Steph Hammond on Pre-Phonics for Early Years

Stephanie Hammond was a class teacher for over 20 years, with experience in teaching from the Foundation Stage through to Year 2. Her particular area of expertise is phonics – pre-phonics skills, and Early reading. She has many hats as a consultant and trainer, which include working for an English Hub as a Literacy Specialist and NPQ Leading Literacy facilitator.

In this interview, we discuss what is meant by ‘pre-phonics’, the link with the Letters and Sounds guidance and phonological awareness. Steph explains how knowing songs, nursery rhymes and good quality children’s books help to give children the skills needed before they start phonics. She goes on to discuss the importance of phonemic awareness and what that could look like as part of a routine in a setting.

Steph stresses the importance of the three pre-phonics strands: tuning in, listening and remembering, and talking about sounds. We finish the interview with some very useful strategies for laying the foundations for pre-phonics and ways of supporting parents with pre-phonics for their children.

Links:

https://www.hammondeducation.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/hammondeducaton

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5f9v0bDywz0UKkJW3Ik1EQ

https://www.instagram.com/hammondeducation/

Steph’s article about Phase 1: https://www.structural-learning.com/post/phase-1-phonics-a-teachers-guide

Steph has kindly added this resource list to her website for easy reference:https://www.hammondeducation.co.uk/shop/phase1phonicsbooklist/p/phase-1-phonic-foundations-book-list