Structured Literacy with Joy Allcock

June 2026

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This month, New Zealand literacy education received wonderful news with the announcement that Professor James Chapman has been made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King's Birthday Honours.

Sir Professor James Chapman has dedicated decades to advancing literacy research and improving outcomes for children. His research has shaped literacy education in New Zealand and internationally.

Many educators will know that Sir Professor Chapman designed and evaluated the Shine Literacy Project, a research partnership with Joy Allcock that examined the impact of the speech-to-sound-to-print approach to literacy instruction.

The study demonstrated significant gains in literacy achievement and showed that achievement gaps can be reduced through this explicit instruction.

Congratulations to Sir Professor James Chapman!

Shine Literacy Research & Evidence

Research matters. But what matters most is how research changes outcomes for students.

Across New Zealand, schools are being asked to lift literacy achievement while supporting increasing numbers of students who need additional support.

The challenge is not simply identifying gaps. The challenge is building systems that help teachers respond to them.

In this month's edition

➤ When Tier 2 Keeps Growing, RTI resources

➤ In Conversation with Joy Allcock, 24 June

➤ New Product Alert, Songs for Literacy

➤ Sound Poem /ōō/

When Tier 2 Keeps Growing

Recent RNZ reporting on Ministry of Education phonics check results has highlighted a concern many schools are already feeling.

After a full year of schooling, fewer than half of the students assessed were at or above expectations for phonics knowledge and decoding.

Read the RNZ article

When fewer than half of students are meeting expectations after a full year at school, the question cannot only be how we provide more Tier 2 support.

We also need to ask:

What must be strengthened in Tier 1 instruction so more students are successful from the start?

The challenge often becomes visible by Year 3, when students are expected to read and write with increasing independence.

Strong Tier 1 instruction creates the conditions for Tier 2 and Tier 3 support to be more effective.

The question for school leaders is not whether students need support.

The question is how schools build systems that identify needs early and respond effectively.

To support this conversation, we are sharing two resources:

➤ Unlocking Literacy for Every Child

A practical overview of how Code-Ed supports literacy instruction across
Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3.

Download

➤ Growing Readers and Writers:
How Teachers Need to Teach

A visual framework showing the cycle
of assessment, teaching, tracking, and
re-teaching.

Download

Test ➤ Teach ➤ Track ➤ Re-teach

See how a coherent literacy approach can help more students successfully access reading and writing instruction.

Transferring decoding strategies to authentic texts

In Conversation with Joy Allcock | June 24th

Many teachers feel confident supporting decoding within decodable texts, where instruction is highly structured and lessons are already laid out.

But what happens when students move into authentic fiction and non-fiction texts?

In this conversation, Joy will explore how teachers can support students to transfer decoding knowledge into real reading across the curriculum.

From knowing the code to using the code.

Bring a question or simply listen.

Our first sessions brought together educators asking questions about oral language, English learners, Tier 2 and Tier 3 support, classroom implementation, and students who are not yet progressing.

Real questions. Structured literacy expertise. Practical discussion.

If you cannot attend live, subscribe and we will send you the recording.

New Product Alert

Songs for Literacy is coming soon

Songs for Literacy helps young children build the listening, language, and sound awareness that prepare them for reading and writing.

Through songs, children hear sounds and words, notice sound patterns, and begin to understand that spoken words are made of individual sounds.

Join the Waitlist

Sound of the Month

Sound Poem /ōō/

What Would You Do?

An /ōō/ Sound Poem by Jill Eggleton

Help students notice the /ōō/ sound in words while building attention to vowel sounds in syllables and how sounds are represented in print.

Free digital access throughout June.

Sound Poem /ōō/

Talk to Us

In support of every learner,

Joy & the Code-Ed Team

About Joy Allcock and Code-Ed

Joy Allcock, M.Ed. (Hons), is a leading New Zealand literacy educator, author, and researcher whose work has shaped how literacy is taught in classrooms across
New Zealand, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

Code-Ed is built on Joy’s evidence-proven speech-to-sound-to-print approach and classroom-tested resources, designed to strengthen teacher knowledge and ensure every learner can access reading and writing.

Our mission is simple:
evidence-proven structured literacy that builds engagement and
accelerates outcomes for all learners.

Follow Code-Ed for practical classroom insights, new resources, and literacy leadership: