The Impact of Rocket Phonics First Steps

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Prioritising phonics

Language is the foundation of children’s thinking and learning.

Ofsted's 'Best Start in Life’ review prioritises Communication and language as one of the three ‘prime areas' in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), alongside physical development (gross motor skills and fine motor skills) and personal, social and emotional development (PSED). These are crucial to children's learning and their later success in education and life, with the EYFS programme stating that "the development of children's spoken language underpins all 7 areas of learning and development", including literacy, mathematics, understanding the world, and expressive arts and design. 

The report highlights the ‘lifelong benefits’ of early literacy provision in which children experience stories, rhymes, songs and book-led play alongside more structured interactions in which staff support language and vocabulary acquisition, as well as developing phonological awareness.

As Ofsted emphasises the importance of 'school readiness', Early Years providers are under more pressure than ever to deliver high-quality provision, despite challenges such as growing numbers of children with developmental delays, additional learning needs, and the ongoing impact of the pandemic on children’s social, emotional and mental wellbeing.

Our mission

The challenge is ensuring that early phonics provision is structured, progressive and ambitious, while also remaining true to the principles of child-centred, play-based learning. We want to ensure Early Years providers have access to a programme that will:

• Strengthen the quality of their literacy provision
• Prepare children for Reception
• Support those with speech and language delays
• Upskill staff and boost their confidence.

Our research report draws on qualitative data from 15 participants across 11 schools primary schools in the UK with EYFS provision, as well as one special school and one independent standalone nursery, sharing their experiences as 'early adopters' of Hachette Learning's SSP programme for Letters and Sounds Phases 1 and 2, Rocket Phonics First Steps. 

Key findings

_{The impact on outcomes of any education programme is contingent on how it is used, the skill and expertise of the practitioners, and needs of the pupils themselves. We asked participants if they believed that adopting Rocket Phonics First Steps had resulted in a positive impact across a range of areas:}

• 15 out of 15 participants said that all children’s enjoyment of stories had improved.
• 14 said that all children’s confidence in speaking and their verbal communication had grown. 
• 13 had seen a positive impact on all children’s general ability to listen and understand.
• 13 said that all children had shown progress in their phonemic awareness.
• 13 had seen progress in children’s phoneme grapheme correspondence.
• 13 had seen an impact on their children’s overall language development.
• All participants working in Early Years settings said that Rocket Phonics First Steps prepares children for Reception and underpins the ELGs which they will be expected to meet at the end of Reception.

Qualitative findings show that adopting Rocket Phonics First Steps has delivered a range of benefits, improving the quality of pre-schools’ phonics provision, supporting all children in developing the foundations of phonics and literacy, and boosting the confidence of staff.