WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.680 Hi, my name is Jordan. I am a special education 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:06.160 teacher from the UK. I share my passion for everything 00:00:06.160 --> 00:00:09.119 communication, sensory regulation and fun lesson 00:00:09.119 --> 00:00:11.660 ideas for my classroom of disabled pupils aged 00:00:11.660 --> 00:00:15.300 4 to 11. Each week I am joined by experts in 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:17.640 the field answering your questions and sharing 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:19.559 our knowledge and experience working alongside 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:22.539 our beautiful young people. Let's get started. 00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:30.199 Hello everybody and welcome to the Sensory Classroom 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:33.200 podcast. My name is Jordan and today I am joined 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:36.579 by Rachel from Funics Phonics. Rachel is a mum 00:00:36.579 --> 00:00:39.299 to a teenage neurodivergent daughter and an early 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:42.179 years teacher of over 25 years and the co -founder 00:00:42.179 --> 00:00:45.000 of Phonics Fun for Phonics. So I can imagine 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:46.899 you are wondering what we're going to be talking 00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:49.479 about today. We are talking about phonics today 00:00:49.479 --> 00:00:52.700 and early literacy skills. Hello Rachel. Hello, 00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:54.740 lovely to meet you and thanks for inviting me 00:00:54.740 --> 00:00:59.000 on here. It's wonderful to have you. Phonics 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:02.399 comes up a lot in my DMs. There are lots of teachers 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:05.540 and parents that follow me that are feeling a 00:01:05.540 --> 00:01:09.519 little bit of pressure to do phonics. Do phonics, 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:11.959 whatever that means. Do phonics from their mainstream 00:01:11.959 --> 00:01:15.439 school. And they're unsure of what that might 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:20.560 look like for their disabled and SEND neurodivergent 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:23.359 learners. So I suppose we're going to talk about 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:27.280 that today. Before we get into that, let's talk 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:30.859 about phonics and early years in general. Have 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:33.659 you noticed, because I've heard on the grapevine, 00:01:33.900 --> 00:01:37.519 that there has been lots of changes recently 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:42.379 of children coming into early years and speech 00:01:42.379 --> 00:01:46.329 and language needs in general just being higher 00:01:46.329 --> 00:01:48.909 is that what you're seeing definitely definitely 00:01:48.909 --> 00:01:51.609 yes definitely been higher in the last few years 00:01:51.609 --> 00:01:54.269 it's been on the increase and i guess some of 00:01:54.269 --> 00:01:56.530 that you can't blame the pandemic for everything 00:01:56.530 --> 00:02:00.769 but you know it has had an impact you know children 00:02:00.769 --> 00:02:03.900 have had less time to socialize less time to 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:06.739 maybe go to nurseries and, you know, at home, 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:09.360 maybe less conversation, no blame or anything. 00:02:09.500 --> 00:02:11.759 But parents are working. You know, I was working. 00:02:11.819 --> 00:02:14.039 If you're trying to work at home and you've got 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:16.379 a child at home, you cannot give them the attention 00:02:16.379 --> 00:02:18.520 that they would have if they were in nursery 00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:20.819 or at school if you've got to work because you've 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:23.680 still got bills to pay. So it's really hard. 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:26.199 It's been a hard juggle for people. And I think 00:02:26.199 --> 00:02:28.960 the impact is still going on. But definitely 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:32.460 language is an issue and also vocabulary, but 00:02:32.460 --> 00:02:36.259 also... There's a lot of Americanisms. So children 00:02:36.259 --> 00:02:39.780 come to school and they use American words and 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:42.780 they all say Z, not Zed, because they've been 00:02:42.780 --> 00:02:45.319 listening to a lot of American YouTube channels 00:02:45.319 --> 00:02:48.900 over time as well. So that's been really interesting 00:02:48.900 --> 00:02:51.840 over the last few years. I can imagine that is 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:53.639 the difference, isn't it? I think thinking about 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:55.580 when I was in early years, there's a few differences 00:02:55.580 --> 00:02:57.620 there. Both parents didn't necessarily have to 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:00.300 work because the cost of living was just less. 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:02.719 So you would have a parent at home and you wouldn't 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:08.039 be in childcare all day. So yeah, now you're 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:11.139 literally bath, bed, you know, isn't it? And 00:03:11.139 --> 00:03:14.699 you get very limited time with parents to kind 00:03:14.699 --> 00:03:20.159 of have that input. We had a phased intake. So 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:22.819 those that started in September were just about 00:03:22.819 --> 00:03:26.199 to turn five, but those that were... Five in 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:28.759 spring weren't starting until Easter. So they 00:03:28.759 --> 00:03:31.560 had that kind of time to be nearly five. Whereas 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:33.819 now they're all starting in September and you've 00:03:33.819 --> 00:03:36.539 got those that have just turned four. I know. 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:40.680 I know. And parents can get a bit worried about 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:42.840 phonics and about reading and about writing. 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:45.360 And, you know, even at this point, we've just 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:47.780 had parents evening and parents are like, are 00:03:47.780 --> 00:03:50.680 they behind? Just like you have to remember that 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:54.659 your child is possibly. a year, almost a year 00:03:54.659 --> 00:03:56.860 younger than another child. And if they're four 00:03:56.860 --> 00:03:59.840 and five, that's a quarter of their life. And 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:02.759 that's a massive difference. And you just cannot 00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:04.879 compare them. And you shouldn't compare them. 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:06.840 And that's without any special needs, right? 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:10.599 Exactly. So that's neurotypical. Just that huge 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:14.639 quarter of their life difference. How do you 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:22.220 manage that in a class? Well, I mean, yeah. Yeah, 00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:25.560 it gets harder every year. Obviously, funding 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:28.939 in school is not brilliant. And I know you've 00:04:28.939 --> 00:04:31.699 had people on podcasts before, I've listened 00:04:31.699 --> 00:04:34.759 to a few of them, talk about EHCPs and how long 00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:37.420 it takes to come through. Children are coming 00:04:37.420 --> 00:04:40.980 into school with these needs and not necessarily 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:44.420 having one to one, not having the funding for 00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:47.180 one to one, not having those resources in place. 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:50.220 So we're having to negotiate all that and find 00:04:50.220 --> 00:04:52.699 our way around it while trying to teach everything. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:55.199 I have to say we've had at my school, we've had 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:59.079 a new head and deputy and SENCO this year. And 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:02.209 it's been great because they really said. you 00:05:02.209 --> 00:05:05.189 know, take a step back, make sure they're settled, 00:05:05.290 --> 00:05:07.449 you know, because in the past it was like second 00:05:07.449 --> 00:05:09.709 day in, phonics, phonics, phonics. And you just 00:05:09.709 --> 00:05:12.110 think, you just don't know them well enough. 00:05:12.149 --> 00:05:14.689 You don't know, you know, they need more time 00:05:14.689 --> 00:05:17.490 really. So it's been really refreshing this year 00:05:17.490 --> 00:05:20.189 that we've been allowed to take that time to 00:05:20.189 --> 00:05:22.529 really get to know the children. And we've, you 00:05:22.529 --> 00:05:25.110 know, only recently started phonics and that's 00:05:25.110 --> 00:05:27.750 been great. No writing yet. I mean, that's, you 00:05:27.750 --> 00:05:29.290 know, that's brilliant. They were still packed 00:05:29.290 --> 00:05:31.470 up, right? I mean, we see in the Scandinavian 00:05:31.470 --> 00:05:34.350 countries that they start way later and they 00:05:34.350 --> 00:05:38.850 always catch up. It's not like first wins sometimes. 00:05:39.189 --> 00:05:41.389 It's about confidence building, relationship 00:05:41.389 --> 00:05:44.670 building, just building those fundamental pre 00:05:44.670 --> 00:05:48.490 -skills that happened before academic learning. 00:05:48.550 --> 00:05:51.029 I think if we think of Marianne Trott's Pyramid 00:05:51.029 --> 00:05:53.810 of Learning. Academic learning happens right 00:05:53.810 --> 00:05:56.490 at the top. So many things have to happen before 00:05:56.490 --> 00:05:59.129 that. So gross motor skills, fine motor skills, 00:05:59.310 --> 00:06:01.350 listening to and following instructions, managing 00:06:01.350 --> 00:06:05.170 their body, moderating behaviour, sensory integration, 00:06:05.629 --> 00:06:08.149 regulation. So many things have to happen before 00:06:08.149 --> 00:06:09.910 they're ready for that. So if they're not getting 00:06:09.910 --> 00:06:13.120 that preschool input. they're going to come to 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:15.439 you with needing all of that before they start 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:18.600 any academic learning. Yeah, and I think sometimes 00:06:18.600 --> 00:06:21.120 as well with the preschools, I think they feel 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:23.740 that pressure as well. And some of them are starting 00:06:23.740 --> 00:06:26.899 phonics and writing their names in nursery and 00:06:26.899 --> 00:06:29.759 preschool. And then obviously then they come, 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:32.860 like you say, to reception class without those 00:06:32.860 --> 00:06:36.509 foundational... skills that they really need 00:06:36.509 --> 00:06:38.850 to build on to be able to read and write later 00:06:38.850 --> 00:06:41.029 so you know then we're having to go back and 00:06:41.029 --> 00:06:45.170 fit all those in as well as moving forward so 00:06:45.170 --> 00:06:49.259 yeah it's it's it's a real juggle and I really 00:06:49.259 --> 00:06:52.839 wish the education system was different and children 00:06:52.839 --> 00:06:56.779 started later. There was less emphasis on the 00:06:56.779 --> 00:06:58.579 literacy, not the literacy side of it, but the 00:06:58.579 --> 00:07:01.180 reading and writing, you know, all the language 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:04.519 and being outside more. I'm really passionate 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:07.120 about children spending more time, excuse me, 00:07:07.139 --> 00:07:09.379 and doing all those big muscle developments. 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:11.800 Because as you say, the fine motor, I don't know 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:15.620 whether your parents know this, but your child 00:07:15.620 --> 00:07:19.529 develops their... fine motor from the gross motor 00:07:19.529 --> 00:07:21.829 so you know when they're a baby you know if they're 00:07:21.829 --> 00:07:24.930 neurotypical and they sort of roll over and then 00:07:24.930 --> 00:07:26.209 they're sitting up and then they're crawling 00:07:26.209 --> 00:07:30.810 all those kind of things impact on later writing 00:07:30.810 --> 00:07:34.449 but if children are not having not crawling for 00:07:34.449 --> 00:07:36.529 instance if they're walking then they haven't 00:07:36.529 --> 00:07:38.689 got that left right coordination which is in 00:07:38.689 --> 00:07:41.629 there you know that that that's Yeah, so that 00:07:41.629 --> 00:07:44.370 left -right coordination is really important 00:07:44.370 --> 00:07:46.790 to get both sides of their brains working. So 00:07:46.790 --> 00:07:49.490 that's that bilateral coordination. So we want 00:07:49.490 --> 00:07:51.569 to be able to use both sides at the same time. 00:07:51.689 --> 00:07:54.689 You know, when you're reading, your eyes both 00:07:54.689 --> 00:07:56.529 need to work at the same time. They're scanning 00:07:56.529 --> 00:07:58.589 across a page. If you're, you know, if you're 00:07:58.589 --> 00:08:00.889 able to write and you're writing across a page, 00:08:00.949 --> 00:08:02.810 or even if you're on a screen and, you know, 00:08:02.810 --> 00:08:06.490 scanning for icons to communicate that way, you 00:08:06.490 --> 00:08:09.420 need to be able to scan across. a screen. And 00:08:09.420 --> 00:08:11.540 so it's really important to be doing all that 00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:14.240 left -right coordination. And I think sometimes 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:17.339 we're rushing children, they're walking and, 00:08:17.379 --> 00:08:19.939 no, go back and do the crawling, go back and 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:21.800 do the crawling, do lots of activities. And if 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:25.500 your child wants to walk, do crawling games, 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:28.420 get tunnels out, go under tables and things, 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:31.019 trying to get them to do all those things. Don't 00:08:31.019 --> 00:08:33.919 rush them ahead, go back and do all those skills. 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:37.029 You know, it's really important. It's really 00:08:37.029 --> 00:08:40.370 refreshing to hear so often I get people coming 00:08:40.370 --> 00:08:42.970 to me about, you know, how can I prepare them 00:08:42.970 --> 00:08:46.850 for school? And my answer is never do reading 00:08:46.850 --> 00:08:49.070 and writing and academics with them because they 00:08:49.070 --> 00:08:50.909 learn that at school. That's what school is for. 00:08:51.090 --> 00:08:53.710 It is all about getting ready for the transition, 00:08:53.990 --> 00:08:56.690 getting ready to get dressed. going to the toilet 00:08:56.690 --> 00:09:00.129 maybe, social skills, play skills, managing their 00:09:00.129 --> 00:09:02.730 feelings, like more independence, I suppose. 00:09:02.889 --> 00:09:05.110 All of those things, because that then makes 00:09:05.110 --> 00:09:07.289 your job easier to then be able to teach them 00:09:07.289 --> 00:09:10.690 the academics. Exactly. Without that, it's really 00:09:10.690 --> 00:09:13.970 tricky. It is really tricky. Yeah, just little 00:09:13.970 --> 00:09:17.159 things like, you know. If they're able to put 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:19.320 a coat on, you know, if you've got a class of 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:21.519 30 children and you have to put 30 coats on, 00:09:21.580 --> 00:09:23.279 you know, OK, they can't do zip -zips, so we're 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.779 helping them to do that. But the more independent 00:09:25.779 --> 00:09:28.679 with things like that, it makes it so much easier 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:33.159 for us. And actually, you know, I was talking 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:35.139 to a nursery recently and they were saying about... 00:09:35.939 --> 00:09:38.440 parents like rushing in the mornings to get to 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:40.980 work so you know because we're always in a rush 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:43.500 we do a lot of things for children to be quick 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:46.059 don't we and so they're not learning those skills 00:09:46.059 --> 00:09:49.419 we don't have the time to take to show them how 00:09:49.419 --> 00:09:51.919 to put a coat on to do buttons up to do zips 00:09:52.590 --> 00:09:56.590 And those fine motor skills impact on their writing 00:09:56.590 --> 00:09:59.230 later. So actually, we're doing them a disservice 00:09:59.230 --> 00:10:02.250 by not teaching them. So, you know, we always 00:10:02.250 --> 00:10:03.870 say that, you know, parents, if you're working, 00:10:04.090 --> 00:10:05.690 you haven't got time in the week, you know, we 00:10:05.690 --> 00:10:07.769 understand that. But at the weekends, maybe, 00:10:07.830 --> 00:10:09.830 can you spend a little bit of time, you know, 00:10:09.830 --> 00:10:13.529 add an extra half hour onto your day so that 00:10:13.529 --> 00:10:16.350 when you're going out, you can get them to be 00:10:16.350 --> 00:10:18.769 independent, have a go at putting socks on, have 00:10:18.769 --> 00:10:21.860 a go at putting shoes on. You know, it's... It's 00:10:21.860 --> 00:10:24.720 hard. It's hard to do that. I totally agree with 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:28.919 ACND as well. We often, in classes like mine, 00:10:28.940 --> 00:10:31.720 I think parents would admit this as well, we 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:36.340 get into just the routine of I put your socks 00:10:36.340 --> 00:10:38.980 and shoes on or I put your coat on. And actually, 00:10:39.019 --> 00:10:40.879 it's really refreshing when I have adults in 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:42.820 my room, new adults in my room question that 00:10:42.820 --> 00:10:45.419 because it makes me think, oh, yeah, like, why 00:10:45.419 --> 00:10:48.899 are we just doing it? Maybe we call it backwards 00:10:48.899 --> 00:10:51.279 chaining. I don't know if you have that. term 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:54.100 in mainstream it's a really lovely term so backwards 00:10:54.100 --> 00:10:57.159 chaining is you do all of it for them apart from 00:10:57.159 --> 00:10:59.320 the very last bit so say for example socks is 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:02.419 a lovely example we'll put it all for them but 00:11:02.419 --> 00:11:05.120 maybe they just do the little pop of their toes 00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:08.500 right at the end and then we'll do and then once 00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:10.139 they've got that we do all of it for them apart 00:11:10.139 --> 00:11:12.480 from that little last pull up and then we do 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:13.980 all of it for them apart and then we go back 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:15.960 and back and back as chain until they are doing 00:11:15.960 --> 00:11:18.620 the whole skill themselves it's a really lovely 00:11:18.620 --> 00:11:22.480 way of building confidence and not letting them 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:25.799 fail, but giving them the opportunity to show 00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:29.159 us what they can do whilst being successful. 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:31.860 And it's presuming competence, isn't it? And 00:11:31.860 --> 00:11:33.580 it's something that I say all the time, but it's 00:11:33.580 --> 00:11:36.820 something that we always fall back to is, but 00:11:36.820 --> 00:11:39.159 they can't do that. Like, actually, we're just 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:40.679 doing it for them. I want to be helpful, especially 00:11:40.679 --> 00:11:42.919 in my room. We've got lots of adults in my room. 00:11:42.980 --> 00:11:45.720 You don't want to be seen as standing back and 00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:48.000 not doing your job. But actually, sometimes that 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.279 means that we're actually doing. too much so 00:11:50.279 --> 00:11:52.960 there's a balance there isn't there of definitely 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:56.259 not letting them fail and then not wanting to 00:11:56.259 --> 00:11:58.580 do it and low self -esteem and all of those that's 00:11:58.580 --> 00:12:03.220 it giving them the chance to succeed yeah exactly 00:12:03.220 --> 00:12:05.919 so I think it can work in both settings really 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:09.080 that we can both fall all fall into that really 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:11.460 easily because it just becomes habit it just 00:12:11.460 --> 00:12:14.259 becomes routine that that's that's what you do 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:17.759 And I think that, sorry, I was thinking as a 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:22.539 parent or as a teacher, you just have that caring 00:12:22.539 --> 00:12:25.279 role and you want to do it for them because you 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:26.860 feel like you're helping them. But actually, 00:12:26.980 --> 00:12:28.419 yes, you just need to give them that. It's hard 00:12:28.419 --> 00:12:30.059 to see them struggle with something as well, 00:12:30.059 --> 00:12:32.279 isn't it? Especially, I don't know, with my learners, 00:12:32.340 --> 00:12:35.080 I feel so protective over them and their self 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:37.419 -esteem and their confidence. We work really 00:12:37.419 --> 00:12:41.340 hard to, you know, boost their confidence. So 00:12:41.340 --> 00:12:44.500 it's really hard. to stand back even if it's 00:12:44.500 --> 00:12:47.379 just for seconds and let them try knowing that 00:12:47.379 --> 00:12:50.440 they might fail it's really hard but it is really 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:52.279 important it is a muscle that you kind of have 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:55.000 to exercise and and we all as a whole room get 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:57.500 better at it the children and and the adults 00:12:57.500 --> 00:13:00.539 get better at kind of sitting back and just seeing 00:13:00.539 --> 00:13:03.139 you know maybe they won't do it our way but maybe 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:06.159 they find another way to try and do it and then 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:07.960 they'll feel even more successful because they 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:09.720 know they've done it on their own and stuff yeah 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:12.419 backwards training is a really lovely too i like 00:13:12.419 --> 00:13:14.659 that if you know your children can't do the whole 00:13:14.659 --> 00:13:18.500 thing you know they can't but actually backwards 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:20.240 chaining and it works with everything as well 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:22.720 that's how we teach symbol use that's how we 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:24.360 teach toileting it's how we teach everything 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:27.019 kind of backwards chaining in that way i like 00:13:27.019 --> 00:13:30.100 that i'm gonna remember that too it wasn't my 00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:32.559 term i can't i can't credit it i can't take credit 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:36.220 for it i suppose then What can parents also do? 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:38.259 So we've talked about independent skills. What 00:13:38.259 --> 00:13:41.700 can they also do to support those early communication 00:13:41.700 --> 00:13:44.019 and reading and writing skills? Say, if it is 00:13:44.019 --> 00:13:45.620 just at the weekends and the evening, what kind 00:13:45.620 --> 00:13:48.720 of things would you want to see for all learners, 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:51.759 regardless of ability? Yeah, all learners, I 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:55.899 would say, talk, talk, talk. talk more talk you 00:13:55.899 --> 00:13:58.440 know if you can you know even from you know from 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:01.159 from when babies well when my daughter was a 00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:04.639 baby I'd be narrating what I was doing all day 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:08.279 and it's just because when it's in context when 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:10.419 they see you doing things mum is just washing 00:14:10.419 --> 00:14:12.940 up or I'm just going to put on my shoes or I'm 00:14:12.940 --> 00:14:14.899 just going to hang this washing on the line you 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:16.460 know you're using all that language and you're 00:14:16.460 --> 00:14:18.440 showing them what it is so it's all contextual 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:21.649 so they've got an understanding of it But language 00:14:21.649 --> 00:14:23.750 is so important. And unless they see you doing 00:14:23.750 --> 00:14:26.850 it and hear it all the time, it's a real struggle 00:14:26.850 --> 00:14:28.690 for some children to have all that vocabulary. 00:14:29.169 --> 00:14:32.850 And that really impacts on reading and writing 00:14:32.850 --> 00:14:36.289 for children. And just that understanding and 00:14:36.289 --> 00:14:38.210 that communication when other people are talking 00:14:38.210 --> 00:14:40.029 and they say things, they actually don't understand 00:14:40.029 --> 00:14:41.769 what you're talking about because they haven't 00:14:41.769 --> 00:14:44.029 heard that vocabulary. Yeah, loads and loads 00:14:44.029 --> 00:14:45.950 of talking, narrating throughout the day and 00:14:45.950 --> 00:14:49.679 stories. Love a story. I like reading a story, 00:14:49.740 --> 00:14:52.340 but I have to say my husband, we started reading 00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:55.580 with Cora when she was, I don't know, a couple 00:14:55.580 --> 00:14:57.740 of months old. He would be reading the Screw 00:14:57.740 --> 00:15:00.519 Fix magazine at night. But it doesn't really 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:02.159 matter what you're reading, does it? It's just 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:04.220 that tone when you're talking. She'd be going 00:15:04.220 --> 00:15:06.899 to sleep and he'd be reading that. And then as 00:15:06.899 --> 00:15:09.580 she became one, we always read one story. And 00:15:09.580 --> 00:15:12.039 then when she was two, he said, let's read two 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:15.000 stories and then three and then four. put a stop 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:17.000 to it when she was five because I thought we 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:19.259 can't read five stories a night but it's just 00:15:19.259 --> 00:15:23.179 and she she loves stories she loves being read 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:26.460 to she loved audio books so we were doing all 00:15:26.460 --> 00:15:28.600 those kind of things all the time and then she 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:30.419 went through a stage where she wouldn't read 00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:32.879 to us and I have to say she didn't really enjoy 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:36.039 learning to read even though phonics is my thing 00:15:36.039 --> 00:15:38.279 and i've read lots of stories to her she just 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:41.220 you know i said she she's got dyspraxia and and 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:44.200 hopefully being assessed soon for um autism as 00:15:44.200 --> 00:15:46.039 well so we're still waiting on that that long 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:49.320 process yeah yeah but yeah so she went through 00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:51.340 a stage and not liking phonics and not reading 00:15:51.340 --> 00:15:53.159 but now she's gone back the other way and she 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:55.720 loves she's always reading and so i think sometimes 00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:59.100 you know just phonics and reading isn't always 00:15:59.100 --> 00:16:03.149 for every child But reading stories can be accessible 00:16:03.149 --> 00:16:06.710 in lots of ways. You can read to them. You know, 00:16:06.710 --> 00:16:08.809 at what age can you stop? You can stop. You can 00:16:08.809 --> 00:16:10.789 keep reading until there is if you want to. You 00:16:10.789 --> 00:16:13.129 can have family reading groups, you know. Reading 00:16:13.129 --> 00:16:16.529 book clubs. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Reading. 00:16:16.590 --> 00:16:20.279 You know, we always had audio. books in the car 00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:22.740 and lots of nursery rhymes as well nursery rhymes 00:16:22.740 --> 00:16:25.500 really great they're like mini stories you know 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:27.100 they have a beginning middle and end so lots 00:16:27.100 --> 00:16:29.419 and lots of nursery rhymes and that also helps 00:16:29.419 --> 00:16:32.440 with rhyme and repetition and that Often brings 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:35.620 in unusual vocabulary as well. Sort of Jack and 00:16:35.620 --> 00:16:37.220 Jill went up the hill. I mean, what's a pail? 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:39.340 What's a crown? You're talking about all those 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:41.220 things. So you're introducing new vocabulary 00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:44.080 all the time. So yeah, nursery rhymes and stories 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:46.740 and just talking, talking, talking, talking as 00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:49.419 much as you can. I love that you said narrating 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:52.539 as well, because so often I see parents on social 00:16:52.539 --> 00:16:54.440 media, I suppose, but also in person, always 00:16:54.440 --> 00:16:56.720 questioning and testing and assessing their children. 00:16:56.779 --> 00:16:58.799 So what's this? What colour is this? Because 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:01.320 they want... how they feel that they're teaching 00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:03.259 them and I love that you said narrating because 00:17:03.259 --> 00:17:06.200 it's errorless you're not asking the child to 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:09.180 do or say or understand anything you're just 00:17:09.180 --> 00:17:12.460 doing it and they might absorb something almost 00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:14.660 like without expectation and I love that you 00:17:14.660 --> 00:17:17.500 said that rather than the questioning which if 00:17:17.500 --> 00:17:20.140 a child doesn't know the answer could be quite 00:17:20.140 --> 00:17:23.200 a demand and quite tricky especially for those 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:26.019 children with PDA profile that could be quite 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:27.799 a demand and they might close off and actually 00:17:28.359 --> 00:17:30.940 don't want to communicate or have that conversation 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:32.680 at all because it's tricky it makes me feel bad 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:35.140 I don't understand it and it's a bit scary so 00:17:35.140 --> 00:17:38.480 but narrating they can't lose at that they're 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:40.359 just absorbing it and there's no pressure on 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:42.640 them to answer you or anything like that you're 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:45.859 just narrating and I think actually if any parent 00:17:45.859 --> 00:17:48.440 or teacher could do that no matter what ability 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:52.420 your your child is at it's a really lovely you 00:17:52.420 --> 00:17:55.180 know way of them absorbing language without any 00:17:55.180 --> 00:17:59.750 pressure definitely yeah Yeah. I suppose, well, 00:17:59.769 --> 00:18:03.369 let's get on to phonics then, because we were 00:18:03.369 --> 00:18:06.190 talking just before the recording about phase 00:18:06.190 --> 00:18:09.289 one phonics. And lots of people don't really 00:18:09.289 --> 00:18:11.789 understand that there is a phase one phonics 00:18:11.789 --> 00:18:15.470 that doesn't really include any sounds or letters 00:18:15.470 --> 00:18:17.869 at all. And I was thinking about how accessible 00:18:17.869 --> 00:18:19.750 that is. Do you mind explaining a little bit 00:18:19.750 --> 00:18:23.950 about what phase one is and what it means? Yeah, 00:18:24.029 --> 00:18:27.250 I am all for phase one. Phase one is all it's 00:18:27.250 --> 00:18:29.430 called is basically it's phonological awareness, 00:18:29.630 --> 00:18:31.670 which is a bit of a mouthful, which is why a 00:18:31.670 --> 00:18:35.829 lot of people just say phonics. And when I started 00:18:35.829 --> 00:18:38.930 phonics, that was the reason why, because lots 00:18:38.930 --> 00:18:40.930 of children were coming into school without having 00:18:40.930 --> 00:18:44.039 done phase one. But actually. If you call it 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:46.480 phonological awareness, it doesn't ring. So we've 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:49.819 changed to phonics because it's more accessible 00:18:49.819 --> 00:18:52.859 to people. But a lot of what we do is phase one. 00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:56.859 So phase one is all the language, being able 00:18:56.859 --> 00:18:59.099 to discriminate between sounds. You know, if 00:18:59.099 --> 00:19:02.539 you hear, I don't know, like something being 00:19:02.539 --> 00:19:04.660 rattled in a tin and something being rattled 00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:07.660 in a cup. It sounds very different. It could 00:19:07.660 --> 00:19:10.859 be slightly similar. And that's the same as when 00:19:10.859 --> 00:19:13.680 you're then going on to phonics and you've got 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:17.259 letters like N and M, which make a very similar 00:19:17.259 --> 00:19:20.299 sound. It's just a slight difference. And children 00:19:20.299 --> 00:19:22.160 have to be able to distinguish between them. 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:24.180 So you don't need to be doing it with letters 00:19:24.180 --> 00:19:26.019 first and sounds. You need to be doing it with 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:28.680 objects. You need to be listening to bird song 00:19:28.680 --> 00:19:30.880 when you're outside. Can you distinguish between 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.299 different birds? You know, magpies are quite 00:19:33.299 --> 00:19:35.710 distinguishing noise. got lots of them in our 00:19:35.710 --> 00:19:38.430 garden so you can hear them you can use instruments 00:19:38.430 --> 00:19:42.170 body sounds you know like poppy anything that's 00:19:42.170 --> 00:19:45.250 making a noise you can make you know you go into 00:19:45.250 --> 00:19:48.450 this you go into the park and you go down the 00:19:48.450 --> 00:19:51.849 slide or i don't know yeah put a stick along 00:19:51.849 --> 00:19:54.589 the trailing or something you know so all those 00:19:54.589 --> 00:19:57.670 kind of things all that language will impact 00:19:58.380 --> 00:20:02.059 on their phonics later. So you're introducing, 00:20:02.099 --> 00:20:04.140 again, it's that narrating, it's that language, 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:06.519 just fitting it in where and when. So language 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:09.420 is really important. Environmental sounds, so 00:20:09.420 --> 00:20:12.420 listening to, like we say, the birdsong, different 00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:15.099 times of transport, all those kind of things. 00:20:15.319 --> 00:20:17.559 Hearing somebody, I can hear somebody running 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:20.140 or I can hear, you know, a bell on a bike or 00:20:20.140 --> 00:20:21.619 something, you know, just listening to all those 00:20:21.619 --> 00:20:24.559 kind of sounds. It's just tuning children's ears 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:26.859 into a range of different sounds, really. So 00:20:26.859 --> 00:20:28.900 that's really important. And then it's things 00:20:28.900 --> 00:20:32.380 like, well, this isn't included in phase one, 00:20:32.420 --> 00:20:34.059 but I always think it's really important, the 00:20:34.059 --> 00:20:37.859 gross motor. Because if you haven't got that 00:20:37.859 --> 00:20:39.339 gross motor that we talked about before, that 00:20:39.339 --> 00:20:42.180 core motor to be able to, you know, I know some 00:20:42.180 --> 00:20:44.380 children can't sit up, but if you want them to 00:20:44.380 --> 00:20:48.160 be able to hold a pencil, they've first got to... 00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:51.019 get control of their shoulders and then their 00:20:51.019 --> 00:20:53.599 arms and then their fingers, you know, and okay, 00:20:53.660 --> 00:20:56.140 we can modify it for some children, but they 00:20:56.140 --> 00:20:58.400 still have to have some strength in there. So 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:02.240 don't go straight for fine motor activities all 00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:04.259 the time. You want to do lots of things to strengthen 00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:06.299 their arms and their shoulders as well, because 00:21:06.299 --> 00:21:09.500 that will give them the control. with their fingers 00:21:09.500 --> 00:21:12.000 to hold a pencil so that's really important towards 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:16.319 the end of phase one you can do things with sounds 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:19.420 and we call it oral blending and segmenting and 00:21:19.420 --> 00:21:22.579 that doesn't mean that children have to be able 00:21:22.579 --> 00:21:26.500 to look and recognize a letter a letter and you 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:28.339 would do this just before school if they were 00:21:28.339 --> 00:21:30.240 going you know that if they're if they're at 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:33.160 verbal yeah if they're verbal yeah so if they're 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:35.920 verbal and if well if they're interested really 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:38.680 if they're not interested Then, you know, don't 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:40.960 battle with it because it's just pointless. But 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:43.140 if they're interested, you know, can you play 00:21:43.140 --> 00:21:46.900 games and say, oh, I don't know. It could be 00:21:46.900 --> 00:21:49.900 doing an action or it could be pointing to something 00:21:49.900 --> 00:21:52.420 if you've got pictures or something. So you could 00:21:52.420 --> 00:21:57.299 say, can you point to the hat? And then you say 00:21:57.299 --> 00:22:01.079 hat. So you're not expecting them to be able 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:03.759 to put those words together. You're modelling 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:07.339 it so that later. They know that's what you do. 00:22:07.380 --> 00:22:10.400 You say, hat, hat. Oh yeah, I can point to my 00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:12.779 hat or I can put my hat on or something like 00:22:12.779 --> 00:22:15.480 that. That's really important to be able to do 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:19.380 as well. But that is definitely at the end stage 00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:23.400 of phase one. And those skills need to be in 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:27.339 place before you start reading and writing. Yeah. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:30.039 So if you come to school and they're not there 00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:33.420 yet, say if they aren't on speaking or they've 00:22:33.420 --> 00:22:36.700 got mobility, kind of disability in some way, 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:39.779 then they're the skills that you need. You're 00:22:39.779 --> 00:22:42.099 working on it. It's still working towards those 00:22:42.099 --> 00:22:45.420 literacy skills. Exactly. It's a different step 00:22:45.420 --> 00:22:47.240 and stage. And I suppose that is the benefit 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:50.920 and luxury of specialist education that mainstream 00:22:50.920 --> 00:22:54.660 hasn't got the luxury of necessarily. We can 00:22:54.660 --> 00:22:57.720 make it individual. individualized like that 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:01.400 so in one class with 11 children I had some that 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:05.019 had some phonic awareness and were learning to 00:23:05.019 --> 00:23:08.039 blend and segment and write graphemes and those 00:23:08.039 --> 00:23:11.039 kind of things I had also had some learners that 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:13.200 were working at around three months that were 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:16.920 working on their grip skills and letting go at 00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:19.259 a certain time and they're listening to their 00:23:19.259 --> 00:23:23.460 instructions and music cues and all those kind 00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:25.619 of things all in one class and we could manage 00:23:25.619 --> 00:23:27.980 that because I had the adults and the resources 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:31.779 um and equipment in order to do that I suppose 00:23:31.779 --> 00:23:34.859 so it's tricky asking mainstream teachers which 00:23:34.859 --> 00:23:37.359 are now getting no all teachers are SEN teachers 00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:39.660 now tricky before these children are getting 00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:42.240 AHCPs which is usually even if it started at 00:23:42.509 --> 00:23:44.410 two and a half three are usually not getting 00:23:44.410 --> 00:23:48.190 those until six now so usually the whole of early 00:23:48.190 --> 00:23:51.369 years they are without that funding without that 00:23:51.369 --> 00:23:53.990 support without that specialist setting and often 00:23:53.990 --> 00:23:57.009 even when they get their AHCP there isn't a specialist 00:23:57.009 --> 00:24:00.109 setting place available is also what we're finding 00:24:00.109 --> 00:24:02.430 so it may it means that mainstream teachers are 00:24:02.430 --> 00:24:06.660 having to upskill and find ways to fit in this 00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:09.619 kind of individualized approach for these learners 00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:13.740 which is really really tricky and i'm not you 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:16.400 know i would struggle with it i've been in scnd 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:20.400 for 16 years i'm a specialist and i would struggle 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:23.099 to teach a mainstream early years class and include 00:24:23.099 --> 00:24:26.359 everybody within that same room within that same 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:30.269 lesson it's really tricky what i do really hard 00:24:30.269 --> 00:24:32.190 at and I think lots of early years teachers are 00:24:32.190 --> 00:24:35.049 fantastic at this is the making them feel like 00:24:35.049 --> 00:24:37.289 they belong I think that's the start of inclusion 00:24:37.289 --> 00:24:41.009 is making them to feel wanted and belong in the 00:24:41.009 --> 00:24:43.589 class and celebrate all their achievements and 00:24:43.589 --> 00:24:46.309 communicate with their parents and communicate 00:24:46.309 --> 00:24:50.450 with your team about all those things but where 00:24:50.450 --> 00:24:53.569 it becomes really tricky is actually fitting 00:24:53.569 --> 00:24:56.190 it in and I think sometimes it can look like 00:24:56.190 --> 00:24:58.190 exclusion and I think teachers are often really 00:24:58.190 --> 00:25:01.329 worried about that and actually I think as long 00:25:01.329 --> 00:25:04.390 as it is for the child's benefit so the disabled 00:25:04.390 --> 00:25:07.529 child's benefit not the class's benefit it's 00:25:07.529 --> 00:25:11.589 okay to have their own space outside of the classroom 00:25:11.589 --> 00:25:13.289 to have their own space within the classroom 00:25:13.289 --> 00:25:16.230 to go off on lots of walks and things like that 00:25:16.230 --> 00:25:19.009 if it's for that particular child's benefit and 00:25:19.009 --> 00:25:22.319 often it is because It can be really overwhelming 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:24.880 being in a class with 30 other children and lots 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:26.839 of sounds and not being able to understand. It's 00:25:26.839 --> 00:25:30.839 overstimulating, yeah. I think people get really 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:35.839 stuck on the whole including thing. And actually, 00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:38.539 you're not including them at all. In fact, they're 00:25:38.539 --> 00:25:41.839 getting very distressed. I think that's because 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:44.599 we feel like they should be included, isn't it? 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:46.500 Yeah, because you have a heart for them, don't 00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:48.440 you? You want to include them as much as you 00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:50.279 can. You maybe feel like you're failing them. 00:25:50.759 --> 00:25:53.420 if they're not in the room and that's I can tell 00:25:53.420 --> 00:25:55.140 you now if you're listening to this and you're 00:25:55.140 --> 00:25:56.880 a mainstream teacher and you're thinking they're 00:25:56.880 --> 00:25:59.079 always in the corridors or wandering outside 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:02.640 and I need to do more for them just stop and 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:05.779 think why are they out of the class is it because 00:26:05.779 --> 00:26:08.240 actually they're really distracting and I need 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:11.000 my my class to get on I've heard that before 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:12.779 you know my class and actually they're not included 00:26:12.779 --> 00:26:15.369 in the turn my car so then that would be an issue 00:26:15.369 --> 00:26:17.210 then we'd need to have a look at that but if 00:26:17.210 --> 00:26:21.190 it's for the child's benefit if they are finding 00:26:21.190 --> 00:26:23.349 the whole room overwhelming maybe the lights 00:26:23.349 --> 00:26:25.289 and the sounds and the busyness even just being 00:26:25.289 --> 00:26:28.529 close proximity to people is overwhelming then 00:26:28.529 --> 00:26:29.930 maybe they need that break or maybe they need 00:26:29.930 --> 00:26:32.069 more movement breaks or maybe they need their 00:26:32.069 --> 00:26:35.130 own distract free area in order to learn maybe 00:26:35.130 --> 00:26:37.609 the learning looks so different from what you're 00:26:37.609 --> 00:26:39.910 doing in order for them to learn and thrive because 00:26:39.910 --> 00:26:41.849 they're at a completely different stage to everybody 00:26:41.849 --> 00:26:45.049 else that's okay actually you're meeting their 00:26:45.049 --> 00:26:47.289 needs perfectly and that is exactly what inclusion 00:26:47.289 --> 00:26:51.349 looks like that every child is thriving and that 00:26:51.349 --> 00:26:55.329 can look really different yeah yeah Yeah. I saw 00:26:55.329 --> 00:26:58.049 a little cartoon once about there was a picture 00:26:58.049 --> 00:27:00.849 of a wall and children trying to look over. And 00:27:00.849 --> 00:27:03.369 have you seen that one? And they said that, you 00:27:03.369 --> 00:27:05.509 know, if you gave everybody the same, they'd 00:27:05.509 --> 00:27:07.710 all have a step so they could look after, look 00:27:07.710 --> 00:27:09.609 over. But if they're different heights, excuse 00:27:09.609 --> 00:27:11.049 me, if they're different heights, they still 00:27:11.049 --> 00:27:13.109 can't see over. So you have to give them the 00:27:13.109 --> 00:27:15.670 height that they need. It has to be different. 00:27:15.789 --> 00:27:18.349 It's different. It doesn't feel fair, does it? 00:27:18.410 --> 00:27:21.440 It's not equal. no but it's equity so yeah your 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:24.579 five -year -olds that are five in september will 00:27:24.579 --> 00:27:27.880 have a much higher chance than your four -year 00:27:27.880 --> 00:27:30.299 -olds, which will also have a much higher chance 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:33.680 than your SEND children or your English as an 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:36.599 Additional Language children or visually impaired 00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:39.700 children or all of that. We're all starting, 00:27:39.819 --> 00:27:42.279 especially in early years, there's such a disparity, 00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:44.940 isn't there? Because you haven't been given the 00:27:44.940 --> 00:27:47.259 setting and the funding that you actually need 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:50.680 yet. You're still all waiting for all these kind 00:27:50.680 --> 00:27:52.559 of things, aren't you? We haven't had the dyslexia 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:55.309 screenings yet. you know there's so many reasons 00:27:55.309 --> 00:27:57.910 why a child would be at different level in early 00:27:57.910 --> 00:28:00.289 years and you're having to manage that aren't 00:28:00.289 --> 00:28:03.869 you and assess that and and add scaffolding to 00:28:03.869 --> 00:28:07.250 kind of make support them to be have an equal 00:28:07.250 --> 00:28:10.269 chance as possible but it doesn't look like they've 00:28:10.269 --> 00:28:12.789 all got the same so not all children need movement 00:28:12.789 --> 00:28:15.109 breaks between every five minutes not all children 00:28:15.109 --> 00:28:18.289 need a fidget toy or resource not all children 00:28:18.289 --> 00:28:21.470 need a colored overlay over their book and all 00:28:21.470 --> 00:28:24.660 of those kind of things It's hard. I really, 00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:26.839 really take my hat off to early years teachers 00:28:26.839 --> 00:28:31.829 that you're... You're doing this for all 30 children. 00:28:31.910 --> 00:28:33.529 I feel like by the time they get to year one, 00:28:33.630 --> 00:28:36.690 you might have six children in your class. You're 00:28:36.690 --> 00:28:38.970 still trying to work out. But early years, you 00:28:38.970 --> 00:28:41.869 really are trying to work out everybody. And 00:28:41.869 --> 00:28:45.170 on top of that, you're settling children who 00:28:45.170 --> 00:28:48.170 can be still upset about leaving parents. Yeah, 00:28:48.369 --> 00:28:51.150 absolutely. And anxious, yeah, exactly. I'm trying 00:28:51.150 --> 00:28:53.269 to work out safeguarding things. You know, you 00:28:53.269 --> 00:28:54.769 don't know the families yet. At least by year 00:28:54.769 --> 00:28:56.630 one, you've had a year of knowing the families 00:28:56.630 --> 00:28:58.410 and knowing who needs more support and things. 00:28:58.670 --> 00:29:00.829 Just trying to work out all of that as well. 00:29:01.170 --> 00:29:03.309 It's an awful lot. It is an awful lot, yeah. 00:29:03.549 --> 00:29:06.130 And I think that's why, you know, we try to make 00:29:06.130 --> 00:29:10.829 our phonics and within my company, Phonics, multi 00:29:10.829 --> 00:29:13.390 -sensory. And we try to get lots of action in. 00:29:13.450 --> 00:29:15.910 You know, and children, we have children, CND 00:29:15.910 --> 00:29:18.910 children come to Phonics and, you know, or have 00:29:18.910 --> 00:29:20.710 our boxes, which we'll talk about later. But 00:29:20.710 --> 00:29:24.630 it's got to be accessible in some way for all 00:29:24.630 --> 00:29:27.630 children. And it doesn't matter. how they do 00:29:27.630 --> 00:29:29.490 it. It's just doing it and giving them those 00:29:29.490 --> 00:29:31.910 opportunities. So, you know, we have at school, 00:29:31.990 --> 00:29:35.589 we have visual things. We're listening with auditory. 00:29:35.630 --> 00:29:38.130 We're moving around. We're doing actions. So 00:29:38.130 --> 00:29:41.509 hopefully we're covering as much as we can within 00:29:41.509 --> 00:29:43.849 the general classroom, which is just, you know, 00:29:43.849 --> 00:29:46.029 we're doing that for all children. And then you 00:29:46.029 --> 00:29:49.009 do extras on top for others. All children benefit 00:29:49.009 --> 00:29:51.690 from that. They're not losing out on that. Well, 00:29:51.730 --> 00:29:53.980 let's talk about it then. what is your offer 00:29:53.980 --> 00:29:57.319 with funics what are you offering teachers and 00:29:57.319 --> 00:30:00.359 parents to support with everything we've spoken 00:30:00.359 --> 00:30:05.299 about so far so with well we have lots of things 00:30:05.299 --> 00:30:08.400 funics classes are just local to where i live 00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:11.519 in worcester we started that because we wanted 00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:17.900 parents um were teaching children And they were 00:30:17.900 --> 00:30:20.259 racing ahead because they thought there was this 00:30:20.259 --> 00:30:23.460 pressure to do it. So we wanted to support them. 00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:26.099 And the parents say it's a really supportive 00:30:26.099 --> 00:30:28.960 setting. You know, there's no judgment, but we 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:33.380 just help them to understand, you know, let's 00:30:33.380 --> 00:30:35.519 go back. Let's do all this. We do the gross most. 00:30:35.640 --> 00:30:38.359 We do the fun things. We do storytelling. You 00:30:38.359 --> 00:30:40.519 know, every week there's a story. It's interactive. 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:45.880 It's just lots and lots of fun activities. We 00:30:45.880 --> 00:30:47.480 do something all together and then there are 00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:49.299 lots of activities the children can move around 00:30:49.299 --> 00:30:52.460 to. And one thing we find with parents when they 00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:54.200 first start is they feel like they have to do 00:30:54.200 --> 00:30:56.319 everything. And we say, no, it doesn't matter. 00:30:56.460 --> 00:30:59.559 You know, if your child finds one activity and 00:30:59.559 --> 00:31:01.059 they're engrossed and want to stay there the 00:31:01.059 --> 00:31:04.019 whole time, that's absolutely fine because they're 00:31:04.019 --> 00:31:07.200 getting what they need at that point. And it's 00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:09.640 all about, you know, if there's a craft activity, 00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:11.599 they feel like they need to do the craft because 00:31:11.599 --> 00:31:14.559 they feel like it's the product they need to 00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:17.460 go home with. But don't actually realise it's 00:31:17.460 --> 00:31:19.440 that. that process that they're going through 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:21.900 that's really important so we're trying to educate 00:31:21.900 --> 00:31:25.180 parents in that way really and you know trying 00:31:25.180 --> 00:31:28.690 to make things accessible to all children I have 00:31:28.690 --> 00:31:31.809 to say, we haven't had children in, you know, 00:31:31.809 --> 00:31:34.990 with massively physical difficulties. So I haven't 00:31:34.990 --> 00:31:37.109 had to negotiate that. But we definitely we've 00:31:37.109 --> 00:31:40.210 had sort of, you know, speech and language. We've 00:31:40.210 --> 00:31:42.289 had hearing, we've had autism, all those kind 00:31:42.289 --> 00:31:45.329 of things. Well, let me know if you want to find 00:31:45.329 --> 00:31:47.309 accessible ways. I'm sure there are really accessible 00:31:47.309 --> 00:31:50.549 ways that you could include those children. Definitely. 00:31:50.710 --> 00:31:52.910 Yeah, that's definitely something I'd love to 00:31:52.910 --> 00:31:54.799 get involved with that. Yeah, no, that would 00:31:54.799 --> 00:31:56.680 be brilliant because it's really important that 00:31:56.680 --> 00:31:59.259 we improve ourselves and help more and more children. 00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:02.680 Yeah, I love that. Yeah. And in school and the 00:32:02.680 --> 00:32:04.299 other thing I started in school as well, because 00:32:04.299 --> 00:32:07.160 I really want them to have movement breaks. So 00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:10.380 I've got a, we call it, have you heard of funky 00:32:10.380 --> 00:32:12.880 fingers? So funky fingers is when they're all 00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:15.329 doing. It was a bit of a rave at schools and 00:32:15.329 --> 00:32:17.269 they were all doing this fine motor. But again, 00:32:17.369 --> 00:32:19.049 they were forgetting all the gross motors. So 00:32:19.049 --> 00:32:22.690 we've now introduced mighty muscles. And so we 00:32:22.690 --> 00:32:24.890 have like a physical activity in the classroom 00:32:24.890 --> 00:32:26.569 because not many people do. They always think 00:32:26.569 --> 00:32:29.250 physical has got to be outside. But you can have 00:32:29.250 --> 00:32:31.750 something in the classroom. You can have something 00:32:31.750 --> 00:32:34.650 in a group that is physical that they can do. 00:32:34.750 --> 00:32:37.049 You know, it could just be balancing on a cushion 00:32:37.049 --> 00:32:41.539 because that's an unstable. and stable surface 00:32:41.539 --> 00:32:44.319 and actually that engages their core a bit more 00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:47.559 and that supports then their fine you know their 00:32:47.559 --> 00:32:49.980 fine motor as well so we we do lots of things 00:32:49.980 --> 00:32:52.819 lots lots of physical things lots of practical 00:32:52.819 --> 00:32:55.579 things and and just try and make it fun i mean 00:32:55.579 --> 00:32:59.240 the children love apparently parents tell us 00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:01.759 that children love funics come into our classes 00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:04.279 so we have that in our classrooms and then obviously 00:33:04.279 --> 00:33:06.920 we have those who can't come to classes because 00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:10.369 it's just locally we have boxes so it's It's 00:33:10.369 --> 00:33:14.089 kind of most of it in a box. And we have videos 00:33:14.089 --> 00:33:17.869 of myself and Helen doing activities and children 00:33:17.869 --> 00:33:20.890 can join in with them at home. And again, it's, 00:33:20.890 --> 00:33:23.150 you know, children get out of it what they can. 00:33:23.529 --> 00:33:27.609 You adjust it to what your child can do. There's 00:33:27.609 --> 00:33:30.529 no right or wrong, really. It's just, you know, 00:33:30.569 --> 00:33:33.480 everybody's just... being able to access as much 00:33:33.480 --> 00:33:35.539 as they can with the activities. That's amazing. 00:33:36.019 --> 00:33:38.859 And then you've got a subscription offer as well, 00:33:38.880 --> 00:33:42.339 is that right? Yes. Sorry, yeah. And that's in 00:33:42.339 --> 00:33:44.180 the boxes, yeah, the subscription boxes. Okay, 00:33:44.180 --> 00:33:47.000 so does it keep getting changed over there? So 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:49.599 we've got a six -month subscription. We do have 00:33:49.599 --> 00:33:51.799 letter cards. We've just won an award, actually, 00:33:51.819 --> 00:33:54.640 for our letter cards because we've got rhymes 00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:57.680 on it. But it's got QR codes on the back so children 00:33:57.680 --> 00:34:00.789 can actually see. how to form a letter if they're 00:34:00.789 --> 00:34:02.950 ready to form letters and they can actually hear 00:34:02.950 --> 00:34:05.150 us saying the sound so they can say it clearly 00:34:05.150 --> 00:34:07.309 as well so we've we've got those and we put those 00:34:07.309 --> 00:34:10.050 in our in our boxes and then we have lots of 00:34:10.050 --> 00:34:12.349 we have gross motor activities we have crafts 00:34:12.349 --> 00:34:17.210 but it's all related around language and using 00:34:17.210 --> 00:34:20.309 our fingers using our bodies just to you know 00:34:20.829 --> 00:34:23.329 to get all those those skills in place really 00:34:23.329 --> 00:34:25.590 and yeah it's really it's been really popular 00:34:25.590 --> 00:34:28.309 it sounds fantastic and so accessible i love 00:34:28.309 --> 00:34:30.349 your passion for inclusion and accessibility 00:34:30.349 --> 00:34:33.309 it's really refreshing to hear actually especially 00:34:33.309 --> 00:34:36.809 on the topic of phonics it can be quite exclusive 00:34:36.809 --> 00:34:40.510 so that's really really lovely that yeah i've 00:34:40.510 --> 00:34:42.250 everything i'm hearing i'm thinking well yeah 00:34:42.250 --> 00:34:45.019 my class would Love that. So, yeah. And I've 00:34:45.019 --> 00:34:46.480 got a very high needs class. So that's really 00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:49.159 lovely to hear. Where can people find out more 00:34:49.159 --> 00:34:51.800 about this? Where can people find out more about 00:34:51.800 --> 00:34:54.260 your classes and your boxes and everything you 00:34:54.260 --> 00:34:57.860 have to share? Okay, you can. Online, we have 00:34:57.860 --> 00:35:00.980 a website called funics .com. So I'll spell that 00:35:00.980 --> 00:35:03.639 because it's very, it's a very, it's basically, 00:35:03.679 --> 00:35:07.480 it's fun with phonics. So it's F -U -N -I -C 00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:12.369 -S. So funics. If you were online on the website, 00:35:12.409 --> 00:35:19.269 rather. And then phonics .phonics. Sorry. It's 00:35:19.269 --> 00:35:21.789 all a mouthful, isn't it, really? I know. It 00:35:21.789 --> 00:35:24.269 looks great. It looks great written. It's really 00:35:24.269 --> 00:35:26.550 hard to say, which is quite ironic, really, isn't 00:35:26.550 --> 00:35:30.409 it? Yeah. Phonics .phonics on Instagram. Yeah. 00:35:31.239 --> 00:35:34.280 yeah and we'd love to and you know if people 00:35:34.280 --> 00:35:37.000 have got ideas you know to help us improve if 00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:38.860 you've got children you think oh this would work 00:35:38.860 --> 00:35:42.559 a better way you know we are really up for feedback 00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:45.460 on things and because you know we want to get 00:35:45.460 --> 00:35:47.199 better we want to improve we want to support 00:35:47.199 --> 00:35:49.820 more and more children so you know we're happy 00:35:49.820 --> 00:35:52.920 to try and add and adjust as we go along and 00:35:52.920 --> 00:35:55.840 it really isn't it really isn't much to add it 00:35:55.840 --> 00:35:58.590 might be things like raising the tough tray onto 00:35:58.590 --> 00:36:01.230 a stand so that a wheelchair can get underneath 00:36:01.230 --> 00:36:04.570 it might be adding some sensory elements to each 00:36:04.570 --> 00:36:07.429 page of your story that you're reading you know 00:36:07.429 --> 00:36:10.250 yes there are really accessible easy ways that 00:36:10.250 --> 00:36:12.590 actually will support all children that we add 00:36:12.590 --> 00:36:15.130 four of those PMLD learners so yeah we can we 00:36:15.130 --> 00:36:16.570 can talk about that another time that would be 00:36:16.570 --> 00:36:19.090 wonderful lovely thank you so much for joining 00:36:19.090 --> 00:36:21.369 today it's been a really really important and 00:36:21.369 --> 00:36:22.969 lovely conversation to have with you thank you 00:36:22.969 --> 00:36:25.010 so much for having me I've really enjoyed chatting 00:36:25.010 --> 00:36:27.780 with you Thank you.