Phonics continues to be one of the most controversial literacy instruction topics debated in the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Given the importance placed on phonics in early literacy learning and the role that teacher beliefs play in the types of code-related literacy children encounter, the purpose of this two phase mixed-methods study was to investigate the relationship between teachers’ reported play–literacy beliefs, their phonics practices and the reasons behind their decisions not to use commercial phonics programmes in the prior-to-school years.

This mixed-methods study found there was a correlation related to teachers’ play-based, child-centred literacy beliefs, their reported holistic early literacy phonics practices and their decisions not to use commercial phonics programmes.

Logistic regression analysis revealed a positive and significant relationship between early childhood teachers who stated that they would never consider using a commercial phonics programme and their reported belief that children learn letters and sounds incidentally.

Thematic analysis of interview data found that the teachers interpreted phonics instruction as a method occurring as an isolated skill–drill activity and subsequently held strong views against heavily scripted commercial phonics programmes.

The interview data also revealed a range of play-based and holistic phonics examples embedded through everyday classroom experiences over explicit systematic instruction reported. Early childhood teachers’ knowledge, experience and reported beliefs, together with a high level of confidence in addressing parental pressure to engage in formalised phonics lessons, were reasons behind their reported practices.

This study has important implications for understanding the different types of phonics methods children encounter, teacher concerns over loss of play-based literacy learning and the continuing controversy between adult-directed phonics and child-initiated, play-literacy practices.