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Phonics Reform England: Not reading reform. Phonics reform. Identifying the parts that are failing too many children.
PPC for Spelling:
Phoneme to Grapheme Mapping
The Fastest Way to Help a Child Learn to Spell a New Word
This guidance aligns with Department for Education expectations for spelling and phoneme–grapheme mapping. In spelling, pupils are taught to say a word clearly, segment it into phonemes, and select graphemes to represent each phoneme in writing (Department for Education, Writing Framework, 2025, p. 41). Statutory guidance also states that teachers should draw attention to grapheme–phoneme correspondences that both do and do not fit with what has been taught so far (Department for Education, Spelling Framework, p. 75).
The DfE expects phonics to be applied beyond programme content, across all words and all year groups, so that children continue to learn correspondences that have not yet been explicitly taught. However, there is no guidance on which phonemes should be used, whether these should reflect the child’s own speech or the expected phoneme when synthetic phonics programmes are extended, which is often closer to Received Pronunciation. While the DfE states that regional accents can be used when blending sounds, there is no corresponding clarity about which phonemes should be used when spelling.
We suggest making this process explicit by showing the word, mapped, and guiding the child through a short routine to connect speech sounds, graphemes, and meaning. Although this may reverse the typical direction of the Phonics Pronunciation Code used in synthetic phonics programmes, the routine allows for discussion and variation. We are exploring which approach supports more efficient storage of words in the orthographic lexicon.
Mastery can then be demonstrated when the child can complete the routine independently without the mapped word, for example by underlining graphemes and saying the corresponding phonemes, or by writing the word while saying each phoneme as the grapheme is formed.
Although many schools ask children to write the graphemes they think correspond to the sounds in a word, this can be ineffective where phonemic awareness is insecure, code knowledge is limited, or the word is unfamiliar. In these cases, the task can be discouraging and often results in the teacher needing to provide the correct spelling anyway. This routine instead begins by showing the word to be learned. It is quicker, more supportive, and we want others to experience the same outcomes.
During training, it is essential to ensure that teachers can write graphemes while saying the corresponding speech sounds (phonemes), for example in high-frequency words. This can be harder than it seems, but is critical if the teacher’s role includes supporting children to map phonemes and graphemes accurately. We have been doing this in Australia for over a decade and are excited to share this in England, to help ensure phonics works for all. Our work in Australia highlighted the importance of not only raising awareness of the Phonics Pronunciation Code (PPC), but also embracing pronunciation variation in both directions, for reading and for spelling.
The quickest way to help a child learn to spell a word they don’t know, or tell you they can’t spell, is to show them the word and make sure they understand what it means. From there, guide them through a structured spelling routine using the mapped word. We use Phonemies to make the sound value visible, but this process can also be done without them.
If you were asked to spell a word you didn’t know, the best you could do would be to make plausible grapheme choices. You wouldn’t know if they were correct. You would simply ask to be shown the spelling. We should do the same for children. Showing them the word is not giving the answer too soon, it is the most efficient way to help them understand the relationship between speech sounds, spelling, and meaning, and to bond these so the word can be recognised and spelled independently next time.
Our students follow a specific 60–90 second routine for new words, designed to bond speech sounds, graphemes, and meaning in the orthographic lexicon. When they can complete this independently, with no prompts, the word is recorded in their books as “word stored”. We then revisit these words weeks or months later, asking them to read and spell them again. This makes it very easy to see whether the word has been securely stored.
Because of this, we can track how many exposures are needed, where an exposure is a full run-through of the routine. In our data, this is typically 1–3 exposures for learners with strong phonemic awareness, around 4–6 for dyslexic learners, and 6–8 where additional phonological working memory is required, for example in longer words with 10 or more grapheme–phoneme correspondences.
Crucially, we also record initial attempts, capturing grapheme and phoneme arrays and identifying where mismatches occur between phonics instruction and the learner’s accent. This allows us to see not just how many exposures are needed, but why. Even when we show the code, many learners struggle because they are relying on ineffective strategies or experiencing orthographic interference, for example hearing /ɛniː/ but struggling to write <a> in any because they associate the sound /ɛ/ with a different grapheme.
This process has been so consistent that we are now building technology to support it, allowing a teaching assistant to monitor and provide emotional support, while independent researchers can carry out quantitative analysis and publish the findings.
All KS2 statutory words are now available on the Spelling Routine site, which is free to use. TheSpellingRoutine.com
An on-demand training course will be launching shortly. Sign up to the newsletter to receive details and dates.
Help children connect speech sounds and graphemes by saying words as sequences of phonemes. Try this with names.
Also read ‘mapped’ words using speech sounds, linking each phoneme to the graphemes you can see. Even as a skilled reader you may not find it easy!
We will be inviting tutors and schools to help us track how many times children need to go through the routine before a word is securely stored for instant recognition months later, and for accurate spelling during writing. If the routine is used without Phonemies, there is no cost. You can use the free Lite Orthographic Mapping Tool on SpeedieReadies.com if you are unsure of the graphemes, or use MyWordz®, which is currently being considered for the Department for Education. You will also be able to check and discuss the Phonics Pronunciation Code (PPC), whether aligned with phonics programmes or the child’s own accent, within a community support group that is being developed.
