About English Hubs

In October 2018, the government announced the names of 34 schools across England designated as national English Hubs. They will take a leading role in supporting schools in the teaching of early reading and phonics.

As defined by the DfE, each English Hub will:

‘…promote a love of reading and support schools across the country to provide excellent phonics and early language teaching.  Literacy specialists within each hub will provide tailored support to schools. This will include running events to showcase excellent practice in teaching reading and working with local schools to develop their practice’.

Department for Education (DfE), October 2018

Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate is one of the schools designated and will work as part of the Outwood Institute of Education. Register your interest for early reading funding and support in 2023/24 by clicking the button below:

Our Engagement

Outwood English Hub aims to spread excellent practice in teaching early reading across the following regions:

• Wakefield

• Hull

• Selby

• Harrogate

Schools will be prioritised on the below criteria:

• Lower than the national average percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in the Phonics Screening Check in their most recent results.

• A higher-than-average proportion of pupils reading below age-related expectations.

• A higher-than-average proportion of children eligible for pupil premium.

• Ofsted judgment of Requires Improvement or Inadequate

• A high proportion of groups considered hard to reach, such as EAL, FSM, travellers, etc.

• Schools referred by local partners (e.g., NLEs, RSCs, LADs, EIA teams/boards.)

Phonics Providers

The Outwood English Hub works with a range of Department of Education accredited phonics providers. These providers offer full systematic synthetic phonics programmes that match the National Curriculum requirements for teaching children to read and spell and have cumulatively decodable reading books that match the progression of phonemes taught in the programme.

The Department of Education published a revised set of core criteria for effective Systematic Synthetic Phonics teaching programmes in January 2023, which are listed below:

• ACET Phonics

• All Aboard Phonics

• A Flying Start with Letters and Sounds

• ALS Phonics: Letters and Sounds

• Anima Phonics: Letters and Sounds Updated

• Bug Club Phonics

• Dramatic Progress in Literacy

• Essential Letters and Sounds

• Extend Letters and Sounds

• FFT Success for All Phonics

• First Class Phonics

• Fishing for Phonics

• Floppy’s Phonics

• GES Simply Letters & Sounds

• Jolly Phonics

• Junior Learning Letters & Sounds

• LearnPhonics!

• Lesley Clarke’s Letters and Sounds

• Letterland

• Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised

• McKie Mastery Power Phonics

• Monster Phonics

• No Nonsense Phonics

• Pearl Phonics

• Phonics International

• Phonics Shed

• Phonics Steps

• Pip and Pap

• Read Write Inc.

• Ready Steady Phonics

• Reading Planet Rocket Phonics

• RoboPhonics

• Schofield & Sims My Letters & Sounds

• Smart Kids Letters and Sounds - The Code

• Snappy Sounds

• Song of Sounds

• Sound Discovery

• Sound!Start Phonics for Letters and Sounds

• Sounds-Write

• Supersonic Phonic Friends

• THE Partnership Phonics Programme (based on Letters and Sounds)

• Time for Phonics

• Twinkl Phonics

• Unlocking Letters and Sounds

• Wand Phonics with Phonics International and/or No Nonsense Phonics

Strategic Board

The Outwood English Hub is supported by a Strategic Board. Their key role is to provide strategic advice, challenge and support to the English Hub leadership.

Please find below a list of members of the 2024/25 Strategic Board:

• Sue Cornwall

• Claire Davies

• Sara El Oakley

• Karen Hill

• Charlotte Thornton

• Heather Holmes

• Tristan Kirkpatrick

• Amanda Naylor

• Laurel Smith

• Catherine Wright

• Emma Cadman

• Nathan Fozzard

• Heather Russell

• Stephanie Barton

• Katie Pitts