In the twenty-fifth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Naomi Hinton talks about the 2025 Phonics Screening Check that has just been administered to Year 1 students in England. She gives an analysis of the words on the check and then talk about the next steps for teachers in supporting students and reflecting on their own practice. Some helpful links: Blog post - The Phonics Screening Check 2025: Our Analysis The Sounds-Write Membership Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram Sign up t...
Jun 25, 2025•29 min
In the twenty-fourth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Tita Beaven gives us a sneak peek at just a few of the 30+ talks that will play at Phonics Interventions: A Sounds-Write Symposium. Some helpful links: Get your Sounds-Write Symposium ticket https://symposium.sounds-write.co.uk/ Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram Sign up to our mailing list...
Jun 12, 2025•21 min
In the twenty-third episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Laila Sadler talks about the Phonics Screening Check and what educators can do to maximise the weeks leading up to the Check. Some helpful links: The Sounds-Write Membership Episode 8: Literacy Interventions with Jacinda Vaughan Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram Sign up to our mailing list...
May 19, 2025•29 min
In the twenty-second episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Miriam Fein and Sherry Cramer discuss their roles and experience, the partnerships between parents and different education professionals in a struggling reader's life and talk about speech-to-print and how it's affected their practice. Some helpful links: AET website Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram Sign up to our mailing list...
Jun 12, 2024•49 min
In the twenty-first episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Ilona Sydney-Jones discusses the ins and outs of using Sounds-Write with high school students, the importance of supporting older learners with literacy and the specific adaptations she makes when using Sounds-Write with these learners. Enjoy! Some helpful links: SPELDSA Train with SPELDSA Base Camp article by John Walker Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram Sign up to our mailing list...
May 10, 2024•21 min
In the twentieth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Caroline Hardisty is back to give plenty of helpful and practical advice for teaching polysyllabic words. Caroline discusses the rationale behind why we introduce polysyllabic words from simple to complex and in an explicit way, how to syllabify words, and how to implement differentiation techniques with polysyllabic word lessons. Enjoy! Some helpful links: The Sounds-Write Practitioners' Portal Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagra...
Apr 12, 2024•21 min
In the nineteenth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Donna Smith is back to give plenty of helpful and practical advice for Phonics Leads. This episode comes in celebration of the recent release of our Phonics Lead Handbook, a brilliant (and free!) resource that will be any Phonics Lead's guide to all things Sounds-Write. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Access the Phonics Lead Handbook and many more useful documents Alex saying the sounds Sounds-Write Initial Code Episode 3: Phonics With Fidelity w...
Feb 08, 2024•27 min
In the eighteenth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Helen Hampton talks about implementing Sounds-Write in small, rural schools. She discusses how to get started with Sounds-Write in this setting, how to maximise your resources and how to teach phonics to mixed-age classes. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Sounds-Write's Free Resources Sounds-Write's Australian Shop Train with Helen Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram Sign up to our mailing list...
Jan 06, 2024•45 min
In the seventeenth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Alex Bedford and Julie Sherrington talk about their recently released book 'EYFS: Language of Learning'. Alex and Julie are both experienced and passionate educators. They discuss the importance of language development, the impact of the pandemic on children's language and how to put their brilliant handbook into practice. Enjoy! "This book will be the go-to resource for practitioners who want a clear, user-friendly way to develop children'...
Dec 06, 2023•52 min
Welcome to episode 3 of Nuggets of Language Nerdiness by The Sounds-Write Podcast! Do you know the difference between a language, a pidgin and a creole? What would a writing system look like if it could convey tone of voice and stress? What are false cognates? Join us as we explore these questions and more in this episode. Enjoy! Some helpful links and sources: Visit our website Sign up to our mailing list Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram What is a language What’s The Difference Betwee...
Nov 26, 2023•14 min
In the sixteenth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Kirsty Gibbs talks about all things business. Kirsty is an experienced businesswoman in the tutoring industry. In this episode, she lays out her top tips for growing a thriving tutoring business. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Kirsty's podcast episode with Jacinda and Alison Kirsty's podcast Kirsty's website Kirsty's free resources Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram Sign up to our mailing list...
Nov 06, 2023•39 min
Welcome to episode 2 of Nuggets of Language Nerdiness by The Sounds-Write Podcast! What can we find out about towns and cities based on their suffixes and etymology? Why are some words spelt differently in US-English? And what's the difference between homonyms and polysemous words? Enjoy! Some helpful links and sources: Visit our website Sign up to our mailing list Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Latin influence on English The Origins of English Place Names Etymology of ‘castle’ Place...
Oct 23, 2023•9 min
In the fifteenth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Jacinda Vaughan is back and answering listeners' questions about teaching phonics in intervention settings. She covers a range of topics including making adaptations for English Language Learners, correcting articulation, accent variation and much more. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Jacinda's first podcast appearance Shop the Reading Together Collection in Australia Shop the Reading Together Collection in the UK Shop the Reading Together Collect...
Oct 06, 2023•53 min
Welcome to this bonus mini-episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast! In this short episode, the host shared three nuggets of language nerdiness. Why do we sometimes spell the sound /r/ as < wr >? What do the words punch, shampoo and bungalow all have in common? And what are contronyms? Enjoy! Some helpful links and sources: Root word 'wer' Examples of the < wr > spelling of /r/ Punch's etymology Shampoo's etymology Bungalow's etymology More about contronyms Some examples of contronyms Vis...
Sep 23, 2023•6 min
In the fourteenth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast Kelly Cross talks about her son, Freddie's, journey to becoming a proficient reader and speller. Freddie has Moderate Learning Difficulties and Kelly struggled to find the help that he needed to learn to read and write. Since finding Sounds-Write, Freddie has gone on to become the avid reader his parents always knew he could be. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Help Your Child to Read and Write course Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagra...
Sep 06, 2023•25 min
In the thirteenth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast we hear from Gemma Pierson, headteacher at Princecroft Primary School in Warminster, UK. Gemma discusses the literacy strategy that Princecroft have implemented across the school and talks about how her team cultivate a love of reading amongst their student. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Princecroft Primary School's website Gemma's Twitter Princecroft's Sounds-Write Success Story Talk for Writing Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram ...
Aug 06, 2023•44 min
In the twelfth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast Donna Smith, one of Sounds-Write's In-House Trainers, gives advice and guidance for parents and carers of children who are being taught phonics. She gives an overview of what Sounds-Write is and how best to support students who are learning to read and spell. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Help Your Child to Read and Write course Bruce Robertson's book St. Thomas Aquinas Primary School directory of sounds The weekly spelling list blog post Sounds-Wr...
Jul 06, 2023•41 min
In the eleventh episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Sounds-Write's Business Manager for the US and Canada, Jill Nunez, talks about the future of phonics in the US. She discusses the spread of phonics in North America, some of the challenges we’re facing as we expand to the US, and how to advocate for an evidence based literacy programme in your school. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Sold a Story Podcast Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram Sign up to our mailing list...
Jun 06, 2023•25 min
In the tenth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast two of the most prominent champions of speech to print phonics, Nora Chahbazi and John Walker, discuss their strikingly similar backgrounds in the world of phonics, the similarities and difference between their approaches and, of course, speech to print. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Sounds-Write Symposium on Speech to Print EBLI's website Episode 9 of The Sounds-Write Podcast on phonics research Find out more about Sounds-Write Pre-register for the ...
May 06, 2023•56 min
In the ninth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Sounds-Write's Head of Research and Development, Dr. Anna Comas-Quinn, talks about the trials and tribulations of conducting research in the field of phonics. She talks through some of the research that Sounds-Write has conducted, what we can learn from that and why context is essential when evaluating schools' results. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Condensed version of our longitudinal study Systematic synthetic phonics: case studies from Sounds-Wr...
Apr 06, 2023•26 min
In the eight episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Sounds-Write's newest in-house trainer, Jacinda Vaughan, talks about literacy interventions. She discusses the difference between 'keep up' and 'catch-up' interventions and gives some really practical guidance for setting up intervention sessions for struggling readers. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Pre-register for the Sounds-Write Practitioners' Portal! Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram Sign up to our mailing list Free Initial Code ...
Mar 06, 2023•32 min
In the seventh episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, John Walker talks about the past 20 years of Sounds-Write. He discusses some of the highs and lows and talks about the future of Sounds-Write. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Pre-register for the Sounds-Write Practitioners' Portal! Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram Sign up to our mailing list What is Sounds-Write podcast episode Pamela Snow and Tanya Terry's op-ed Pamela Snow's blog The Teaching Delusion book series...
Feb 07, 2023•33 min
In the sixth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, trainer Caroline Hardisty gives advice for schools who are new to Sounds-Write. She gives tips for practitioners who are just starting out, and discusses some of the considerations when implementing Sounds-Write as a whole-school approach. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Sounds-Write's Facebook Sounds-Write's Instagram Sign up to our mailing list Learn more about teaching Sounds-Write with fidelity Learn more about Sounds-Write...
Jan 08, 2023•22 min
In the fifth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Alison Perry and John Walker discuss all-things speech pathology. Alison talks about the intersection of her work as a speech therapist and as a Sounds-Write trainers. She talks about her passion for teaching and the joy of teaching children to read. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Alison's website John's Twitter John's blog Learn more about Sounds-Write...
Dec 16, 2022•24 min
In the fourth episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, John Walker discusses the sound to print approach to teaching reading and writing. He talks about the rationale behind using this orientation, how this approach differs to print to sound methods and the results we’ve seen from schools using the sound to print approach. Listen to the end of the episode for an exciting sneak peak into one of our upcoming projects. Enjoy! Some helpful links: Our case studies book John's Twitter John's blog Learn mo...
Nov 06, 2022•29 min
In the third episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, Head of Training Naomi Hinton explains why teaching phonics with fidelity is important and how practitioners can ensure that they put this into practice. Naomi talks about differentiation, scripts, monitoring, interleaving and much more. Thanks for listening! Some helpful links: The DfE Reading Framework Our free courses for parents and carers John's blog post on teaching phonics whole class Follow Naomi on Twitter...
Oct 15, 2022•46 min
In the second episode of The Sounds-Write Podcast, John Walker answers the question 'what is Sounds-Write?' He deep-dives into the theoretical underpinnings of the approach and discusses what differentiates Sounds-Write from other phonics schemes. We hope that this is helpful both to those of you who are new to Sounds-Write and also to practitioners who wish to refresh their understanding of the programme's core principles. Some helpful links: John teaching word building The Sounds-Write showcas...
Sep 06, 2022•44 min
In this very first episode of the Sounds-Write podcast, we hear John Walker answer questions about decodable readers. How should you begin using decodables? What are they for? How can you phase out the use of decodables? Hear answers to all this and more! Thank you for listening and see you next time. Some links mentioned in this episode: Our Initial Code free e-books Our Extended Code free e-books Our free courses for parents and carers The Reading Ape's blog post 'The eyes have it' More Sounds...
Jul 28, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1
