The Phonics Gamer came about when in the spring of 2020 the world experienced a global crisis that left the majority of us educating our children at home. It had always been a life goal of mine to create interactive games and resources for children’s education, but my duties as a teacher meant that developing anything would take up much of what little free time I had. But having an extended period away from teaching to look after my young son, combined with a significant and humbling world event, made me question what I was waiting for. All the extra time at home created the perfect conditions to get started!

I felt motivated to do something creative with the time given that would help parents and teachers during this difficult time. I wanted to combine my knowledge and passion for phonics and early literacy to create something that both teachers and parents could use to help engage children during this difficult time.  My partner Andrew came along with me on the journey and we combined his technical know-how with my knowledge of teaching and game ideas. After much brainstorming in the garden of our home, we conceptualised our web platform and so The Phonics Gamer was born…

Our aims:

  • To bring you the best interactive phonics games your child will love to play.
  • To create Interactive, online, and practical games that grab children’s attention and help them learn and consolidate their learning.
  • To provide two modes of game – adult-led games and resources, and those that can be used independently by children.
  • To provide a variety of game themes and styles of gameplay.
  • To provide high-quality free phonics games to allow access to phonics learning for all.
  • To make learning phonics fun!

Sarah:

I was a primary school teacher in London and Nottinghamshire for a combined 10 years, predominantly teaching ages 5-7, the crucial age at which children are learning the skills they need to be able to read. One of the most satisfying parts of my job was receiving a new class of children at the start of Year 1, who could read maybe a few simple and short sentences, leaving Year 1 as confident readers. I also held positions as Key Stage 1 Phase Leader, as well as improving teaching and learning throughout the phase part and setting up school-wide initiatives to improve children’s reading skills.

Andrew:

I’ve always been interested in technology and I’ve been a long-time gamer ever since I was a child. These passions have grown with me as I’ve got older and into adulthood. Now that Sarah and I have a little boy I find myself looking at life differently and my priorities in life have changed. I realised that one of the things I want to do in life is create games and it is also important that what I do contributes something back to society. The many years of experience I have in technology, training, and as an e-learning developer, combined with being a parent allow me to have a unique perspective on how to help kids grow and learn. The world is moving so fast, and kids are on tablets and phones but they are often just playing games with no learning content. I wanted to merge the best of both to create a place where kids can play to their heart’s content and learn at the same time.