Whole Class Dyslexia Screening

Emma Hartnell-Baker, creator of Word Mapping Mastery®, holds a Master’s degree in SEN and has extensive experience leading school-wide literacy improvement and delivering teacher training. She is best known for the Speech Sound Pics® (SSP) Approach, a visual and linguistic way of supporting word mapping that is widely used in Australia and now in England.

Emma offers whole-class dyslexia screening designed to identify at-risk learners early, before difficulties widen into long-term barriers. Teachers value this process because it allows them to watch their pupils engage with Miss Emma directly, while freeing them to observe more closely and notice details about each child’s unique learning profile. 
 

How it works:

• Morning session: Emma leads an hour-long whole-class session with any year group. Pupils take part in engaging activities while teachers observe.

• Individual assessments: Each child is screened while teachers watch and take notes. Parental permission is secured in advance, and any recordings remain strictly in-house for professional development.

• Afternoon discussion: Findings are shared and action plans created. This includes whole-class word mapping to support spelling and reading fluency, and targeted strategies for the one in four learners most at risk. Identified children can then receive additional support from a teaching assistant.
   

Emma, also known as The Neurodivergent Reading Whisperer® is based in Dorset and travels to schools within a two-hour drive. Sessions can be booked through the Early Dyslexia Screening Centre, managed by The Reading Hut Ltd.
 

Screening with the Team is focused on prevention rather than remediation. By screening Reception and Year 1 classes, schools can provide targeted support before the gap widens. By Year 3, differences in reading and spelling skills are much harder to close. Early identification ensures the one in four children who struggle with synthetic phonics get the support they need at the right time.

Support for dyslexic learners will include exploring Monster Mapped Words® and Books, and it is recommended that high risk children go through the ten day Speech Sound Play Plan to fill the orthographic learning gaps, and develop the Speech Sound Processing skills needed to connect speech to print.