Reform 6

Reform 1: Early Dyslexia Risk Screening
Reform 2: Teacher Understanding of the Self-Teaching Brain
Reform 3: Self-Paced Phonics
Reform 4: Bidirectional Mapping
Reform 5: Technology That Shows the Code
Reform 6: Decodable Levelled Readers with Visible Code

On this page, we explore decodable readers, levelled readers and levelled readers that have been made decodable using the English Code Overlay, enabling the Phonics Pronunciation Code to be examined, particularly where it differs from the child’s internal pronunciation code.

Levelled Readers, Phonics Readers and Decodable Levelled Readers

Levelled Readers

What Are Levelled Readers (e.g. PM Levels)?

Levelled readers are books organised into a sequence of numbered stages designed to indicate increasing reading difficulty.

One widely used system in England is PM Readers, often referred to as “PM levels”.

In this system:

Books are numbered (for example, Level 1, Level 2, up to Level 30+)
Each level is intended to represent a step in reading development
Children are assigned a level and read books within that band

As the levels increase, the books typically include:

Less repetition
Longer and more complex sentences
A wider range of vocabulary
Reduced reliance on picture support

What Is Benchmarking?

Benchmarking is the assessment process used to determine which level a child should be placed on within a system such as PM Readers.

It usually involves a child reading a short, levelled text while the teacher records performance.

During benchmarking, the teacher typically observes:

Accuracy: how many words are read correctly
Fluency: the pace and smoothness of reading
Comprehension: the child’s understanding of the text

Based on this assessment, the child is assigned a reading level and given books from that level.

Benchmarking may be repeated over time to monitor progress and adjust the child’s level.

Why Levelled Readers Can Be Effective for Most Children

Levelled readers can be effective for most children because many develop strong phonemic awareness and oral language through everyday experience. If they are a series of connected books children become intrinsically motivated to keeping forward, to learn more about the character.

These children are often able to work out how speech and print connect without needing every word to align with taught GPCs.

How These Children Read the Text

Children with good phonemic awareness are able to:

Use partial decoding to access parts of words
Use context and vocabulary knowledge to support word identification
Apply set for variability, adjusting what they decode until it matches a known spoken word
Draw on their existing spoken language to confirm what they have read

They are coordinating multiple sources of information at once.

Implicit and Statistical Learning

These children benefit from implicit learning.

As they read, they are:

Picking up patterns in how speech and print connect
Noticing how GPCs operate across words
Learning from repeated exposure to print

This is often described as statistical learning, where the brain detects regularities over time.

As a result, many children:

Become more fluent
Recognise more words
Expand their reading vocabulary quickly
Develop identifies as readers

Reading itself becomes the driver of further learning. Through this process, children are effectively teaching themselves how the alphabetic system works.

Levelled readers also contain a high proportion of commonly used words. Much of children’s early reading material is made up of these words.

For children with strong phonemic awareness and oral language:

These words are encountered repeatedly
They are recognised and retained more easily
Reading becomes more fluent with each book

This allows them to:

Read more books
Gain more exposure to print
Write more, drawing on the words they have stored

Reading and writing reinforce each other, accelerating progress.

They:

Infer GPC patterns from the words they encounter
Refine their understanding with each new example
Strengthen the connection between speech and print over time

This aligns with the self-teaching account described by researchers such as Mark Seidenberg.

Why This Worked for Many Children

Levelled readers worked for many children because they were able to:

Work out unfamiliar words
Learn patterns through exposure
Become increasingly efficient readers through practice

This is reflected in national outcomes. Before the statutory shift towards systematic synthetic phonics in England, around 84% of children were reaching the expected standard in reading by age 11.

This does not mean all children were equally supported, but it does show that many were able to learn successfully through exposure to text, supported by their language knowledge and implicit learning processes.

Summary

For most children, levelled readers can support reading development because they enable:

Partial decoding combined with language knowledge
Implicit and statistical learning
Self-teaching of GPC patterns through reading

These children are able to build the speech–print connection through experience, even when it is not made fully explicit.

Why They Weren’t Enough for 1 in 5 Children

While levelled readers worked for many children, they were not sufficient for all.

Around 1 in 5 children did not reach the expected standard in reading. These children were not able to rely on the same processes that supported others.

What Was Missing

Children who struggled typically did not have the same level of:

Phonemic awareness
Precision in perceiving and producing speech sounds
Secure connection between speech and print
Vocabulary knowledge to support prediction

Without these, the strategies that worked for others were not available to them. They did not want to read. They experienced anxiety, and motivation to read decreased.

Why Partial Decoding Was Not Enough

These children were less able to:

Use partial decoding to access words
Adjust pronunciation through set for variability
Confirm words using spoken language knowledge

When a word was unfamiliar, they had no reliable way to resolve it except through guesswork.

Limited Access to Implicit Learning

Implicit and statistical learning depend on accurate input.

For children at risk:

Word reading attempts were often inaccurate
Patterns were harder to detect
Connections between GPCs and sounds were not stabilised

This meant that exposure to text did not lead to the same level of learning.

Reading did not become a strong driver of progress.

What This Looked Like in Practice

These children were more likely to:

Guess words based on pictures or context
Memorise words without understanding their structure
Read the same books repeatedly without transferring knowledge
Struggle when texts became less predictable

Progress was slower and less secure.

Why Levelled Readers Didn’t Solve the Problem for 1 in 5

Levelled readers did not:

Make the speech–print connection explicit
Ensure that all words could be worked out using known GPCs
Provide a consistent way to approach unfamiliar words

For children who could not infer the system, this left a gap. They had to memorise words, or guess.

Summary

Levelled readers were not enough for around 1 in 5 children because these learners could not rely on:

Partial decoding combined with language knowledge
Implicit and statistical learning from exposure
Self-teaching through reading

Without a clear and reliable way to connect speech and print, reading remained effortful and uncertain.

Decodable (Phonics) Readers

What Are Decodable Phonics Readers?

Decodable phonics readers are books designed so that the words in the text can be read using the grapheme–phoneme correspondences (GPCs) that a child has already been taught.

These books are structured to align with a defined teaching sequence. At each stage, only specific GPCs are introduced, and the
words in the book are selected to match that knowledge.

In England, government guidance for validated systematic synthetic phonics programmes states that:

Texts children read independently should be fully decodable at every stage
They should be composed almost entirely of words made up of GPCs already taught
The only exceptions should be a small number of common exception words that have been explicitly taught
In early stages, even these exceptions should be kept to a minimum

This is intended to ensure that children can rely on their knowledge of GPCs when reading and experience success through accurate word reading.

How They Are Organised

Decodable readers are usually grouped into stages that follow a teaching progression.

For example:

Early stages include words that can be read using a small number of taught GPCs
Later stages introduce a wider range of GPCs and more complex word structures

The progression is cumulative. Each stage builds on what has already been taught.

What Children Experience

When reading a decodable phonics book, a child is expected to:

Use their knowledge of GPCs
Work through the words in the text using that knowledge
Read sentences that are constructed from those words

Because the text is controlled, the child is able to read the book using what they have already been taught.

How High-Frequency Words Are Taught

In decodable phonics readers, high-frequency words are included as part of the teaching sequence and are defined in relation to GPC knowledge.

According to Department for Education guidance, common exception words are:

Words that include GPCs that are unusual or not yet taught
Words that may include correspondences taught later in the programme (for example, said or me)

Programmes are expected to:

Teach children to read these words
Then teach them to spell them
Identify the part of the word that does not align with known GPCs
Introduce these words gradually over time

How This Works in Practice

Before reading a decodable book, a child may be:

Introduced to specific common exception words
Shown which parts align with known GPCs
Shown which part is different or not yet taught
Asked to recognise these words within the text

This allows the text to remain largely composed of words that match taught GPCs, while including a small number of high-frequency words needed for sentence construction.

We supported teachers to organise their decodable readers into the SSP GPC teaching sequence.

The Speech Sound Pics (SSP) decodable reader guide aligns with Letters and Sounds.

Why Decodable Phonics Readers Can Hold Some Children Back

Decodable phonics readers are designed to align with taught GPCs and support early word reading.

They provide a structured starting point.

However, for some children, they can limit how quickly reading develops beyond this stage.

The Difference in What They Enable

Decodable readers are designed to:

Control the text so children can apply known GPCs
Reduce errors in early reading
Build initial accuracy

But because the text is controlled, they can also:

Limit exposure to the wider code
Restrict the range of words children encounter
Slow the move into reading more natural, varied text

Impact on Children Ready to Self-Teach

For many children who already have strong phonemic awareness and oral language:

They are ready to start self-teaching through reading
They can learn new GPC patterns from exposure to words
They benefit from encountering a wider range of vocabulary

If they remain in tightly controlled texts for too long:

Their reading experience can become restricted
Progress into fluent, independent reading may slow
Engagement with reading can reduce

Impact on the 1 in 5

For the 1 in 5 children with weaker phonemic awareness:

Decodable texts do not always provide enough support in the moment
They may still find reading slow and effortful
They can spend too long trying to work out each word

These children often need:

More immediate support to access the speech sounds in words
Clearer visual reinforcement of how speech and print connect

Without this, they may not reach the point where self-teaching begins.

The Key Point

Decodable readers are designed to support the early stages of reading.

But:

Some children are ready to move beyond them sooner
Some children need additional support beyond them

In both cases, access to independent, self-sustaining reading can be affected.

Summary

Decodable phonics readers provide a structured starting point, but they can:

Delay self-teaching for children ready to move ahead
Provide insufficient in-the-moment support for children who need more

This means they do not, on their own, ensure that all children reach confident, independent reading.
This is why we launched Phonics Reform England.

Phonics Books Are Not Truly Decodable for 1 in 5 Children at Risk of Dyslexia

We will show you how to make decodable readers easier to read for the 1 in 5 children screened as high risk of dyslexia.

They need more support from the start, even when reading phonics books.

For example by showing which letters are the graphemes. See examples of phonics books that show the graphemes in words here.

It is not enough to simply teach GPCs explicitly and provide decodable readers. These texts are not fully decodable for the 1 in 5 children with weaker phonemic awareness, or for those whose accent reflects a different version of the Phonics Pronunciation Code.

Why Schools Still Use Book Bands Alongside Phonics

Many schools in England now state that children on a phonics programme must read books matched to their current GPC knowledge.

At the same time, they continue to use book band systems (levelled readers) across the school.

This creates a split system.

What the Guidance Requires

The Department for Education states that children should read texts that are:

Fully decodable based on taught GPCs
Closely matched to their current knowledge
Only containing a small number of taught common exception words

This applies specifically to children who are learning to read through a phonics programme.

What Schools Are Doing in Practice

On numerous school web sites across England parents that:

Children on phonics are given books “precisely matched to their current phonetic knowledge”
But once children move beyond this phase, books are organised using book bands
At this point, texts are no longer tied to a phonics progression but instead to:
- Vocabulary
- comprehension
- themes and topics

They also state that book bands are based on factors such as:

Word choice
sentence length
text structure
overall difficulty

The Key Point

Book bands are not organised by GPC teaching order.

They are organised by text difficulty.

This means:

A book can be placed at a “level”
Without regard to whether its words match the child’s current GPC knowledge

Why This Feels Contradictory

The system effectively says:

At early stages, books must match GPC knowledge
After that, books are matched by difficulty instead

So:

One system is based on how words are structured
The other is based on how texts are experienced

They are not the same thing.

What This Means

The link between GPC knowledge and book selection is no longer consistent.

Children may move from fully decodable texts to texts that are not aligned with what they have been taught.

For many, this transition is manageable.

For some, it is not.

The Impact on Children Who Need More Support

Children who are still developing phonemic awareness, and who need more support to connect speech and print, are the most affected.

Without texts that align with their GPC knowledge, they are left without a reliable way to read unfamiliar words.

In practice, this often leads to:

Guessing from context or pictures
Memorising words without understanding their structure
Inconsistent and fragile reading

These are the children who make up the 1 in 5 who continue to struggle.

To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

We Collect Reading Data and Look for Patterns

What We Found in Practice

From over five years of collecting PM benchmarking data from the schools we supported in Australia, a clear pattern emerged.

Children were able to move successfully into levelled readers when a specific level of speech–print understanding was in place.

This typically occurred:

At the end of the Speech Sound Pics Approach Yellow Code level
Equivalent to Letters and Sounds Phase 3, Set 9

At this point, most children were beginning to self-teach.

They were then able to start levelled readers at approximately:

PM Level 10 to 12

As their knowledge developed further:

By the end of the Speech Sound Pics (SSP) Approach Blue Code level
Equivalent to the end of Letters and Sounds Phase 5

Children were typically benchmarking at around:

PM Level 20

We also analysed all high-frequency words used in PM Levels 1 to 10 and created video lessons and booklets to use at home.

This meant that:

Children were not just encountering these words repeatedly
They were able to understand how each word mapped to speech
The GPCs within these words were made explicit

This supported children to:

Recognise words more reliably
Transfer that knowledge to new words
Strengthen the connection between speech and print

Why This Matters

The key factor was not the book level itself, but the child’s readiness.

In our approach:

Children were not moved onto levelled readers until this level of confidence was secure
Their ability to connect speech and print was established first
Levelled readers were then used as a tool for extending reading, not for establishing it

Summary

Levelled readers can support reading development, but only when children have already developed a secure understanding of how speech and print connect.

Without this, moving to levelled texts too early leaves some children without the tools they need to read independently.

The characters used are Phonemies. Children already know these from the 10 day (pre-phonics) Speech Sound Play Plan, at the beginning of Reception, and each one represents and says an English speech sound.

This means that when children encounter words where the graphemes do not represent the sounds they expect from the GPCs they have been taught, they still have a way to resolve them.

For example:

The grapheme <a> in ant represents one sound
The grapheme <a> in any represents a different sound

When the Phonemie is shown, it clarifies the sound being represented in that word.

Why This Matters

This allows children to:

Identify the correct speech sound in the word
Understand how the grapheme is functioning in that specific case
Build a more accurate connection between speech and print

Instead of guessing or memorising, children can see and hear how the word works.

In Practice

Because children already know the Phonemies:

No new system needs to be learned
The support is immediate
The mapping between speech and print becomes clear, even in less predictable words

This means high-frequency words can be understood as part of the same mapping system, rather than treated separately.

What are Decodable Levelled Readers?

Start decodable levelled readers (The Village With Three Corners) when children can read controlled (Letters and Sounds aligned) phonics books using Phase 2 Sets 1–5. By then they understand the concept of mapping speech sounds and print.

Why Making Levelled Readers Decodable Is So Powerful

Making levelled readers decodable combines the strengths of both approaches.

Children still benefit from:

High-frequency words
Predictable and repetitive text
Gradual progression through books

But now, every word is also accessible through the code.

How the Words Are Made Visible

Every word is code-mapped to show how it works.

Each word is segmented into graphemes
Every grapheme is shown as a complete unit across the word
Alternating colours mark grapheme boundaries

The first grapheme is shown in black, the next in grey, and this continues across the text. Each word does not restart with black.

These colours are not decorative. They allow children to see the structure of the word at a glance for all words. This calms the chaos.

How the Sounds Are Made Visible

Phonemies represent the phoneme value within each GPC.

They:

Show the sound linked to each grapheme
Make the speech sound visible in the moment of reading
Clarify pronunciation when the grapheme does not match expectations

For example, when a grapheme represents a different sound than expected, the Phonemie shows the correct phoneme immediately.

Why This Matters for the 1 in 5

Children with weaker phonemic awareness often struggle to:

Segment words into phonemes
Blend sounds to read words
Hold sounds in working memory while reading

This approach does not assume these skills are secure.

Instead, it provides:

Immediate visual support for segmentation
Clear access to each phoneme in the word
Reinforcement of the speech–print connection

Children no longer have to guess or rely on memory. The structure is visible.

Applied to Both Types of Text

When this is applied to levelled readers:

Children access rich, engaging texts
High-frequency words are understood, not memorised
Repetition supports learning with clarity

With series such as the Village With Three Corners (100 books), children can continue reading until they no longer need support.

When applied to decodable readers:

It does not assume that knowledge of GPCs means a child can segment and blend
It supports children who need additional help in the moment
It strengthens phonemic awareness alongside reading

Supporting All Accents

This approach also addresses variation in pronunciation.

The Phonics Pronunciation Code is used to represent the phoneme value, which may differ from a child’s accent.

This ensures that:

The intended phoneme is clear
Children can map consistently between speech and print
Differences in accent do not create confusion

Summary

Making levelled readers decodable means children can:

Access engaging, meaningful texts
See how every word works
Hear and identify each phoneme
Build a secure connection between speech and print

For the 1 in 5, this provides the support needed to read independently. For all children, it makes the code visible and learnable.

This reform is urgently needed for children at risk of dyslexia, to prevent the dyslexia paradox.

The grapheme <a> maps to at least 9 Phonemies
(speech sounds
made visible)