Comments and feedback about the course

[debbie]

Lovely to hear this from a teacher in a school in Munich:

...At my school we all have to do the course over this summer. I am already using the Phonics International programme in my class since 2016 with great success.

I love the programme and was able to convince my principal that this would be beneficial for our school. Therefore, our school has decided to have all elementary teachers ( EC-G3) do the course...

[debbie]

Here is a very heartwarming message from a Chinese 'mum' in China doing the course - that is devoted motherhood is it not!

The most enjoyable thing for me to do every day now is to study Debbie’s programme. I’m literally her biggest fan in China currently.

I have finished 67% of the online training course. And with the help of a Chinese APP I have discovered which can transfer audio into words, I can understand the lesson fine without the English scripts of the videos.

I wish you all the best.

[debbie]

What a wonderful way to finish my day to find the following comments from a Y6 teacher (in England) via Twitter - thank you so much for the feedback which is always reassuring and I really appreciate it:

A day of sunbathing and finishing @debbiehepp ‘Synthetic Phonics Training’. Found it incredibly useful and I’m really looking forward to implementing lots in September. Highly recommended for all teachers - not just EYFS/KS1 - as it links to wholeschool reading and spelling!

A further message...

Huge thanks to @DepHeadMees for ensuring all our staff have the privilege of this amazing CPD! Give her a follow. Her passion for the teaching of phonics and reading is hugely admirable!

I’m glad you have enjoyed this CPD Emily! I wish I had been able to do this at the beginning of my teaching career! @debbiehepp

A brilliant detailed course which makes you reflect and provides you with so much useful information

[debbie]

It's always great to have recommendations for my Phonics Training Online course via Twitter. This tweet below was in response to such a recommendation for 'Phonics International' and to follow me on Twitter - thank you so much as always!

I second that. @debbiehepp online course was a turning point in my teaching. Best money I have ever spent and she is giving it away at £20 nowadays. I was signposted to her by @anneglennie who is a great advocate for children’s literacy.

Further, Anne Glennie in Scotland is a remarkable, pioneering educationalist. She has worked extraordinarily hard to advocate for research-informed reading instruction and training in Systematic Synthetic Phonics for teachers in Scotland.

Here is some information about Anne's extraordinary contribution to the reading debate (at the time of posting this message, nearly 33,000 views):

https://iferi.org/iferi_forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=911

[debbie]

Great to see this message via Twitter:

Very much enjoying @debbiehepp Phonics International training course that I've been studying over the last couple of weeks. Anyone else in my network looking at developing this approach in September?

[debbie]

I received this comment via Facebook - thank you!

Debbie - I completed your on-line course in the summer. Excellent resources

[debbie]

Hello Debbie!

Hope you are well!

I have just finished the PI course and it was fantastic - the last unit about the programme (Module 13) was particularly helpful to assimilate all of the practical information from the course! So many things said resonated within me and I have thought about in my teaching practice so it has confirmed many things for me. I really hope we will be able to implement alot of this but recognise we need to get everybody on board first!

And this teacher is doing a great job getting colleagues on board!

[debbie]

I shared one of my graphics via Twitter and received this lovely response from someone who has completed the Phonics Training Online course:

Incredibly valuable advice by @debbiehepp - The phonicsinternational graphics are indeed first class professional development resources.

I have learned so much from Debbie's work, I can't recommend it highly enough. Diolch yn fawr for your generous sharing!

This is the graphic I shared and discussed how it was helpful for professional knowledge and understanding and for assessment of children's phonics skills and sub-skills, but also of the balance of phonics provision:

https://phonicsinternational.com/Triang ... skills.pdf

[debbie]

It's always lovely to hear about a child benefiting from my resources and with a 'tutoring' service utilising my resources, presumably lots of children are benefiting in this corner of the world (Mozambique in this case):

Dear Debbie,

I've been using your material with my own child and use it for running a home tutoring service.

I just wanted to say such a sincere thank you for all the hard work that went into developing the programme and the results that it continues to offer.

I feel that my youngest son can see a way forward in a world previously full of spelling terror.

He is working steadily through each unit and knows how to count the phoneme sounds and write the dashes before he writes any graphemes JOY !

Kindest regards

[debbie]

Great to read this comment - part of a longer message to me about noting children with very different reading profiles:

... I am finding the course thoroughly fascinating and informative, too. Love that you understand the value of educators knowing the 'why' behind the mechanics of synthetic phonics. I think it keeps them true to the method when others might pull them away from its essential, cumulatively pure framework.

Best of wishes,

[debbie]

This is from a teacher in an international school where English is not the first language - as always I'm grateful to receive this feedback. This school also organises periodic 'live' bespoke webinars where I can address any questions that arise:

Dear Debbie,

I have completed your online phonics course and am happily now using Phonics International in the classroom. I am overjoyed to be using an excellent, comprehensive and effective spelling program that incorporates handwriting and reading as well.

The kids love it and just a couple of months into the program, I can see an improvement in their spelling, reading and handwriting. I have been teaching for 26 years and this is most definitely the most effective program I have used to date! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

[debbie]

I am posting this great feedback from a teacher who needs to remain anonymous as whole language remains the official guidance in her country:

I am still early in my journey but one of my Grade 1 students, who has autism, is now sounding out and reading simple texts with CVC words for the first time! He is beyond excited, as am I and his aides. I have completely moved away from multi-cueing which is still the primary method where I live.

Our Reading Intervention teacher is doing your course as well and assessments have proven just how lacking the students’ phonological knowledge is. Filling those gaps is now her primary focus and she has found the Phonics International resources to be wonderful!

Thank you again for making the course and resources so accessible!

[debbie]

This message was lovely to receive of course - but it includes an important question.

I've received permission to share the comment and I've copied and pasted my answer to the question below.

The original message:

Hi Debbie, I'm new to SEN teaching this year. I completed your phonics course before Christmas. It was the best online course I've completed. Well done on producing such a comprehensive course! I love how detailed the structure of the units are. The one thing I can't easily find in the Phonics International content is suggesting plan around introducing phonic rules such as open syllables, split digraphs etc. Can I find this anywhere on your website?

My reply to the question:

I don't provide anything about different types of syllables. I know this is common in America and some other phonics programmes but it is not something I have ever found necessary in my phonics provision.

I do have several versions of free printable Alphabetic Code Charts with 'Teaching Points', see here:

https://alphabeticcodecharts.com

And all the core Sounds Book Activity Sheets througout the Phonics International programme include guidance for the teacher or parent/carer, on each sheet, for the code featured on the sheets.

The entire guidance content is then collated into one document of the Sounds Book Activity Sheets - which can be found near the top of the Unit 2 webpage in the Phonics International programme, see here:


COLLATED ALPHABETIC CODE INFORMATION PLUS WORD BANKS
This booklet has been compiled in response to requests for an overview of the code information (in larger font) which features on every SOUNDS BOOK ACTIVITY SHEET throughout the programme. It provides a condensed version of the alphabetic code information which managers of the Phonics International programme in schools may find useful. It may also be helpful as a working document and/or as a training document.

[debbie]

Great to receive this positive comment so when I asked if I could add it to the feedback forum, I also enquired as to which country the 'Masters in Primary Teaching' took place - Australia!

Hello, I’m thoroughly enjoying this course and shocked at how much I didn’t know despite just finishing a Masters in Primary Teaching!! I had to pause in the lead up to Christmas and summer holiday and just wanted to check if there is a time limit between starting and completing the course? I aim to pick it up again in two weeks time. Thanks

With regard to the question about any time limit for the Phonics Training Online course, the answer is that there isn't a time limit. Further questions and answers can be found via this thread:

http://phonicsinternational.com/forum/v ... php?t=1098

[debbie]

When a university 'block books' their student-teachers onto the Phonics Training Online course, we give a further 50% discount. Thus the cost is £10 + VAT per student-teacher.

This feedback was kindly supplied from the Head of Primary Education of a university in England on a large number of student-teachers completing the Phonics Training Online course:


I wrote:

I would be very grateful indeed if you have any feedback to give us regarding course content ‘usefulness’ for your context.

If you find that the course makes a positive contribution to your students’ knowledge of phonics provision and foundational literacy, it would be really good to learn about this from your perspective.

Thank you for your email Debbie

Our students have said they have found the training to be very thorough and has developed their understanding - they did feel in places that there was some repetition, and suggested it may be useful to make the videos 'bitesized' i.e. 4 lots of 15 min video, rather than a video lasting an hour.


We have been very satisfied with your support and the training - thank you

I replied:

On balance, do you think this course is one you will continue to provide for your student-teachers?

Is it a course you would recommend wider afield – or prefer not to?

I would be very grateful for your further feedback from the perspective of a University lecturer in heading up Primary Education.

Yes we would recommend it and continue to use it.