Emma Hartnell-Baker holds a Masters degree in SEN and has extensive experience leading school-wide literacy improvement and delivering teacher training. Her Speech Sound Pics (SSP) Approach is used across Australia as a visual and linguistic way of teaching word mapping. She is now back in England, training those interested in neurodiversity and inclusion, and offering whole class screening. Teachers value this because it allows them to observe how their pupils respond to Miss Emma, while being freed up to notice more about each child and better understand their unique learning needs. This echoes what teachers in Finland value: the opportunity to observe, collaborate, and learn from each other.
 

In the morning, Miss Emma leads an hour-long session with any year group, followed by individual assessments for each child while teachers watch and take notes. Parental permission is secured prior to the visit, and all recordings remain in-house for teacher development. In the afternoon, findings are discussed and action plans are created. This includes whole-class word mapping to support spelling and reading fluency, as well as targeted support for at-risk children (around one in four), who can then be supported individually by a TA.

Emma Hartnell-Baker, also known as The Neurodivergent Reading Whisperer® and 'the Screenie Queenie', because of her love of personalised screening, is based in Dorset. Sessions can be booked through The Early Dyslexia Screening Centre, managed by The Reading Hut Ltd. Travel expenses are included for schools within a two-hour drive.
 

Her screening is designed to prevent reading and spelling difficulties in the EYFS and KS1. By Year 3 the gap between children who have mastered the code and those who have not is much wider, which means schools are dealing with remediation rather than prevention.

It is far more effective to screen in Reception and Year 1, where support can be targeted to individual needs. Miss Emma will screen a Reception class in Term 2, as the earlier at-risk children are identified the better their outcomes will be.

She has also launched Speech Sound Play, a 10 day plan designed for use before Reception teachers begin synthetic phonics, ensuring that children have the strongest possible foundations for literacy.

Miss Emma works with schools across all year levels, including high schools.

In secondary settings abroad she has supported functionally illiterate teens, bringing them together to demonstrate to teachers what they need. If a return to the phonics Core Code is required, she shows how to approach it differently. Systematic synthetic phonics programmes designed for KS1 are rarely suitable at this stage, as the content is designed for young children.

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Using new technology, Miss Emma now helps teachers ensure these learners develop the skills to read and spell independently. The technology can be used in class as assistive support, but unlike tools that simply read text aloud or provide spellings, it also addresses the underlying difficulties. This means students are not just accessing the curriculum but building the skills they need for lifelong literacy.