Ten Minutes a Day, With a Parent or TA. No training required.
 

The Innovate UK funded MyWordz® word mapping technology provides real-time guidance, helping the adult support a child on a 1:1 basis, while showing how speech and print connect. Part of the tech is MySpeekie®, the first one-screen AAC for non-speaking children. The speech-to-print connection can be formed without the need to produce speech. 
 

It complements whole-class phonics instruction, regardless of programme, so sessions never conflict with what the child is doing in the classroom at school. Children are shown the orthographic code, so also ideal for those with hearing difficulties.
 

The updated Monster Spelling Piano app for tablets enables at least 90% of children to pass the PSC by the end of Reception. That result will please Bridget Phillipson in the schools we are supporting in England, but for us the real goal is different: it frees up time to focus on reading for pleasure, not on being explicitly taught more GPCs.
 

Teachers have 25 or more children to support, which is why whole-class instruction is so popular, as easier to manage learning that way, yet one in five children in Reception need one-to-one time that teachers simply do not have. A TA or empowered parents, who can use Speedie Readies at home, is a powerful weapon against illiteracy. 
 

The TA or parent spends ten minutes a day with the children identified as at risk in Term 1 until they reach the point of self-teaching.
The step-by-step guide will soon be added to the Reading Corner for members under What Grown-Ups Need to Know. 

Week 1

The adult learns to identify early indicators of dyslexia risk using the Monster Spelling Piano app for tablets and becomes familiar with the Phonemies®. No prior knowledge of phonemic awareness and phonological awareness screening required.

Week 2

The parent or TA uses the activities in the Speedie Readies handbook and begins to explore word mapping with the children using the MyWordz® technology, funded by Innovate UK. They learn about the orthographic code (and how to understand the 'letters and sounds' connections) alongside the children.

Week 3

Children start reading orthographically mapped stories that make the grapheme–phoneme structure of each word visible. This bridges early phonological work with connected-text reading, supporting decoding, spelling, and self-teaching. They are learning phonics in a different way - embracing linguistic and neurdiversity. Even if the adult knows nothing about English orthography and the issues it presents to those teaching phonics, or how accents affect these correspondences.
 

Children love these stories, and because the orthographic code is made visible in the first 52, all words become decodable regardless of their existing knowledge. They quickly begin to enjoy reading and want to find out what happens next.
 

The process continues until the child has worked through the 36 pre-readers, followed by the 16 introductory readers. These 52 orthographically mapped stories are available in The Reading Corner (members area). Anyone can join to access the whole One, Two, Three and Away! series. Parents can join - £5.75 per month. The member area also shows how to ensure that every child can pass the Phonic Screening Check before Year 1.  
 

After the 52 mapped readers, they can move on to the 20 Blue Platform readers, which are code mapped (without Phonemies). They can use the MyWordz technology if they are stuck on words. 
 

By the time they reach the 20 Main Readers, they are reading to learn, no longer learning to read. They are self-teaching. 
 

A separate KS2 member's area is being developed using new story materials designed for age-appropriate engagement.