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Ready for Reading? Pre-phonics training for EYFS/Y1 practitioners

Wednesday 29th October 2025, 9.30am - 3.30pm, NSPCC

Summary

Want perfectly prepared children who are ready for reading at the start of Reception?
Need to support children in Reception/Year 1 who have pre-phonics gaps?
Would like easy ways to use fun songs, stories and games to build essential pre-reading skills?
Looking for ways of building vocabulary fast, alongside pre-phonic development?

Ready for Reading is a highly practical course with heaps of practical ideas and simple suggestions that you can implement straight away. This is essential training for anybody working with children in the early years. The PERFECT foundation for any phonics programme introduced later on.

Attendees will join in with stories, songs and games, as well as having time to share ideas with colleagues and tap into the experience of an expert. Essential subject knowledge is paired with lots of active learning for a truly memorable experience, with great impact!

What you’ll learn

What comes before phonics and why
Where visual discrimination and visual memory fit into the wider phonics picture
How to help children achieve essential attention and listening skills
Why warming up our voices is a critical pre-phonic skill, and how to do it
How to teach rhyme and rhythm effectively, and how this supports phonics later on
What phonemic awareness is and how to teach it
When to introduce pre-phonic skills through a carefully constructed progression so that all children are exceptionally well prepared to begin phonics at the beginning of Reception

This CPD will be perfect for you if you:

Teach Nursery age children and want to build a strong foundation and need a more systematic approach, fully aligned with the EYFS
Support children in Reception who have pre-phonics gaps
Need some fresh ideas to support a language rich curriculum, brimming with stories and songs
Have a validated phonics programme with limited provision for your Nursery Class
Are new to phonics in Nursery and don't know where to start
Work as an EYFS / English Leader and want to understand what comes before phonics and why
Are an ECT in Nursery or Reception

Please note - lunch is not included on the day. Drinks will be provided throughout the day.

Recommended for

Anybody working with children in Nursery / Reception: teaching assistants, nursery nurses, teachers, leaders.

It is also appropriate for Year 1 staff if there are children with pre-phonic gaps.

Venue

NSPCC Training Centre, 3 Gilmour Close, Beaumont Leys, Leicester, LE4 1EZ

Cost

Free for maintained schools.

£120 per delegate for academies and Leicestershire schools.

Further Information

Lunch will not be provided - please either bring your own or purchase on the day from the local shopping centre.

For further information, please contact Sonia Dayal on sonia.dayal@sdsa.net

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Please select your school from the choices below. If you are based outside of Leicester City, please enter the name of your school in the 'Other organisation' box below.

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Your school's commitment to this booking

Involvement in this booking will require substantial commitment and we do need to emphasise this. Expectations between projects will vary slightly, but by signing up you and your school are agreeing to:

Release the named staff to attend all events within the programme.
Give staff the necessary support to undertake school-based activities, gap tasks and improvement work.
Engage well with the opportunities in the programme and, if invited, school-based support.
Give at least 48 hour’s notice if you are no longer able to attend a session you have booked. Failure to notify or cancellation within a 48 hour window of the training date will result in a 100% charge of the course fee. If you are a maintained Leicester City primary school, and accessing the course free of charge, the cancellation cost will be the charge advertised for non-maintained/Leicestershire schools. For non-maintained/Leicestershire schools the advertised charge will apply.

I can confirm that my school is in agreement with the terms outlined above