Langley Park School for Boys is a large 11–18 academy in Beckenham, England. The school is one of four secondary schools in Impact Academy Trust which recently took part in a Year 7 reading intervention trial using DK Phonic Books catch-up readers and resources. The DfE’s Reading Framework, published in July 2023, highlights the importance of identifying students who need support when making the transition from primary to secondary school.
Students who struggle to read in secondary school simply won’t be able to access the curriculum, or achieve their potential in the subjects they choose. One of schools’ most important priorities is to assess children’s reading in order to diagnose any specific areas of weakness, and then support these children with targeted interventions.
With this in mind, the trust recently adopted a standardized reading assessment, NGRT, to baseline students’ reading at the start of Year 7. A reading lead has also been appointed at each secondary school in the trust, supported by their trust-wide reading lead, Debbie Rice.
We caught up with Sinéad Tierney, the LSA at Langley Park School for Boys who carried out the Year 7 reading intervention. Although a growing number of students arrive in Year 7 without secure phonic decoding skills, secondary school teachers and LSAs frequently lack the knowledge and expertise to support them. In this regard, the school was fortunate. Sinéad’s background is in Early Years, where she played an invaluable role in supporting daily phonics sessions.
She’s a passionate advocate for the importance of reading: “Having the ability to read is crucial: if you cannot read, you cannot access the curriculum.”
Planning the intervention
The first task was to decide which boys would benefit most from the intervention. Based on their NGRT scores, 12 students were given a follow-up assessment using the DK Phonic Books Diagnostic Assessment Cards. This indicated that four of the boys had very poor phonic decoding skills, as Sinéad explained: “The four we identified were incredibly low so it was obvious they stood out as those who needed support.” Two of the boys were EAL, and two students, although not formally diagnosed with SEND, had learning difficulties. It became apparent within the first few sessions that one of the boys showed signs of dyslexia.
The DK diagnostic assessment correctly identified that all four needed to start from Book 1 of the Island Adventure series. “They knew the alphabet, but they really were missing the phonics. That’s what the screener recommended, and it was obvious to me when I started working with them.”
The intervention was scheduled to run three times a week for 20 minutes during form time just before the first period, starting in the second half of the Autumn Term. Motivating students who struggle with reading to attend additional reading sessions is tough: by the time they reach secondary school, attitudes are poor and confidence around reading is low. Understanding this, Sinéad worked hard to promote the importance of attending the sessions to the boys. “I sold it to them by saying how lucky they were to get this specialist help. We said they had been specially selected but didn’t say they were low ability.
My most important task is to give them confidence, lots of praise, focus on the positives: that’s how I’m trying to do it. I just wanted them to feel this was additional support for them.”
Delivering the sessions
The school was provided with DK Phonic Books catch-up books for older readers, along with the accompanying activity books, which include photocopiable activities and games reinforcing the phonic progression in the relevant reading book.
Sinéad would arrive at the sessions prepared with photocopies of activities or worksheets for the book they were reading. The students would read the relevant pages in the book and then work through a couple of activities. “We talk about the book, I give them a reminder of the sound we’re working on, the different ways of spelling it, and then I leave them to do the work on their own. Then we mark the worksheets with a green pen, and if anything crops up, I will encourage them to look at the word again.”
The students were also set homework based on an ‘easier’ worksheet than those used in the sessions.
Reactions to the books
By the time they reach secondary school, students who need extra support are acutely aware that they are reading easier books than their peers. It’s essential that the books chosen for ‘catch-up support’ are not only pitched at the right level, but that they ‘look’ age-appropriate.
These books were perfect. “They don’t look like the books they read in primary school, which is important for their confidence. The stories are engaging, the children are enjoying reading them, and, most importantly, they’re manageable lengths for this group.”
The books also provided the phonic practice and scaffolding which these students need to address the gaps in their phonic knowledge. Unlike other catch-up books, which assume that students can decode a range of letters and sounds, “These are age appropriate and focus on just one sound and that’s really helpful.” Sinéad also praised the clarity and usefulness of the activity books. “The activity books are set out in such a helpful way.”
Impact of the intervention
At the time of the interview, the intervention had been running for just over a term. Inevitably, some of the students were more motivated and committed to attending sessions than others. Although all benefited from the additional support, one student stood out: a boy whose home language was Turkish, who ‘presented’ with dyslexia. This is how Sinéad described his reading at the start of the intervention: “He’s very quiet. He would read very quietly, and rush, and he was a nervous reader. He lacked confidence.” She was delighted by the transformation after just a few months on the intervention. “A few months on, after this, he has really surprised me: he’s slowed his reading right down, he’s much clearer and more accurate most of the time. Such a massive improvement.” This has gone hand in hand with a huge improvement in his spelling, too. “Even spelling words like ‘completely’. And ‘breathing’. He did so well. I’m seeing a big improvement in him. The more he improves, the more confidence he gains, and he’s not frightened to give things a go.”
