Foundations of Literacy

This is an on-going project coordinated by SuePalmer and Ros Bayley, a specialist in Early Years education, and centring around their best-selling book Foundations of Literacy (Network Continuum Press), now in its third edition.*
Sue based her advice for the award-winning CBeebies series Razzledazzle on the principles underpinning FoL and the BBC used the FoL title for the teacher/parent notes on this series.

*Foundations of Literacy is published in Canada and the USA by Pembroke Publishers as Early Literacy Fundamentals

To devise Foundations of Literacy, Sue and Ros worked with speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, experts in child development, music specialists and early years practitioners in the UK and around Europe, notably Finland (a country famed for its high achievement in literacy). The key message of the project is that, before embarking on formal literacy learning, children need time to develop

speaking, listening and attentional skills

concepts of print and understanding of phonics

the physical skills that underpin handwriting.

The book therefore sets out seven strands of practice (all consistent with good early years practice, and the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage in England) which should form the basis of literacy teaching for children between the ages of three and six.

Foundations of Literacy: seven strands of practice

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