The Reading Hut®
On a mission to inspire every child to read, learn, and find joy in words. We publish the One, Two, Three and Away! series. Help us build a Village where children can play, create stories and explore language with The Story Peg People.
What we do!
We connect speech and print, bidirectionally, to unlock self-teaching, enabling children to become independent readers and spellers who can read for pleasure and learn without ongoing instruction.
That is the core of The Reading Hut Ltd.
Everything else, including publishing, educational technology, professional training, research, early identification and SEND innovation, builds on our understanding of speech sounds and how they connect with written language.
We make those connections visible and accessible at the point of need, so learners can become increasingly independent.
As much explicit instruction as they need, and no more.
What We Do
The Reading Hut Ltd
Publishing | Educational Technology | Professional Training | Research | SEND Innovation | Education Reform
The Reading Hut Ltd is a UK educational publishing and innovation company developing books, technology, training and practical approaches that help children and adults communicate, read and spell independently.
Our work connects speech, print and meaning, bringing together educational research, specialist knowledge and technology to remove barriers to communication and literacy.
We publish children's books, develop educational technology, provide professional training, investigate how children learn to read and spell, and lead innovations focused on identifying and supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) earlier.
Our work includes two award-recognised innovations: Dys-Code®, supported by £215,875 in UKRI/Innovate UK Contracts for Innovation funding, and MySpeekie®, recognised through Innovate UK's Women in Innovation programme.
Across our websites, resources and projects, we share one purpose: to ensure that children receive the knowledge and support they need, when they need it, rather than waiting until they struggle.
Show the Code. Don't Make Them Wait.
As much explicit instruction as they need, and no more.
Word Mapping Mastery®
Professional Training | Bidirectional Word Mapping | Specialist Intervention
Word Mapping Mastery® develops the knowledge and skills needed to understand how spoken and written English connect.
Training is designed for teachers, tutors, parents and specialist Dys-Code® Assessors who want to understand the English alphabetic code beyond the correspondences explicitly taught in phonics programmes.
Bidirectional word mapping involves identifying the graphemes in written words and the phonemes they represent when reading (print to speech), and identifying the phonemes in spoken words and selecting the graphemes that represent them when spelling (speech to print).
Our training focuses on developing confidence in mapping ALL words, including those containing less familiar grapheme-phoneme correspondences, and understanding how pronunciation and accent influence these connections.
Participants learn to analyse reading and spelling difficulties, identify gaps in knowledge and provide targeted support.
The aim is to help learners establish secure connections between speech, print and meaning so they become increasingly independent.
Unlocking self-teaching.
Show the Code
Educational Technology | Ortho-GraphiX® | MyWordz® | MySpeekie®
Show the Code brings together our technology for making the connections between speech and print visible and accessible.
At its heart is Ortho-GraphiX®, our bidirectional word-mapping algorithm, developed to analyse and display how words are mapped between spoken and written English.
Ortho-GraphiX® powers MyWordz®, technology that enables learners, teachers, tutors and parents to explore the alphabetic code in both directions.
MyWordz® identifies which letters form graphemes and the phonemes they represent, including correspondences not explicitly taught in a learner's phonics programme.
Rather than asking children to memorise words, guess or rely on spelling rules, we show the code at the point of need.
Our technology supports reading, spelling, pronunciation and communication, including for dyslexic learners, autistic learners and people with speech, language and communication needs.
Show the Code. Don't Make Them Guess or Wait.
MySpeekie®
From Thought to Voice | One-Screen AAC | Innovate UK Women in Innovation
MySpeekie® is a breakthrough in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), designed to give non-speaking children access to communication without first requiring them to read, spell or speak.
It is described on our Upstream SEND website as the world's first one-screen AAC system with a phonetic keyboard using Phonemies® Speech Sound Monsters®.
Unlike conventional approaches that may require users to recognise written words or navigate multiple screens, MySpeekie® uses a phonetic keyboard featuring visually distinctive characters representing individual speech sounds.
Each Phonemie® represents a phoneme, not a letter.
This offers a different starting point for communication, particularly for toddlers, autistic children and those with limited or no spoken language.
MySpeekie® is also being adapted for children who communicate through eye-pointing with a communication partner. This aims to extend access to children who cannot reliably touch or point to a screen.
The innovation has received recognition through Innovate UK's Women in Innovation programme.
MySpeekie® forms part of our wider technology ecosystem, connecting communication through speech sounds with the bidirectional word mapping available through MyWordz®.
One Screen. Speech Sounds. A Voice.
Technology supports communication, not screen-based play.
The 60 Second Spelling Routine
Spelling | Orthographic Learning | Independent Word Mapping
The 60 Second Spelling Routine supports learners in establishing secure connections between the phonemes in spoken words and the graphemes that represent them.
The focus is on the words individual learners need, rather than expecting every child to work through the same spelling lists at the same pace.
By making speech-to-print connections explicit, the routine supports orthographic learning and the development of accurate, increasingly automatic spelling.
It can be used alongside phonics instruction and with older learners who continue to experience spelling difficulties.
The goal is not ongoing dependence on spelling programmes, but helping learners become independent.
Self-Teaching Unlocked.
The Village With Three Corners
123andAway.com | TheReadingHut.com
Children's Publishing | Reading for Pleasure | Ready-Mapped Books
The Reading Hut Ltd publishes Sheila McCullagh OBE's much-loved One, Two, Three and Away! series, including The Village With Three Corners.
The collection includes 36 Pre-Readers, 16 Introductory Readers, 20 Main Readers and 20 Blue Platform Readers.
We are bringing these stories to a new generation of children, combining their engaging characters and storylines with technology that makes the alphabetic code accessible.
Our Code Mapped® editions show grapheme boundaries, while Monster Mapped® editions also use Phonemies® to represent speech sounds.
This enables children to enjoy meaningful stories while exploring how written words connect to spoken language, including words containing correspondences they have not yet been explicitly taught.
Not every child needs the code shown in this way. For those who do, it provides additional support without restricting their access to stories.
Our aim is to help children move towards independent reading for pleasure as early as possible.
The books are available through The Reading Hut and can be requested by UK public libraries through their usual suppliers.
Reading for pleasure. From the very beginning.
Story Peg Play
123andAway.com | UpstreamSEND.com
Inclusive Play | Storytelling | Communication | Specialist Leader Training
Story Peg Play extends The Village With Three Corners beyond the pages of the books and into real-world play.
The proposed Story Peg Play Village is an immersive environment for children aged 2–5, including autistic children, non-speaking children and those with speech, language and communication needs.
Children will be able to explore a village inspired by Sheila McCullagh's stories, with child-sized houses, a village shop, wooden Story Peg People, puppets, costumes and opportunities for imaginative, sensory, constructive and creative play.
But the innovation goes beyond creating a play environment.
We are developing specialist Story Peg Play Leader training, bringing together expertise in speech and language therapy, SEND, autism, child-led play and early childhood development.
Leaders will learn to recognise children's communication, follow their interests and model responsive interactions without directing their play.
Parents, caregivers and educators will be supported to develop the confidence and skills to continue independently.
MySpeekie® will be available as an optional communication tool during play, alongside gestures, signs and other forms of communication. The project proposes free ongoing licences for participating families and educators.
We also plan to develop Story Peg Play Prompt Packs that nurseries and other organisations can borrow.
Research will investigate children's communication, engagement and enjoyment, adults' responsiveness and confidence, and how effectively specialist Leader training can be shared with other early years practitioners.
Funding is being sought to develop, test and evaluate the Story Peg Play Village, training and resources.
The longer-term ambition is an approach that can be used with suitable children's storybooks in nurseries, libraries and communities across the UK.
From stories to play. From specialist knowledge to confident adults. From thought to voice.
Speech Sound Pics®
Self-Paced Phonics | Speech Sound Play | Early Literacy
The Speech Sound Pics® (SSP) Approach was developed to help children connect speech and print, build confidence and become independent readers and spellers.
Developed in Australia, the approach combines phonemic awareness, explicit phonics instruction, bidirectional word mapping and self-paced learning.
Children progress through Code Levels at their own pace, with teachers observing, assessing and providing additional instruction when needed.
The approach includes Duck Hands®, Phonemies®, Spelling Clouds®, Code Mapped® texts and the Monster Spelling Piano.
A central component is the 10-Day Speech Sound Play Plan, which introduces six phonemes through activities designed to develop and observe children's phonemic awareness before formal letter-sound instruction.
These early activities also provide opportunities to identify children who may need additional support.
The approach recognises that children do not all need the same amount of explicit phonics instruction or progress at the same rate.
Our aim is to help children establish the connections between speech and print needed to unlock self-teaching, so they can move beyond controlled phonics texts and read books they choose.
As much explicit instruction as they need, and no more.
Upstream SEND
Research | Innovation | Collaboration | Earlier Identification and Support
Upstream SEND brings together The Upstream Team, a network of independent specialists working collaboratively to transform how children with special educational needs and disabilities are identified, understood and supported.
Our work includes two major innovations.
MySpeekie®: From Thought to Voice
MySpeekie® is the world’s first one-screen AAC system featuring a phonetic keyboard with Phonemies® Speech Sound Monsters®, designed for non-speaking children who are not yet reading or spelling.
Rather than requiring children to recognise written words, spell or navigate multiple screens, MySpeekie® provides a different route to communication through speech sounds.
The technology is now being adapted for children who use eye-pointing with a communication partner, extending access to children who cannot reliably touch a screen.
MySpeekie® has been recognised through Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation programme.
Dys-Code®: Earlier Identification of Dyslexia Risk
Supported by £215,875 in UKRI/Innovate UK Contracts for Innovation funding, Dys-Code®3 is being developed and evaluated to identify children at high risk of dyslexia when they turn three, before formal teaching of letters and sounds.
The approach is designed to include non-speaking children and those who speak little or no English, enabling earlier identification and targeted support.
Our wider work includes Dys-Code® Assessor training and Story Peg Play, bringing together specialist knowledge, children’s literature, communication and inclusive play.
Earlier identification. Earlier understanding. Earlier support.
From Thought to Voice. From Early Identification to Targeted Support.
Phonics Reform England
Education Reform | Teacher Knowledge | Self-Teaching | Six Connected Reforms
Phonics Reform England is a movement focused on improving how phonics works for every child, particularly the one in five at risk of struggling to read and spell.
We support phonics as a way of connecting speech and print. Our concern is how phonics is being interpreted, taught and assessed, and whether current approaches enable every learner to become independent.
Phonics should provide the knowledge children need to begin teaching themselves. It should not create unnecessary dependence on ongoing explicit instruction.
Phonics Reform England proposes six connected reforms:
1. Early Dyslexia Risk Screening: Identifying children at risk before they experience repeated difficulties.
2. Understanding Self-Teaching: Developing teachers' understanding of how learners become increasingly independent readers and spellers.
3. Self-Paced Phonics: Enabling children to progress according to their individual needs rather than a fixed whole-class pace.
4. Bidirectional Mapping: Ensuring that speech-to-print mapping for spelling receives appropriate attention alongside print-to-speech mapping for reading.
5. Technology That Shows the Code: Making grapheme-phoneme relationships visible, including correspondences not explicitly taught in phonics programmes.
6. Decodable Levelled Readers With Visible Code: Giving children access to meaningful books while providing additional mapping support where needed.
The movement also questions whether improvements in the Phonics Screening Check are translating into stronger outcomes in reading, spelling and reading for pleasure.
Through research, professional discussion and collaboration, we aim to strengthen teacher knowledge, support greater professional autonomy and improve outcomes for learners who are not being adequately served by existing approaches.
Not reading reform. Phonics reform.
Unlocking self-teaching.
Research and Innovation
Educational Research | Technology Development | Evidence-Informed Practice
Our work is informed by classroom experience, specialist practice, educational research and the development of new technologies.
The Reading Hut Ltd's founder and director, Emma Hartnell-Baker, holds an MEd in Special Educational Needs and is a doctoral researcher at the University of Reading.
She is a former Ofsted Early Years Inspector, specialist teacher trainer and developer of the Speech Sound Pics® Approach and Ortho-GraphiX®.
Her doctoral research investigates teachers' understanding of bidirectional word mapping, including how they identify the graphemes and phonemes involved in reading and spelling English words.
The research explores teacher knowledge of the English alphabetic code and how that knowledge relates to the expectations set out in the Department for Education's Reading and Writing Frameworks.
Our innovation work connects this research focus with practical solutions.
Through Ortho-GraphiX®, MyWordz®, MySpeekie®, Dys-Code® and Story Peg Play, we are developing technologies, resources and approaches that can be evaluated and refined in collaboration with specialists, educators and families.
The aim is to translate knowledge into practical support that is accessible at the point of need.
Everything we do at The Reading Hut Ltd is connected through bidirectional word mapping: understanding and making visible the connections between speech and print, in both directions.
This understanding underpins our approach to reading, spelling, communication, professional training, research and early identification of difficulties.
Our books, technology, training and innovations have different purposes, but they are connected by this foundational understanding of speech sounds, written language and how learners establish those connections.
We publish books children want to read.
We develop technology that makes the connections between speech and print visible.
We train adults to understand how those connections work.
We support children to become independent readers and spellers.
We develop AAC technology so communication does not have to wait for speech or literacy.
We investigate ways to identify dyslexia risk earlier and provide targeted support.
We create opportunities for children to develop language and communication through meaningful play.
And we advocate for changes to phonics instruction so that it better meets the needs of every learner.
We don't just find out what learners know. We find out why they may be struggling, and what they need next.
Show the Code. Don't Make Them Wait.
Unlocking self-teaching.
TheReadingHut.com