The challenge
Why do children fail to progress despite good phonics teaching?
Phonics outcomes are a national priority — and yet many schools invest heavily in high-quality systematic phonics teaching only to see a significant group of children fail to make the expected progress. The reason is rarely the phonics programme itself.
Far more often, children are missing the pre-phonics foundational skills — the auditory, language, and cognitive building blocks — that make phonics instruction possible in the first place. Without those foundations, phonics simply does not stick.
The gap Launchpad identifies
The pre-phonics skills that must be in place first
Launchpad identifies the specific pre-phonics and phonological awareness skills that are missing for each child. The Diagnostic Assessment for Skills in Phonics rapidly pinpoints exactly where the gap lies, so teaching effort is directed precisely where it will have the most impact.
- Auditory discrimination — hearing the difference between similar sounds
- Auditory memory — holding and recalling sequences of sounds
- Auditory blending and segmenting
- Rhyme awareness and phonological sensitivity
- Oral language foundations that support decoding and encoding
- Attention and listening readiness
How Launchpad solves it
Assess → Identify → Build → Track
Step 1 — Assess
Diagnose the gap precisely
Use Launchpad's Diagnostic Assessment for Skills in Phonics to identify which pre-phonics skills are missing — including auditory blending, discrimination, rhyming, and memory.
Step 2 — Identify
Find the starting point
Determine the starting point on the developmental continuum for each child — not their age, but their actual phonological skill level.
Step 3 — Build
Build the missing foundations
Follow step-by-step progression guidance to build each missing skill systematically, starting from the child's current capacity and moving forward incrementally.
Step 4 — Track
Monitor and adjust
Use individual record sheets and tracking tools to monitor progress and adjust provision as children develop — feeding directly into phonics screening preparation.
What's included for members
Everything you need in one place
- Diagnostic Assessment — Skills for Phonics (Excel)
- Pre-phonics and phonological awareness skill step guidance
- Auditory skill development progressions from the earliest stages
- Age-related assessments for phonological readiness (2+, 3+, 4+, 5+)
- Targeted vocabulary support tools
- CPD resources to build team understanding of phonics readiness
Who this is for
Built for phonics leaders and classroom practitioners
- Phonics leaders and reading coordinators
- Class teachers whose lowest 20% are not responding to phonics teaching
- SENCOs seeking root-cause analysis for children not progressing with decoding
- Early years practitioners wanting to build phonological foundations from age 2+
Real impact
What schools are saying
+8%
Average annual increase in phonics screening pass rates across Derby City schools
88%
Fine motor skills on track by spring term after targeted intervention
68%
Children on track for literacy by spring vs just 4% at autumn baseline
“
I have had a lot more children hit ELGs since I really implemented Launchpad into my planning and lessons.
Reception Teacher, Hedworthfield Primary School – South Tyneside
“
The number of Derby City children who have passed the screening check has increased year on year — an average of 8% increase since using Launchpad.
Laura Baddiley, Strategic Business Director – Derby