Jolly FAQs

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1. ABOUT THE JOLLY PHONICS PROGRAMME

1A: What actually is Jolly Phonics?
   The Jolly Phonics and Grammar programme is a systematic and progressive approach to teaching children essential literacy skills. It embeds phonics, spelling, punctuation and grammar from Reception/P1 to Year 6/P7 via teaching that is multi-sensory and active with fun actions, stories and songs.
   You can find out more about the programme
by clicking here.

1B: Why do you teach letter sounds instead of letter names?
   Learning the letter sounds helps with blending (putting sounds together to make words, for reading) and segmenting (listening for the sounds in words, for spelling). The letter sounds can be identified in these words unlike the letter names.
   (The letter names do still get taught relatively early on – we don’t ignore them completely – but initially the focus is on the sound, and not the name.)

1C: Why do you teach letter sounds in a different order to the alphabet?
   The letters from the first group (s, a, t, i, p, n) make more simple three-letter words than any other six letters, allowing children far more opportunities to start developing their blending and segmenting knowledge and skills as early as possible.

1D: How can there be more letter sounds (42) than letters (26)?
   Sometimes, two letters put together can create a different sound to each letter put individually. For example, the letter sounds /s/ and /h/ make a new sound when combined as the digraph /sh/.

1E: Some letter sounds can be spelt in different ways, such as the /ai/ sound in ‘cake’ and ‘day’. How does Jolly Phonics address that?
   We teach one way of spelling the letter sounds initially, before later introducing alternatives as the programme progresses in to the later Grammar years.
   You can find out more about the progression of alternative spellings by
viewing our Sample Lesson plan here.

1F: What about words that aren’t easily decodable, such as ‘because’?
   We include a selection of ‘Tricky Words’; words that cannot be decoded using regular blending and segmenting. These are taught specifically as sight words that children simply need to learn.
   You can find out more about Tricky Words with
this video via our YouTube channel.

1G: What is the difference between 'print' and 'precursive' letters?
   Precursive letters have exit tails – ‘little flicks’ – at the end that encourage joined-up handwriting. Print letters, meanwhile, do not have these. Many of the Jolly Phonics resources are available in both precursive and print letters, so it is important to check what your school policy is to ensure you purchase the correct versions.
   Although this is not always the case, generally speaking those following a British English curriculum will use precursive letters, whilst those following an American English curriculum will use print letters.
   Unfortunately, we do not have any resources that are available in fully cursive letters (with entry strokes).

1H: Is Jolly Phonics validated by the Department of Education?
   Trusted by teachers and loved by children, we’re delighted to announce that Jolly Phonics has been validated by the Department for Education as a complete systematic synthetic phonics programme. Find out more here!
This means that the programme meets the 16 essential core criteria required by the DfE.

1I: Can I use other phonics readers alongside the Jolly Phonics programme?
   All of our Jolly Phonics Readers are decodable, meaning they match the skills and knowledge taught within the Jolly Phonics programme. This means that the text is constantly within reach of the children, who are able to apply their knowledge to practice reading skills.
   Other readers may contain words or spelling patterns that have not yet been taught within Jolly Phonics, meaning not only that the children will be unable to read certain parts, but also may create a negative experience that puts them off reading altogether. If you plan on ‘mixing and matching’ books from different schemes, schools must be very careful and check that the books being given to children have letter sounds and tricky words that have already been taught.
   You can find out more information on our full range of decodable readers
by clicking here. You can also discover how Jolly Phonics aligns with Book Bands by clicking here.

2. RESOURCES AND ORDERS

2A: Where can I buy Jolly resources?
   You can purchase directly via our online shop. Generally speaking, we ship worldwide, though please feel free to email
info@jollylearning.co.uk to check if we ship to your country.
   You can also contact any of our stockists worldwide using the contact details that can be
found by clicking here.

2B: How much is delivery on orders?
   If purchasing through our UK Shop:
   UK: £4.50 (any size order)
   Europe: 25% of order total
   Rest of World: 50% of order total
   If purchasing through our US Shop:
   USA: 10% of order value (minimum $6.00 order)
   Rest of World: Quoted during checkout
   For orders being delivered overseas, please be aware that custom duties and taxes may be payable on receipt at the local rate.
   For more information about ordering, please
click here for UK orders and click here for US orders.

2C: Will I be charged custom duties and taxes?
   For orders being delivered overseas, please be aware that custom duties and taxes may be payable on receipt at the local rate.
   Unfortunately this is beyond our control and therefore not something that can be added upon checkout. Please discuss this with your local delivery company.

2D: How can I download digital editions of resources?
   The only resources we have available digitally – outside of our software and apps – are our decodable e-readers, which are available to download via the Jolly Learning website, or via Apple Books and Google Play Books. Unfortunately, we do not have digital versions of any of our other resources.
   You can find the further information about our decodable e-readers
by clicking here.

2E: How do I contact you about my order?
   If you have any questions about your order, or have any problems, please do not hesitate to email us on info@jollylearning.co.uk for orders via the UK Shop, and jolly.orders@aidcvt.com for orders via the US Shop, and we will look in to this for you.

2F: What is the difference between British English and American English editions?
   We publish both British English (BE) and American English (AE) editions of our resources. We would advise that you check what your school policy is – whether you follow a BE or AE curriculum – when ordering resources, as they should not be mixed.
   There only main difference between the two is the teaching of the /ar/ sound. In BE it makes an /ahhhh/ sound, whereas in AE it makes an /arrrr/ sound. Otherwise, the content is exactly the same outside of the following minor differences: spellings, lettering and format.
   Spellings: Some words have subtle differences (e.g. colour v color, programme v program, etc); some words are completely different (e.g. pavement v sidewalk, bin v trashcan, etc); and some words have different meanings (e.g. ‘jam’ in BE is ‘jelly’ in AE, whilst ‘jelly’ in BE is ‘jello’ in AE, etc). These are not particularly frequent, but they crop up from time to time.
   Lettering: BE texts favour precursive lettering, whilst AE texts tend to prefer print lettering. (The difference between print and precursive lettering can be seen in section 1G.
   Format: Some books may be a slightly different size depending on their version. For example, the Activity Books will be printed in A4-sized paper for BE (210mm x 297mm), whereas they will be printed on US Letter-sized paper for AE (215.9mm x 279.4mm).

2G: What is the difference between the Pupil Books and the Student Books?
   The Student Books are the American English editions of our Pupil Books. Aside from the differences outlined in 2F, these books are otherwise identical.

3. TRAINING AND BECOMING A TRAINER

3A: How can I undertake Jolly Phonics Training?
   We have three options: online training via CPD College; scheduled courses; and whole-school training. More information about all of these options can be
found by clicking here.

3B: Will Jolly Phonics training events give me a formal qualification?
   No, they will not. At the end of any training session, you will receive a certificate of participation/attendance only. This certificate is to highlight that you have undertaken CPD training, but is not a formal qualification.

3C: How can I become an Official Jolly Phonics Trainer?
   You can find the further information, including full criteria we require of our Official Jolly Phonics Trainers and instructions on how to apply,
by clicking here.

3D: Do you run training sessions to become an Official Jolly Phonics Trainer?
   No, we do not. At the end of any training session, you will receive a certificate of participation/attendance only. This certificate is to highlight that you have undertaken CPD training, but is not a formal qualification. We do not run any training sessions that enable you to become an Official Jolly Phonics Trainer: the only way to become a trainer is via an extensive application process.
   You can find the further information, including full criteria we require of our Official Jolly Phonics Trainers and instructions on how to apply,
by clicking here.