Post-16 Phonics Approaches: A Toolkit
This toolkit is intended to support practitioners wishing to use phonics approaches with post-16 learners.
Many people have been involved in developing this toolkit of resources. Collectively, they have drawn on a wealth of knowledge and experience from working with Entry Level literacy learners in the post-16 sector, researching post- 16 phonics approaches, and developing phonics resources that make a difference to the progress post-16 and adult learners achieve. They are Greg Brooks, John Brown, Maxine Burton, Claire Collins, Andy Convery, Sam Duncan, Sinead Harmey, Vera Hutchinson, Tricia Millar, Anne McKeown, Gemma Moss, Bob Read, Irene Schwab and Chloë Hynes. We are indebted to Robert Savage for his helpful comments on an earlier draft. We are also indebted to the pilot centres that helped test out the usefulness of the resources as we went along, and to the staff and learners who welcomed us into their classrooms and gave us insight into their worlds. The pilot centres were: Army Education Centre Bishop Burton College Essex Adult Community Learning Service Kendal College North Lancs Training Group North Tyneside Council Adult Learning Service Novus/ HMP Haverigg Redcar and Cleveland College
The resources are presented in three parts:
- Part 1: Getting started
Chapters 1-4 explain why we have designed phonics resources specifically for post-16 learners. It introduces some of the terms used in phonics to describe key aspects of spoken and written language and why these are useful to know. Perhaps most importantly, it describes what phonics looks like in the post-16 classroom. You may want to return to Part 1 as you become more familiar with the approach we are adopting and begin to get a feel for what it means in your setting. - PART 2: Using phonics approaches post-16
Chapters 5-8 explain how to put post-16 phonics approaches into practice in your setting, adjusting the pace and sequence for your learners. Our structured and systematic approach is outlined here. - PART 3: More things to think about
Chapters 9-15 consider how phonics approaches fit more broadly within a rich literacy curriculum post-16.
It directly addresses the diversity of learners’ needs, knowledge and prior experience.
This resource is currently exhibited on the ETF website, and can also be downloaded in full via the Padlet below.
