Monster Phonics
A DfE-validated phonics programme with colour-coded monster characters, for schools and parents.
- teachers, according to Monster Phonics
- 30,000+
- children use the programme
- 650,000+
- colour groups, each with a monster
- 10
- a year plus VAT for a school membership
- £599
About Monster Phonics
Monster Phonics is a systematic synthetic phonics programme from Monster Phonics Ltd in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and it is on the Department for Education’s list of validated phonics programmes. It splits the sounds of English into ten colour groups, each with a monster character, and gives schools daily lessons, assessment and intervention for Reception to Year 2, plus a nursery programme and Superhero Spelling for KS2. Teachers log in at monsterphonics.com/log-in, and the eBooks and spelling platforms have their own logins. A UK school membership costs £599 a year plus VAT, bundles cost up to £899, and parents can read the eBooks at home for £9.99 a month. Founder and CEO Ingrid Connors and COO Ian Connors control the company, according to Companies House.
Monster Phonics teaches children to read and spell with phonics. Each long vowel sound has a monster and a colour: Angry Red A is red for the long a sound, and Green Froggy is green for the long e sound. Letters are printed in these colours in lessons and books until children know them, and then the colours fade out. The Black Cats stand for letter sounds and consonant digraphs, the Silent Monsters for silent letters and Tricky for tricky spellings.
Ingrid Connors, a teacher who also worked in research, founded the programme. She writes about disadvantage, a second-language background and dyslexia in her own family. Monster Phonics Ltd was incorporated on 9 February 2015. The DfE lists Monster Phonics among its validated systematic synthetic phonics programmes, and the company won Primary Resource of the Year at the GESS Education Awards in Dubai in 2023.
Schools buy a yearly membership that covers lessons, five live training sessions, a training platform, the Rapid Intervention and Handwriting programmes and an online Assessment Tracker. Monster Phonics also sells decodable books, flashcards, magnetic letters and toys in its shop, and runs an eBooks platform for schools and parents. In May 2026 Cardiff Council started a three-year pilot that offers the programme to its schools at no cost to them.
History
- 2015 Monster Phonics Ltd is incorporated in England on 9 February. Ingrid Connors is a director from the start.
- 2023 Wins Primary Resource of the Year at the GESS Education Awards in Dubai.
- 2023 Ian Connors is appointed director on 11 September. He is now Chief Operating Officer.
- 2024 Reports on 19 November on a year-long action research project in ten primary schools in Wales, led by Mike Glavin of Catalyst.
- 2026 Monster Phonics is on the DfE list of validated phonics programmes as updated on 16 February.
- 2026 Cardiff Council announces a three-year pilot on 13 May that offers Monster Phonics to Welsh- and English-medium schools in the city at no cost to them.
Leadership
- IC Ingrid Connors Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- IC Ian Connors Chief Operating Officer
- TE Toni Evans Head of UK Sales and Development
- KT Kathryn Tilbury Head of Training and Schools Success Manager
- HR Hannah Rudling Head of International Development, based in the UAE
- RR Rhian Rogers Head of Sales, Wales
- MP Matt Parkes Head of Technology
The team page lists 16 people and says the team works from around the world.
How Monster Phonics teaches
- colour groups with monster characters
- 10
- training modules over 3 levels
- 26
- keyword flashcards in the KS1 Rapid Intervention pack
- ~2,000
- DfE-validated SSP programme
- Colour-coded graphemes
- Daily lesson plans
- Assessment Tracker
- Online Phonics Screening Check practice
- Rapid Intervention Programme
- Handwriting programme
- Decodable books in Stages 1 to 10
- Live and online staff training
- Nursery and KS2 spelling programmes
The ten Monster Phonics groups
Vowel monsters7
- Angry Red A: long a
- Green Froggy: long e
- Yellow I: long i
- Miss Oh No: long o
- U-Hoo: long u
- Cool Blue: long oo
- Brown Owl: ow
Other groups3
- The Black Cats: letter sounds and consonant digraphs
- Silent Monsters: silent letters
- Tricky: tricky spellings
Colours and monster names from the Monster Phonics approach page. The colour cues are used at first and then phased out.
Video, blogs and resources
Products
- Schools Programme Whole-class phonics for Reception to Year 2, ages 4 to 7, with planned daily lessons, assessments and intervention resources. The membership adds five live training sessions and a training platform. Phonics Programme
- Foundations in Phonics Nursery programme for ages 2 to 4 with over 100 activities for all seven aspects of Phase 1 and early Phase 2. Plans from Bronze to Platinum add nursery books, monster toys and live training. Nursery Programme
- Superhero Spelling Spelling programme for Years 3 to 6, ages 7 to 11, with lessons for the KS2 spelling curriculum. It runs on its own site, superherospelling.com. Spelling Programme
- eBooks platform Fiction and non-fiction books in Stages 1 to 10, nursery books and intervention comics for KS2. Teachers allocate levels and see reading engagement, and a school plan gives access to parents. eBooks pricing
- Assessment and intervention An online Assessment Tracker for phonics knowledge, blending and high-frequency words, a practice Phonics Screening Check with instant scores, and a Rapid Intervention programme for children at risk of falling behind. Assessment
- Shop Printed decodable books, flashcards, magnetic letters, monster toys, handwriting workbooks and activity books for school and home. Shop
How much is Monster Phonics?
- Required for schools School Membership £599 a year + VAT Reception to Year 2, training, intervention and handwriting
- Complete Phonics Bundle £649 a year nursery and school programmes
- Super School Bundle £849 a year school programme and Superhero Spelling
- Best value, per Monster Phonics Mega 3 in 1 Bundle £899 a year nursery, school and KS2 spelling
- Spelling Programme £349 a year Superhero Spelling, Years 3 to 6
- Nursery Programme £149 to £399 a year Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum
- eBooks for schools £399 to £549 Bronze to Platinum, from up to 30 to 200+ child accounts
- Parent eBooks £9.99 a month 3 child accounts, cancel anytime
- Home Education Membership £12.99 a month the whole learning programme, cancel anytime
Is Monster Phonics free?
Teachers and parents can try Monster Phonics free for 7 days, with full weeks of lessons and the Phonics Tracker. Parent eBooks are free for 7 days, and a Free Forever eBooks account gives limited access. Free games, a practice Phonics Screening Check and common exception word flashcards need no account. IEYC and IPC schools of the International Curriculum Association get the programme free.
Prices on monsterphonics.com/subscribe, /foundation-programme, /spelling-programme, /register/home-education and ebooks.monsterphonics.com/pricing on 29 October 2026, in pounds. The subscribe page says all prices exclude VAT. The eBooks page did not state a period for school plans. It showed the parent annual plan at £69.99 as a “Winter Sale” price, while the parents page lists £95 a year.
For schools, trusts and councils
School prices- 01A school membership covers Reception to Year 2 phonics, five live training sessions, the training platform, Rapid Intervention, Handwriting and the Assessment Tracker.
- 02Bundles add the nursery programme, Superhero Spelling for KS2 or both.
- 03Schools can pay by card, PayPal, cheque or BACS, and login details arrive by email after sign-up.
- 04Councils can buy for all their schools: Cardiff Council offers it to its schools in a three-year pilot from May 2026.
£599 a year plus VAT for a school, bundles £649 to £899 a year, checked on 29 October 2026.
Apps and ratings
- Phonics and Nursery ProgrammeTeachers log in at monsterphonics.com/log-in
- eBooksSchools and parents log in at ebooks.monsterphonics.com
- Superhero SpellingKS2 spelling platform with its own login
- Login chooserOne page that links to all three platforms
Latest news
Contacts and company data
- Customer servicescustomerservices@monsterphonics.com
- Supportsupport@monsterphonics.com
- eBooksinfo@monsterphonics.com
- Knowledge CentreHelp articles
- DemoBook a demo
- Legal entity
- Monster Phonics Ltd, Unit 7/8 Power House, Higham Mead, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, HP5 2AH, England
- Company number
- 09429852, England and Wales
- Incorporated
- 9 February 2015
- Status
- Active
- Business
- SIC 85200, primary education
- Directors
- 2, Ingrid Connors and Ian Connors
- Control
- Ingrid Connors and Ian Connors, Companies House
- Accounts
- Total exemption full accounts to 31 December 2025
- DfE
- On the list of validated SSP programmes, updated 16 February 2026
Alternatives to Monster Phonics
-
Little Wandle🇬🇧 United Kingdom A DfE-validated phonics programme for schools from Wandle Learning Trust in London, from £750 a year, with free parent videos. → -
Read Write Inc.🇬🇧 United Kingdom A DfE-validated phonics programme by Ruth Miskin Training, published by Oxford University Press. → -
PhonicsPlay🇬🇧 United Kingdom Phonics games, lesson plans and printables for schools and families, from Lewes. → -
Teach Your Monster🇬🇧 United Kingdom Phonics games for ages 3 to 6 from London, free on computers, which families can use at home. → -
Bug Club🇬🇧 United Kingdom Pearson reading programme for UK primary schools with phonics, eBooks and print books. →
How we built this profile
- Sources. Facts come from the company’s own website, press room, imprint and careers page, from Wikipedia, the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot. Every source is listed on the page.
- Checks. Kinescope checked every number on 29 October 2026. Prices, ratings and job counts change, and we refresh them with each update.
- Our words. Descriptions are written by the Kinescope team. Quotes from reviews are marked with the author and source, and we do not rate the company ourselves.
- Corrections. The company can send new facts or corrections, and we update the profile.
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