The Speech Sound Pics (SSP) Approach was developed by British educator Emma Hartnell-Baker in Australia over a decade ago, during a time when 'synthetic phonics' programs like Jolly Phonics and the UK Government's 'Letters and Sounds' were prevalent. The aim was to introduce an innovative, speech-to-print approach to systematic phonics instruction. While Synthetic Phonics typically starts with print and teaches phonics in that order, SSP takes a different path, emphasizing speech-to-print instruction. Synthetic Phonics, now known as 'Systematic Synthetic Phonics' became the mandatory approach for UK children in 2012, aligning with the three national inquiries into the teaching of reading, as phonics taught systematically was recommended.
 

Miss Emma, working extensively with dyslexic students, sought to intensify the focus on phonemic awareness within phonics instruction. She introduced her strategies and routines in Australian schools, making adaptations to suit classroom environments. At that time, many Prep and Year 1 teachers in Queensland used levelled readers without decodable ones, and phonics instruction was often sporadic. Miss Emma introduced 'Code Levels,' decodable readers, and her Code Mapping design, which displayed graphemes in black and grey (with blue for split digraphs).

However, the 'SSP' abbreviation became problematic, as it led most Google searches for 'synthetic phonics' to the Speech Sound Pics Approach. This prompted adjustments to search results over six months, with most of the old site pages removed and no longer indexed. Although the Speech Sound Pics approach is cost-effective and user-friendly, Miss Emma has shifted her focus away from teacher training and whole-class phonics instruction - and is no longer available to answer the enquiries that would come her way because of this web traffic!
 

Miss Emma is now based in the UK, pursuing doctoral research and developing technology to better support neurodivergent children. Her primary research areas include teacher knowledge and learning, as well as creating speech production devices for nonspeaking children through 'Speech Sound Connections' using Speech Sound Monsters instead of phonetic symbols. This shift has led to a stronger emphasis on addressing Speech, Language, and Communication Needs and a huge focus on reading for pleasure: the joy of reading. 

For those interested in advertising and selling products or services related to Systematic Synthetic Phonics and literacy education, there are available domains that can be utilised effectively.

Please find the first release listed below and contact us to express an interest!