Build a love of reading from a young age with Rocket Phonics First Steps

Language is the foundation of children’s thinking and learning. But how can you ensure early phonics provision is structured, progressive and ambitious, while remaining true to the principles of child-centred, play-based learning?

Enter Rocket Phonics First Steps – a fun, introductory phonics programme based on Phases 1–2 of Letters and Sounds, designed to create a firm foundation for literacy and build a love of reading from a young age.

First Steps aims to:

● Ensure young learners develop the skills they need to start their reading journey, through a focus on oral communication and phonemic awareness.

● Introduce letter-sounds in the order of natural speech development and expand vocabulary using the flashcards and immersive Big Book stories.

● Build confidence and enjoyment in learning through much-loved nursery rhymes, fun ditties and child-centred games and activities.

● Develop letter-recognition skills using the accessible Activity Booklets that strengthen fine motor skills and provide practice for mark making and emergent handwriting.

● Demonstrate how to navigate a book and practise early blending using vibrant reading books for Lilac and Lilac+ bands.

Watch this short introductory video from author and literacy expert Abigail Steel to learn more:

What’s available in the programme?

Online subscription:

● 3 interactive Big Books with audio, games and built-in songs and rhymes

● 36 colour flashcards in interactive and PDF format

● 48 eBooks for Lilac and Lilac+ band with audio and quizzes

● 3 Activity Booklets in read-only format

● 1 Teacher’s Guide with daily and weekly lesson plans, game bank, assessment, and guidance on adapting teaching approaches for pupils with SEND and slower development

● 2 sounds mats

● 1 frieze

● Bitesize CPD videos with Abigail Steel

Print resources:

● 36 A4 flashcards

● 24 First Steps reading books for Lilac+ band

● 12 Reading Planet Lift-Off reading books for Lilac band

● 12 Reading Planet Lift-Off First Words reading books for Lilac+ band

● Activity Booklets A, B and C

Online CPD

What are teachers’ experiences of using First Steps?

In spring 2025, we commissioned an independent impact report to learn about the experiences of schools involved in trialling First Steps. The report draws on qualitative data from 11 primary schools with EYFS provision, one special school and one independent standalone nursery.

Key findings from the report include:

● All participants, including SLT and nursery practitioners, said that they could see an impact on children’s progress and development across a range of areas. “We’ve seen the benefit on children’s acquisition of phonics sounds and how they’re learning and retaining those, developing phoneme grapheme correspondence, which means they’re readier to start a formal programme [in Reception]”.

● The structure and progression mean that practitioners can identify children who are struggling with a sound and quickly put in place additional support.

● Compared with children who were joining Reception from settings which had not used it, pupils who had followed Rocket Phonics First Steps were more secure in their learning, and familiar with the routine of a structured daily phonics session.

● Adopting Rocket Phonics First Steps has boosted staff confidence through the provision of practical training and easy-to-use resources. The daily lesson plans provide clear step-by-step support, and the consistent structure makes it easy to embed it into their provision.

● The children enjoy learning, and love using the resources. “I feel as though the children have a real joy of learning. They feel smart and clever – they shout out what the picture is.”

● It’s flexible and can be adapted for different settings and the needs of a wide range of children. “You can take as much or as little as you want from it, to suit your setting and particular children. You could cut it down or go as far as you like. I tend to use most of it.”

● First Steps is more than just a phonics programme: it is based on a holistic approach to developing speech and language. “We love the fact it’s a phonics programme and language programme combined.” “…it’s your vocab, it’s your writing, your understanding, your comprehension, it’s all the [elements]. They all draw together.”

● Among the schools which had been using the programme for a term or longer, all would recommend it to peers in other schools like theirs. Many of the research participants were passionate advocates of First Steps, inviting other schools to observe the programme being used in their EYFS setting. “We love First Steps and think it’s great. We really like the way it’s planned and how children develop the speech sounds. This is so important for our children, where they come in lacking vocabulary and language. We feel it’s both a phonics and language programme.”

The full impact report will be published soon. In the meantime, read the case studies from the interviewees here.

First Steps is part of the Rocket Phonics programme, which includes:

● Rocket Phonics SSP – equip children aged 4–6 for success in phonics and literacy with a complete Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme aligned to Letters and Sounds. DfE validated.

● Next Steps – consolidate phonics and develop key literacy skills. For ages 6–7.

Learn more about Rocket Phonics First Steps here.