Articles & Videos
Building strong foundations with Sound Waves at Our Lady Help of Christians School
Categories
Subscribe to our newsletters
Receive teaching resources and tips, exclusive special offers, useful product information and more!
Building strong foundations with Sound Waves at Our Lady Help of Christians School
Sound Waves 15/10/26
A strong start with Sound Waves
Our Lady Help of Christians School began its Sound Waves journey in 2025, introducing the program from Prep through to Year 2. The decision was spurred by their commitment to strengthening foundation literacy skills through explicit, evidence-based instruction. A year of encouraging feedback from teachers and students prompted an analysis of their student achievement data, revealing that their efforts had been rewarded with overwhelmingly positive results. Now, they have extended the program into Year 3 to further support student literacy growth and ensure progression of instruction from the early years into middle primary.
Evidence shining through with NAPLAN results
While no single measure tells the whole story, NAPLAN results can provide a useful benchmark for tracking literacy progress across schools. Tammy highlighted that ‘Sound Waves is one part of our broader literacy improvement strategy — but we’ve been thrilled to see a real jump in our Year 3 NAPLAN literacy results in 2026 compared to previous years.’
Improvements in reading, spelling and writing are credited to a combination of factors; ‘With consistent teaching, high-quality resources and ongoing professional learning, Sound Waves has helped our students improve their literacy skills while building their confidence along the way.’
Support every step of the way – tailored professional learning
As part of their rollout, Tammy and the teachers at Our Lady Help of Christians School made use of Firefly’s complimentary in-person workshops and regular check-ins. Teachers found the sessions highly valuable, learning how to translate evidence-based instruction into effective, engaging classroom delivery, as well as being given the opportunity to reflect on and refine their practice. Tammy credits ‘the quality of support, practical advice, expertise and responsiveness to our school’s needs’ as standout factors in the school’s successful implementation across classrooms. Combining these approaches, she says, has been invaluable in building staff knowledge, confidence and consistency in delivering phonics instruction. And best of all? Every staff member involved in literacy instruction now delivers the program with the same level of care and precision. With this strong and consistent foundation in place, the school is well positioned to continue building on its early success with Sound Waves.
Decodable Readers – a real highlight for early reading outcomes
Sound Waves Decodable Readers give students opportunities to apply their knowledge of each phoneme–grapheme relationship taught in the lessons through continuous, meaningful texts. Over time, this supports the development of rapid and accurate word recognition and improves reading fluency.
Seeing the value in using decodable texts that directly align to the systematic phonics sequence taught in lessons, Our Lady Help of Christians School invested in Sound Waves Decodable Readers for its Foundation and Year 1 classrooms. Teachers have been especially appreciative of the fact that these Decodable Readers come in three levels of difficulty: Support, Core and Extended, allowing them to tailor decoding practice to ensure every student achieves reading success. ‘The Support, Core and Extended levels make differentiation simple and effective, giving each student the chance to enjoy texts at the right level of challenge for them,’ Tammy says. She adds that the engaging stories and pictures also keep students excited to read, while giving them real opportunities to put their newly learned skills into practice.
Engaged students – meaningful results
When it comes to knowing what’s working, there’s no better judge than the students themselves. Tammy says that perhaps the school’s most rewarding outcome has been the growth in student confidence and engagement with phonics. Across the school’s early years classrooms, students are developing a strong understanding of phonics. They are enjoying the interactive and hands-on nature of the program and are increasingly able to apply their knowledge when reading, spelling and writing.
This sentiment comes through clearly in one of Tammy’s own reflections: ‘Perhaps the strongest endorsement comes directly from our students. Through classroom discussions, many students have indicated that phonics is their favourite part of the day. We see this enthusiasm in the high levels of engagement during Sound Waves lessons, with students keen to participate in learning activities and apply their knowledge.’
If you’re interested in learning how Sound Waves can work for your school, explore our website for program details and curriculum matches. You can also sign up for a free trial to explore the resources firsthand. Be sure to book a free professional learning workshop for your school, or simply contact your local Education Consultant with any questions.