Yes. The important thing is to use a phonics programme that meets the core criteria. If it doesn't it is unlikely to provide a sound basis for teaching high quality, systematic phonics as recommended by the Rose Review. We hope schools and setting will give serious consideration to the core criteria because this is the best way of making sure that their chosen programme offers appropriate support and embeds the recommendations of the Review. But schools and settings are always free to use - or devise - any high quality phonics programme that fits their needs.

They were developed in consultation with Sir Jim Rose and are based on the recommendations which emerged from the Rose Review. They reflect best and most effective practice in a number of schools and settings as observed by Sir Jim Rose and his team. In addition, the criteria also draw on views from representatives of the commercial phonic publishers' community and a number of organisations that represent early years groups and settings, and other early reading experts.

The Primary National Strategy is the Government's main lever for raising standards of education in Key Stages 1 and 2. Its aim is to embed effective teaching and learning in all schools and early years settings through a mix of training and materials, comprehensive development programmes for teachers and the provision of support from local consultants.

At the heart of the Strategy are the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and the Primary Framework - core guidance on how to teach the curriculum in settings and schools, with an emphasis on planning and assessment.

Since phonics should be the prime approach to tackling unfamiliar words, including those that are irregular, we don't recommend the use of the term 'sight' words since this applies a logographic or 'look and say' approach. We therefore refer to high frequency words i.e. those that appear regularly in children's texts which may or may not be phonically regular. Appendix 1 of Letters and Sounds on p 193 of the Six Phase Programme of Letters and Sounds sets out the 100 most frequently occurring words.  These are drawn from a more extensive list compiled by Masterson, Stuart, Dixon and Lovejoy for the Children's Printed Word Database. You can find a reference for that database in Letters and Sounds.

It is entirely appropriate to teach both the 'hard' and 'soft' sounds for consonants but our view is that this should not be done simultaneously but rather is approached systematically, in order to minimise confusion for children. The principle of what is most useful to children as beginner readers should always apply and given that there are relatively few words that children will encounter using the soft 'c' for example, the recommendation would be that this is introduced much later in a programme than the pronunciation which is most common i.e the hard sound as in 'cat'.

No. We invite publishers to self-evaluate their programmes and complete a self-assessment which we post on our site. This is to help schools and settings with the process of choosing an effective phonics programme. We provide a very clear steer about the need for publishers to provide programmes which support the principles of high quality phonic work by setting the core criteria. Also, in line with our general approach of ensuring teachers and practitioners have a sound understanding of the principles of the Rose Review, we are providing schools and settings with the tools that they need to make informed, effective decisions about the type of teaching support they require.

We do expect publishers to be honest in their self-evaluations and we also have an independent scrutiny process in place to ensure that the self-evaluations reflect the content of publishers' programmes.  However, we don’t endorse or promote any one programme or resource over another.

Although their self assessments are displayed on our site, we cannot give advice on how to deliver commercial programmes. However, here are some suggestions which may help:

1. Make sure you have access to the full programme rather than parts of it. Most programmes contain guidance notes for teachers and some contain scripted lessons.
   
2. If children in your special needs group have Individual Education Plans (IEPs), it may help to speak to the SENCO. Children with IEPs will be known to the SENCO who may be able to give you advice on how to tailor the introduction of the sounds specifically to each child. It's also worth checking which children are currently having speech and language therapy.
   
3. Contact the relevant publisher who will be best placed to give you advice on their programme. Some publishers also provide training to accompany their programmes.