Debbie: There is hardly a day goes by when I don’t get an email from someone, from somewhere, with a query, a request, a worry, a question about a phonics order or – best of all – some ‘feedback’ from the use of one or other of our phonics programmes.
It’s the same for David too. If he gets a question based on some educational aspect of phonics provision, he forwards the email to me. If I get an email about the purchase of phonics resources or some technical issue or request, I forward it to David for his attention.
So, back in October 2025, David was asked by a parent whether it was possible to purchase single copies of our No Nonsense Phonics Skills Pupil Books. (We don’t sell single copies as such, but David always responds favourably to accommodate such requests from parents.) I have permission from the parent (as of June 2026) to share the email messages for the purpose of creating this post. The mum wrote the following request in October 2025:
“Hi,
I’m mum to a 5 year old boy with neurodiversity. The school teaches using your pupil books, poster and materials. Due to the long waiting time for diagnosis and support funding my son has not had a TA assigned, meaning if he got overwhelmed or made a tiny error he believed he wasn’t good enough and would tear out the page or shut down. The school have no spares for him to practice at home with (except for one book 5) where he thrives when we do it together.
I tried purchasing all 9 but you only sell in sets of 6 of each book.
May I please be allowed to buy the 9 books for pupils as a parent?
It will take a long time for him to be approved for funding and support and his confidence is dropping every day.”
Of course David accommodated this mum’s request.
[Although I must admit I was disappointed that the school did not provide duplicate Pupil Books – as required – for a mum so willing to help at home. The whole basis of my programmes’ designs is to inform parents and carers as a minimum, every step of the way, by sending core paper-based resources back and forth in the school book bag routinely. Then, where ‘special needs’ is concerned, the school can aspire to work in partnership with the parents or carers in the home.)
Months later (7th June, 2026), this lovely feedback popped into my inbox:
“Hi Debbie,
I hope it’s ok to message one more time. I cannot stop thanking you. He is voluntarily reading and now even tried German and if it wasn’t for your website, advice and books I think I would have gone barmy.
He corrects me now (lol) and is so much more confident it’s unbelievable.
Please don’t forget to let me know if there is someone like me contacting you but who cannot afford it. It makes all the difference and by going back to the beginning in between it boosted his confidence to no end.
I combined it with the masterclass phonics letter bricks and now he wants to make sentences. His dyspraxia means he isn’t keen on writing but I’m too happy at the leaps.
Just wanted to let you know because thank you 1000x for your free resources, selling the magazines so he has them at home and all the work you have done. If you ever need anything that I can reasonably do (no social media or id have shouted out millions times over already) I’ll be at your service.
Have a wonderful summer”
I am so very delighted. Learning about such successes makes all our hard work over the years (decades) very worthwhile – whether for individual children as in this case, or for whole classes and schools in various contexts and countries.
Meanwhile, I got back to the ‘mum’ to ask permission to share her message to me, and she was happy to do this in an unidentifiable way, adding this:
“Hi,
Im glad I can do something useful. The difference is just so insanely staggering.
If he is brave enough to read for you, I’ll send you a clip it’s just so nice.
Sadly we observed the change to a “new” system in his nursery (but thankfully had left before he got confused). It is untested and the website looks a bit dubious but they completely ignore phonics and use flashcards where you memorise I think.
Thankfully, currently his school still strongly recommends your system with posters in school too. It’s just a shame they didn’t let him have some at home but thankfully we could solve that.
Either way in a short window of time even school say he reads in front of the teacher now too. Huge huge difference.
Have a lovely weekend”
PLEASE NOTE: The school uses the No Nonsense Phonics programme!
FURTHER: For interest, see what we provide and recommend for nursery phonics – an extensive range of FREE resources and our FREE and ‘to buy’ Phonics and Talk Time resources. Note my ‘rationale’! An increasing number of No Nonsense Phonics schools are adopting our Phonics and Talk Time resources and approach where they have nurseries attached to the schools.