Supporting children’s spoken language and communication development through clear structured learning programmes.

Preparing children for life by giving every child an equal opportunity to develop the skills and confidence to communicate effectively.

  • Funky Foundations develop learning programmes that help teachers, educators and carers support children in developing strong foundations in spoken language and communication.

  • Funky Foundations uses structured multi-sensory learning experiences to support the development of spoken language and communication. Our programmes are designed to be practical and engaging, giving teachers, educators and carers simple strategies they can use everyday. By combining clear routines, rich language opportunities and interactive activities, we help children build the confidence and communication skills they need to thrive in learning and in life.

  • We work with:

    Schools and Early Years settings - to complement existing phonics and language programmes.

    Carers and parents - to help children develop confidence in speaking, listening and early literacy.

  • Many children are not meeting the expected goals for their age and stage of development in speech, language and social confidence. Teachers need simple, effective ways to develop oracy every day.

  • Funky Foundations provides structured oracy programmes built around a short daily talk routine. It supports children to develop vocabulary, confidence and speaking skills.

    • Daily talk routine

    • Structured lessons

    • Clear progression framework

    • Sentence stems and talk prompts

    • Interactive videos introducing new sounds, blending and talk models

    • Assessment and progress tools

    • Training and CPD

  • Funky Foundations programmes are evidence-informed and designed in line with guidance from the Education Endowment Foundation.

    Our approach draws on research-backed strategies shown to improve outcomes in Early Years, particularly in communication, language and early literacy.

    We align with key EEF strands and combine EEF-backed approaches including systematic synthetic phonics, oral language development and active engagement with high energy, oracy-driven programmes designed to accelerate early language and communication development.

    Our programmes have been developed through over 20 years experience working directly with children across educational settings. They were shaped in response to clearly identified needs from teachers and Early Years professionals.

    Founded by a teacher and Early Years Education specialist, Funky Foundations is grounded in established principles of pedagogy, child development, language progression and social communication.

Email: info@funkyfoundations.com

TTel: 07968246550

Funky Foundations phonics and oracy programme

Funky Foundations Phonics and Oracy programme is a multi-sensory progressive framework designed to encourage and develop strong oracy skills by supporting phonological awareness, developing children’s confidence in speaking and listening and guiding them through to becoming independent, confident communicators.

The resources are designed to complement any Ofsted-verified systematic synthetic phonics programme. Teachers can use each component as a stand-alone activity to fit within their existing phonics teaching schedule. They can also follow the structured sequence provided in the framework, where each element builds progressively on the previous one.

Funky Foundations Phonics and Oracy begins with a focus on hearing and producing pure sounds before moving towards phoneme recognition and early blending. From there, the programme gradually supports children in extending their spoken language—forming sentences, expressing ideas and feelings. Children move through progressive stages of oracy to engage in back and forth exchanges and onwards to participating in group discussion and collaborative talk. Beyond Key Stage 2 this prepares them for eventually working towards leading persuasive debates, public speaking and presentations

About

Funky Foundations was developed as a result of ongoing discussions with teachers, nursery leaders and early years professionals who were increasingly concerned about the number of children starting school without the language skills expected within the Early Learning Goals. Many reported seeing growing gaps in speech, language and social communication, leaving some children less able to access learning and participate confidently in the classroom.

In response, Funky Foundations was created to embed oracy prominently into early education. We recognise that spoken language is the foundation for literacy, learning and social development. By supporting children to become confident speakers and attentive listeners, we help build the communication skills that underpin success across the curriculum.

Funky Foundations begins by strengthening phonological awareness and early sound discrimination before supporting children to develop sentence structure, vocabulary and expressive language. These skills are then embedded through purposeful talk, collaborative learning and structured opportunities for discussion, enabling children to practise articulating their ideas, feelings and opinions.

Our work reflects the growing national recognition of the importance of spoken language and oracy in education, highlighted by organisations such as Voice 21 and the work of the Oracy Education Commission, as well as the emphasis on communication and language within the Early Years Framework from the Department for Education.

We have built our programmes based on the evidence that developing strong oracy skills from the earliest years enables children to become confident, independent communicators who are able to engage with learning, build positive relationships and contribute thoughtfully to their communities.

The Funky Foundations phonics and oracy program aligns with the Early Years Foundation Stage and supports current recommendations for speaking and listening development, helping children develop confident speaking alongside strong phonics skills.