In April 2026 Prof Helen Stringer won the Newcastle University Engagement and Place 2026 Award for Inclusive Education, Lifelong Learning and CPD for Phonological Awareness for School Readiness and Progress. This is in recognition of the thousands of professionals who are using the NAPA and NIPA and the tens of thousands of children who are benefiting. They have been downloaded in 30 different countries. The award itself is a beautiful blown glass oak tree growing from an acorn. Nicola Head and Ellen Fleetwood from Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust (BBCET) came along to the ceremony too (see pics below). Nicola, Ellen and Gemma West are working with Helen to develop a NIPA-BBCET version that is specifically for use in schools and settings by teaching assistants.       

NAPA-Cymraeg

From September 2026 we are excited to have the Newcastle Assessment of Phonological Awareness- Cymraeg for children who speak Welsh. You can download it for free here. Huge thanks to the brilliant team of Welsh Speech and Language Therapists: Lisa Roberts, Catrin Thomas and Elen Williams; and Ruth Elliot and the Bangor University Translation team who provided additional translation support.   

Keep up to date! Phonological awareness @ Newcastle University news.