Phonido

Phonido Professional Diploma

Become a qualified teacher who can teach children to read.

A one-year programme, built on the science of reading and shaped by more than ten years of teaching real children.

ApplySee what you will learn

Why this one

This is not another teacher training

It is built on the science of reading, and on more than ten years of working with more than 100,000 children, in Sri Lanka and other countries.

It is designed specially for what a teacher of reading really needs: to understand how children learn to read, to teach it step by step, to notice when a child finds it hard, and to stay kind while doing it.

At a glance

One year, taught and practised

  • 1 yearone programme
  • 6 monthsof training: 24 weeks
  • 144 hoursof taught study
  • 6 monthsof practice: at least 100 hours with children
  • Six months of practice, at least 100 hours with children, shown in a practicum portfolio with observed sessions.
  • Safeguarding is taught and assessed.
  • Certified by Modern Learning Studio, and renewed every year.
  • The syllabus is written against the IDA standards.

What you will learn

What a teacher of reading really needs

How children grow and learn

  • Understanding the child from birth
  • How children grow, learn, play and communicate
  • Safe, supportive and wellbeing-centred teaching

The science of reading

  • The history of writing, the alphabet and reading instruction
  • The Simple View, the Reading Rope and the alphabetic principle
  • The reading brain
  • Evidence-informed literacy instruction

Sounds, phonics and decoding

  • Speech sounds: phonetics, phonology and the IPA
  • Phonological and phonemic awareness
  • Phonics and systematic decoding
  • Encoding, spelling, orthographic mapping, fluency, morphology and comprehension

Structured literacy in practice

  • Orton-Gillingham: history and principles
  • Structured multisensory instruction in practice
  • Comparing the science of reading, structured literacy and Phonido

Dyslexia and struggling readers

  • Dyslexia: definitions, causes, risk and strengths
  • Reversals, mirror invariance, directionality and handwriting
  • Autism, ADHD, developmental language disorder, multilingual learners and learning anxiety
  • Screening, error analysis, intervention planning, progress monitoring, referral and families

Phonido and the wider classroom

  • The Phonido session, the programmes and the Academy
  • Nature-based literacy: outdoor learning with purpose
  • Professional mentorship, reflective practice and partnership with families

HeartWise, the thread through everything

Wellbeing-centred teaching, emotional intelligence and child mentorship. The HeartWise strand is compulsory, and it runs through the whole year.

Safeguarding, assessed

How to keep children safe, and how to act when you are worried. It is taught, and it must be passed.

The way through

How you become qualified

  1. Study

    Six months of training: 24 weeks, 144 taught hours.

  2. Practice

    Six months of practice: at least 100 hours with children, kept in your practicum portfolio.

  3. Observed teaching

    Observed sessions are part of the portfolio.

  4. Final assessment

    A final assessment and a professional competency review, with safeguarding assessed.

  5. The award

    The Phonido Professional Diploma, certified by Modern Learning Studio.

  6. Yearly renewal

    Renewed every year.

After you qualify

Where it can take you

You can teach children in Sri Lanka and children in other countries.

You may also apply to work with Modern Learning Studio, including the sessions it provides overseas. We cannot promise work, and an application is always read on its own.

Teaching only Phonido? The Phonido Teacher Academy is the shorter route.

Selective entry

Every application is read by a person

Places go to those who are ready.

Tell us about yourself, your experience and why you want to teach reading.

Apply

Your application

Five short steps. Nothing is saved until you send it, and please do not give any child's details or any identity numbers.

  1. 1You
  2. 2Qualifications
  3. 3Experience
  4. 4Your purpose
  5. 5Commitment
Step 1: You

1 · You