither model alone guarantees both accuracy and meaningful reading at pace.

Making Levelled Readers Decodable

We have created decodable levelled readers.

These are levelled texts that have been made decodable for every child, regardless of where they are in a phonics teaching sequence, provided they can blend sounds.

They also deliberately target the high-frequency words children need. Knowing a core set of frequently occurring words, often referred to as “sight words”, allows children to access a wide range of texts. When these words are mapped clearly rather than memorised visually, they are stored securely in the orthographic lexicon through grapheme–phoneme bonding (Ehri, 2014).

This approach aligns with orthographic mapping theory, which explains that words become permanently stored when graphemes are bonded to phonemes and linked to meaning (Ehri, 2014). It also aligns with Share’s self-teaching hypothesis, which demonstrates that accurate phonological recoding enables children to independently acquire new word representations through reading (Share, 1995).

For self-teaching to occur, decoding must be accurate.

Continuing Systematic Phonics
 

Systematic synthetic phonics continues.
 

Children continue to work through programme-aligned decodable readers to learn the core set of around 100 grapheme–phoneme correspondences that are intended to “kick start” self-teaching (DfE, 2021; Rose, 2006).

However, national data show that approximately one in four pupils in England do not reach the expected standard in reading by the end of Key Stage 2, and this proportion has remained broadly stable between 24% and 27% since 2016 (DfE, 2023).

Similar phonics-based recommendations were endorsed by the National Reading Panel (2000) and the Australian inquiry into the teaching of literacy. Despite this, systematic synthetic phonics programmes do not ensure that every child becomes a skilled, fluent reader.

At the same time, reading for pleasure among children is at its lowest level in twenty years (National Literacy Trust, 2023).

We therefore need to do two things:

1. Ensure children enter the self-teaching phase early

2. Increase reading volume and enjoyment

The Village With Three Corners Pathway

This is where The Village With Three Corners comes in.

Children begin the Pre-Readers after completing their first term of systematic synthetic phonics in England, or once they are secure with the Green and Purple Code Levels in the Speech Sound Pics approach. This includes at least:

s a t p i n m d g o c k ck e u r h b f l ff ll ss

Using the Monster Spelling Piano app, children learn the Monster sounds. The Phonemies display the speech sound value and function as phoneme symbols, making the mapping explicit.

Children then work concurrently:

• Continuing systematic phonics instruction

• Reading the 36 mapped Pre-Readers

• Progressing through the 16 Introductory Readers

These books use the Code Overlay so that every grapheme is visible and linked to its sound value. No word is inaccessible because a correspondence has not yet been explicitly taught.

As orthographic mapping consolidates and self-teaching becomes established (Ehri, 2014; Share, 1995), children no longer require the Code Overlay. They move into the Levelled Readers, which have been made structurally decodable.

At this stage, children can continue to use MyWordz® to check mappings when needed.

Reading More, Reading Earlier

Through this pathway, children:

• Learn phonics

• Learn to read connected, meaningful texts

• Store new words efficiently in their orthographic lexicon

• Increase reading volume

When orthographic representations stabilise, automaticity increases (Ehri, 2014). When automaticity increases, cognitive load decreases. Reading becomes easier. Reading becomes enjoyable.

By Key Stage 2, children who have read widely do not require extensive explicit instruction in morphology because they have encountered and internalised patterns through reading exposure. Spelling strengthens because word-specific representations are secure.
 

Reception and Key Stage 1 are about learning to read and wanting to read.

To achieve this, children need both accurate decoding and meaningful reading.

Decodable levelled readers bridge that gap.
 

References
 

Department for Education. (2014). National curriculum in England: English programmes of study.

Department for Education. (2021). The reading framework: Teaching the foundations of literacy.

Department for Education. (2023). Key stage 2 attainment data.

Ehri, L. C. (2014). Orthographic mapping in the acquisition of sight word reading, spelling memory, and vocabulary learning. Scientific Studies of Reading, 18(1), 5–21.

National Literacy Trust. (2023). Children and young people’s reading report.

National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction.

Rose, J. (2006). Independent review of the teaching of early reading.

Share, D. L. (1995). Phonological recoding and self-teaching: Sine qua non of reading acquisition. Cognition, 55(2), 151–218.*