Phonics – it’s just baby talk – isn’t it

Updated on 12/11/2025

A Primary Teacher's Assumption

When I first started at Lexonic I had spent 20 years in primary education, and it never really crossed my mind that secondary schools and beyond would continue to struggle to teach phonics. I predominantly taught 7–9-year-olds and part of my role was to address any gaps in phonics knowledge and get the children accessing chapter books. I have listened to many parts of the Horrid Henry series over the years – a firm favourite with 7 year olds. In my experience that is what happened, the majority of phonics gaps were closed by the time a child was 9 years old and they were then able to access the books we were reading and the rest of the key stage 2 curriculum.

When I first joined Lexonic I was introduced to Lexonic Leap, our phonics intervention programme, and I loved it! It did exactly what it said on the tin – fast, focused, fun! Immediately previous pupils sprang to mind who would have loved doing Leap, something different, something more grown up and I started to realise that maybe I had done a disservice to those pupils.

The Question That Changed My Perspective

A Lexonic colleague asked a question ‘Why do schools continue to use the same resources that haven’t worked in EYFS and Key Stage 1, in Key Stage 2 and beyond?’

To be honest it made me stop and think. Why had I continued to use them?

• They were praised: The phonics specialists in Foundation Stage and Key stage 1 had raved about how good they were, how the children in their classes were making excellent progress and learning to read.
• They were available: The company that provided the phonics programme supplied KS2 resources, that they promised would fill the gaps and with no extra cost.

So, I trusted that this was the right thing to do, and hindsight is a wonderful thing, but maybe I should have looked at something different? Was there a better way?

Seeing the 'Grown Up' Solution in Action

Now I have been with Lexonic for almost a year and have had the opportunity to go to many different settings, lots of secondary schools but also FE colleges and secure children’s units to deliver Lexonic Leap. Each time as the training day progresses, I watch staff start to discuss which students this will be suitable for and how it would engage those students. Then watching them, as they take turns to ‘be the teacher’, realise the collaboration that was needed between staff and students when playing the games and the relationships that this would help to build. They complete the training enthused and inspired to close those phonics gaps and build the self-esteem of their students.

The 10-Year Gap: What This Means for Our Learners.

As I have travelled around the country, I have been thinking of those students that are discussed. What are their backgrounds? How have they reached the age of 12, 16, 18 without being able to use the phonics code to help them read? How have they survived? What will happen to them?

In line with the English National Curriculum, phonics teaching starts way before compulsory school. By the time a child is 6 at the end of Year 1 all 40+ phonemes should be taught and the 140 corresponding graphemes and then the following year consolidation and the aim for fluency.

This reality is echoed in government guidance. The DfE's 'The Reading Framework' (July 2023) specifically notes the challenge for "Older pupils who need to catch up" (Section 5), highlighting that their needs are critically different from those of an emergent reader.

What blew my mind about this is that if a 16-year-old cannot read phonics and they have been in the English school system since they were 5 years old then they have been behind with their phonics for 10 years!

• Ten years of not being able to read.
• Ten years of not being able to access the curriculum fully.
• Ten years of trying to hide that they can’t read.

How are these young people still standing? How do they mask this every day? How has this impacted their self-esteem and self-respect?

The Psychological Impact of Illiteracy

‘No one can experience years of failure in school without it having a detrimental effect. A lack of confidence and a low self-esteem are often consequences of learning difficulties.’

‘Practitioners should be alert to signs of anxiety and depression, as well as the perhaps more obvious evidence of inattentive and disruptive behaviours, in their assessments and planning for children with reading disabilities.’

‘While the empirical findings from research are critical... we need look no further than a single student’s experience to understand why struggles with reading could increase the risk of stopping school altogether. For this student, each day requires engaging with a ubiquitous but nonetheless challenging task that serves as a potential roadblock to other learning...’

Stop Using Resources That Have Already Failed

The experience Victoria describes is why Lexonic Leap was created. It's a mature, fast-paced phonics intervention designed specifically for older learners in KS2, secondary, and FE who have been let down by 'babyish' resources.

If you have students who are still struggling, stop using resources that have already failed them. Book a free demo of Lexonic Leap today.