What is Which Phonics?

Which Phonics Ltd is the UK’s first independent company to offer teachers, parents and children solid and unbiased advice and training in synthetic phonics.

Which Phonics Ltd was founded by Jaz Ampaw-Farr and is run by teachers who have been teaching children to read and write using synthetic phonics for many years. Our continuously updated list of Recommended Resources pulling together the most useful elements from a variety of schemes is aimed at saving schools time, energy and money.

Which Phonics Ltd primarily offers INSET and training conferences for anyone connected with education wanting a step-by-step guide to using, identifying, blending and segmenting with the Basic and Advanced Codes.  The training also includes a breakdown of a variety of the synthetic phonics schemes and resources available.  We also have a progression list of decodable books and materials for using synthetic phonics within adult literacy.

Why Training?

Which Phonics Ltd runs 30+ UK training events throughout the year and also has a team of trainers delivering INSET to teachers, parents, teacher training students and LEAs. Its vision is to see those involved with teaching children to read and write doing so with confidence and systematic ease.

• Synthetic Phonics - A balanced overview, practical suggestions on planning and an unbiased teacher-informed guide to resources.
• Using Synthetic Phonics as SEN - Using age appropriate resources in the Foundation Stage, KS 1, 2 & 3.
• INSET Consultancy Training - Providing support with planning, assessment, demonstration lessons and parents literacy meetings.  Our starting point is your staff; we look to build on good practice.
• Interactive Whiteboard Training - A complete beginner’s guide to using interactive whiteboards focusing on synthetic phonics activities and resources but suitable for all!

What Resources?

As teachers Which Phonics Ltd offer researched, tried and tested options from the synthetic phonics market.  We do not have our own scheme or any bias towards one in particular.  Our independence allows us to be honest about what we have found works and what is a waste of valuable school budget!  We present teachers with a choice and leave each school to decide the correct resources for their setting.  We have found aspects of many of the published phonics schemes to be brilliant and collated them into a list of Which Phonics Recommended Resources.  We advise – you decide!

Who is Jaz Ampaw-Farr?

Jaz Ampaw-Farr is a teacher with a passion for preventing literacy failure.  She has championed synthetic phonics since experiencing first hand the amazing progress her Reception class made in reading and spelling using Jolly Phonics.  Over the last 11 years Jaz has developed and extended the systematic approach to teaching the 40+ sounds of the English language pulling in the most effective parts of published schemes.  She has worked in a variety of educational settings in the UK and internationally, and taught synthetic phonics to thousands of children and adults around the world. In 2004 Jaz brought synthetic phonics to the BBC as education advisor and co-presenter on BBC1’s Hard Spell Abbey.  This year she is the subject of a BBC1 documentary using synthetic phonics to teach adults to read and write.

Where in the World?

In 2003 Which Phonics Ltd was invited to work with the Ministry of Education in Jamaica.  As a result 10% of schools now use synthetic phonics both as first wave teaching and as a method of intervention.  Which Phonics Ltd returned to the Caribbean this year to train more teachers and work with the Ministries of Education in Trinidad, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands training over 1000 teachers and helping to write synthetic phonics into the National Language Arts Curriculum.
 

For more information on how we can offer help and support please contact us!

info@whichphonics.co.uk