Contract for the Delivery of the Letters and Sounds Programme Update

The Contracting Authority identified a need to improve the quality of Letters and Sounds, a Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) programme published by the Department for Education in 2007. Many schools utilise this resource alongside validated commercial SSP programmes, however research suggests that the teaching of phonics can be inconsistent across England.

Therefore, there was a call for the Department to review the provision of Letters and Sounds to ensure that this best meets the needs of those schools who use it. A contract for 25 days (not concurrent days) valued at £12,500 (exc VAT) was awarded to Gordon Askew for subject matter expert services to provide quality assurance and delivery oversight of the Letters and Sounds project update,.

The original contract for £12,500 (exc VAT) stipulated 25 days (not concurrent days) of subject matter expert resource to be allocated across a six month contract period. This is assumed to be effective from 11 August 2020 until 31 March 2021 and was signed on the 7 October 2020.

This award notice is also intended to reflect that the contract was subsequently extended by 2.5 days (not concurrent days) with an increase in value of £1,250 (exc VAT) on 25 March 2021. The contract variation was issued in response to additional work required to address stakeholder feedback received on the programme.

This led to a review of the original scope of the project from a full SSP programme based on the 2007 Letters and Sounds, to a limited update in the form of non-statutory guidance. Additional days were required to reflect changes as a result of a subsequent internal quality assurance process, ahead of publication.

The revised deliverables are as follows: - Provide guidance on subsequent revisions to the Letters and Sounds programme (2007). These revisions address any necessary alterations to the ordering of the phases and the progression contained therein.

The revisions should be based on the generic fundamental practices expected of Systematic Synthetic Phonics programmes as evidenced by the successful, current implementation by schools. - Offer guidance for schools on how Letters and Sounds is to be implemented effectively and appropriately. This guidance will include effective practice relating to the use of decodable books. - The introduction of phonics guidance including supporting reading at home, developing language and vocabulary and developing reading for pleasure.