Ten minutes of 1:1 time with a TA in Reception and Year 1 can change everything.
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Speedie Readies: Ten Minutes a Day, TA Pilot Overview
This Speedie Readies pilot is designed to prevent the phonics or dyslexia intervention that typically takes place after children have already begun to struggle to map words. It aims to prevent the dyslexia paradox, where children who are clearly at risk are not supported until they have already begun to fail at reading and are struggling with spelling. Dyslexia screening generally refers to screening with graphemes, that is, after at least one year of explicit phonics instruction.
This pilot provides early and meaningful support that strengthens the foundational skills needed for reading success, particularly phonemic awareness and phonological working memory, before reading failure occurs. This support is offered before children begin to struggle to connect letters and sounds within whole class phonics lessons.
A key purpose is to find out whether strong results can be achieved when the prevention of the intervention is delivered by a teaching assistant, ensuring no additional workload for the class teacher. The project also examines whether this approach helps to empower TAs and make them more confident in supporting early literacy development by preventing difficulties in mapping speech and print. They will be supported to understand dyslexia risk screening and support, to prevent the intervention. Upstream screening is at the centre of the Speedie Readies eco-system, which is designed to facilitate earlier and easier self-teaching and ultimately orthographic mapping for all before the end of Year One. Children can then learn more about reading by reading and writing. Most discovery of statistical learning takes place through implicit learning but 1 in 4 are not reaching that phase in England with whole class phonics lessons in Reception and Key Stage One alone.
Speedie Readies: Show the Code.
The Dual-Route to Word Mapping Mastery in Reception and KS1.
Ten Minutes a Day, With a TA!
After the Speech Sound Play Plan the TA then supports children 1 to 1 using the Monster Spelling Piano app, mapping high frequency words across the term.
Mapped Core Code readers form Path 1. This ensures children can access early reading more easily and are set up to pass the PSC.
Once children reach the end of the Purple Code Level, they begin the Pre-Readers with the TA. This is Path 2.
The TA works with all children, but prioritises those flagged as at risk. By the end of Year 1, any child with the cognitive capacity to read will be thriving.
We have prevented the dyslexia paradox.
➜ Hour CPD for SENDCos and Teaching Assistants: Screening for Dyslexia Risk. Guiding children towards word mapping mastery using Speedie Readies: Show the Code and understanding the two learning paths. Includes an introduction to bi-directional word mapping with MyWordz® and MySpeekie®
£1,200 plus travel
This will potentially be the most powerful aspect of our vision for the next five years because it is where we can make the greatest impact on England's SEN crisis. By training TAs to deliver daily Speedie Readies sessions, supported by technology that shows every sound and every spelling inside each word, we can ensure that children who have the cognitive capacity enter the self-teaching phase long before difficulties take hold. This is a proactive, scalable solution that strengthens speech to print and print to speech mapping for every learner, including those with SEN, SpLC or SLCN.
⭐ Speedie Readies: Show the Code is an early support system that helps high risk children build strong speech to print links. The system uniquely makes the written code visible so children can read and spell with confidence before the end of Year 1. It ideally follows on from the Speech Sound Play plan used pre-phonics, from birth.
From Term 2 of Reception, at risk children take part in 10-minute sessions three or four times a week with a supported TA for as long as they need it. This early, targeted approach identifies dyslexia risk and prevents the dyslexia paradox because the support is offered between the ages of five and seven. There is no wait to fail approach.
Children can explore any words they choose because the ground breaking bi-directional word mapping technology shows the code for every word. The tech shows which letters are graphemes and which speech sounds they map to. Understanding the mapping of any word, regardless of prior phonics knowledge, reduces cognitive load and supports self teaching. It bridges the gap between the kick start of phonics and orthographic mapping.
The system allows complete personalisation and encourages curiosity, motivation and deeper orthographic knowledge. SpeedieReadies.com provides a library of more than 50 mapped books written by an award winning children’s author. The mapped versions help children see how words are mapped in stories they enjoy, allowing them to store more words daily and become intrinsically motivated to read more.
The system includes the Monster Spelling Piano app for Core Code learning and MyWordz® with MySpeekie®, neuroinclusive technology designed to support SEN, SpLD and SLCN profiles. MySpeekie® also provides a one screen AAC for non speaking children, allowing full participation.
Speedie Readies works alongside any whole class phonics scheme and provides a dual route learning pathway towards word mapping mastery without increasing teacher workload. Systematic phonics instruction of the Core Code is Path 1. Path 2 focuses on reading comprehension, and why the books are so important.
Parents and tutors also choose this because it strengthens reading and spelling outcomes at any age and supports confident, joyful word learning. The aim is simple. Every child feels excited about mapping words and is motivated to read for meaning and pleasure.
Emma Hartnell Baker MEd SEN
The Neurodivergent Reading Whisperer®
Former Owner and Manager of Two Outstanding Nurseries
Appointed OFSTED Inspector
Supported Australian schools to improve literacy school wide
Doctoral Researcher, University of Reading
