Recent news stories highlighting the phenomenal cuts that headteachers are being required to make, shine a spotlight on the inordinate cost of some phonics schemes. The set-up figure alone can be thousands of pounds. As phonics is a required part of the curriculum and an area which the government is trying to improve, then it should be included in the list of non-negotiables to protect even when school budgets are being stretched to the limit. This means that it needs to be cost-effective.
Monster Phonics was initially developed by focusing on children’s needs. How do they learn best? Then by listening to teachers. What do teachers need to make most effective use of their time? By listening to parents. How can parent easily support phonics at home? And by listening to decision-makers. How can keep the programme cost-effective? Although Monster Phonics has grown significantly, we have kept our price low at only £229 for a school per year. We will be keeping it at this price for the whole of this year. For a three-form entry school, this equates to 85p per child in Reception and Key Stage One, with KS2 intervention being completely free. We are also delivering free phonics training in the East of England to uplevel phonics teaching skills and knowledge in primary schools, encouraging best practice in systematic synthetic phonics teaching.
Our aim is to raise literacy standards, to increase confidence and improve the learning outcomes for children. Monster Phonics provides teachers with a comprehensive programme to follow, with every resource at their fingertips. And it means that more children are engaged in learning phonics in a memorable way that improves results.