Neuro-Inclusive Word Mapping Mastery
Training for Grownups!  

Far too many children struggle to read fluently and with comprehension because they lack phonemic awareness and orthographic knowledge. When they don’t understand how graphemes and phonemes connect, their working memory becomes overwhelmed as they try to decode each word in isolation. By the time they reach the end of a sentence, they’ve forgotten the beginning, and are mentally exhausted. Some children develop word mapping skills naturally, others with minimal phonics instruction.

But at least 1 in 4 do not, even when taught using synthetic phonics, because they never begin to self-teach. This is when most reading development actually happens — implicitly, through discovery. These children need to recognise, for instance, that the /ɪ/ sound in pin is the same sound as the 'a' in orange or the 'e' in England. The letter 'a' alone maps to at least 9 phonemes, yet synthetic phonics only teaches a couple of these.
 

Synthetic phonics programmes typically cover around 95 grapheme–phoneme correspondences (GPCs), which are tested in the Phonics Screening Check at the end of Year 1. But skilled readers use more than 350 GPCs to navigate English's opaque code — 44+ phonemes represented by over 200 graphemes. Being able to pass the Phonics Screening Check does not predict reading success. What matters is the ability to understand and continually refine code knowledge, which is why we show children the code. We don't just highlight graphemes in words, we show the phoneme values too, using the Phonemies Family — child-friendly, IPA-aligned characters that make phoneme–grapheme mapping visible.

With this approach, children in the early years learn to read and spell through discovery, without restrictions on which GPCs they explore. They are not limited to a rigid sequence. This is a world first — and currently the only way all children can explore words with true understanding, even as toddlers, driven by schema and curiosity.
 

Visit Speech Sound Play to give young children the very best start. If you are a Reception teacher, begin with our 10-day plan, which introduces the letters and sounds for s/a/t/p/i/n. With just these six Phonemies and their most common graphemes (Sound Pics), children can already decode and encode over 30 words. Children love Monster Mapping®.

You can use the 10-day plan as a foundation, then continue exploring any words the children are curious about through Speech Sound Play. This includes the Village with Three Corners series — fully mapped to support decoding and comprehension — with a focus on peg play talk therapy.
 

Also check out Peg Play Talk Therapy, our integrated approach combining speech sound play, therapeutic talk, and imaginative play using The Story People and the 150+ Village with Three Corners books.

Our Word Mapping Mastery® activities ensure children can decode, encode, and comprehend. With visible, meaningful mapping, all children can succeed — because they finally understand how the code works.