Leading KS3+ Phonics: A practical guide to understanding, teaching, implementing, leading and training phonics at Key Stage 3

By Abigail Steel

Leading KS3+ Phonics is a practical guide for literacy leaders, reading leads, SENCOs, intervention staff and school leaders who want to understand phonics well enough to lead it with confidence at Key Stage 3.

Grounded in the realities of secondary school practice, this book takes you step by step through the subject knowledge, teaching principles, implementation decisions and leadership thinking needed to establish effective phonics provision for older pupils.

It explores why phonics can still matter in Key Stage 3, what effective teaching looks like for adolescents, how to identify pupils who genuinely need phonics support, how to design intervention, measure progress, build whole-school consistency and train other adults with confidence.

Structured around the journey from understanding to teaching, implementation, leadership and training, the book combines clear explanations with practical reflection tasks, leadership prompts, checklists, training activities and action planning.

Inside, you will explore:

why older pupils can still have significant gaps in phonics knowledge and skillthe alphabetic code, blending, segmenting, spelling and transcriptionhow to teach phonics in an age-respectful waywhat effective KS3 phonics lessons should look likehow to identify need and design targeted interventionhow to measure progress meaningfullyhow to create the conditions for successful implementationhow phonics can be supported beyond the intervention roomhow to develop whole-school consistencyhow to train and support colleagueshow to review and improve provision over time

Throughout the book, recurring features such as KNOW IT, LEADER LENS, TRY IT, TRAINER TOOLKIT, IN YOUR SCHOOL and TAKE ACTION help turn theory into practical leadership decisions.

This is not a book about taking secondary pupils backwards.

It is about understanding the foundational knowledge and skills some pupils still need, teaching them explicitly and respectfully, and giving staff the confidence to support those pupils well.

A practical professional guide for anyone responsible for leading phonics with older pupils.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HM5269QD
• ISBN13: 9798160619026
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.0" x 10.0"