The Code Overlay shows the sound value for each grapheme so that they can access real books earlier!

Описание: Rather than waiting for children to learn enough grapheme–phoneme correspondences to access real books, we show them the code as soon as they understand what reading and spelling are, connecting speech and print.

We begin with the Speech Sound Play plan to check they can hear and identify the sounds. Through the SSP Green and Purple Code levels, they practise blending sounds and building words. They receive enough of a structured kick-start to begin the One, Two, Three and Away! books with confidence.

Instead of restricting reading to tightly controlled texts until a threshold of GPC knowledge is reached, we make the full code visible. Children can see exactly which letters represent which sounds within real stories.

We begin with simple books, supported by The Code Overlay, so that every word is fully decodable for that individual child. As their understanding strengthens, the visual support is gradually withdrawn. The goal is not dependence on the overlay, but confident, independent reading.

This means the learning journey is self-paced and personalised. Children are not forced to wait until they “know enough” of the code to read with ease. The text is made accessible, and decoding becomes accurate from the outset.

By making the grapheme–phoneme structure explicit, we remove guessing and reduce cognitive overload. Children experience success early, build fluency more securely, and move steadily towards independent, self-teaching reading.