Day 1 content:

-       Speed Sounds Set 1, 2 and 3

-       Word reading and spelling

-        Assessment

Timings: 9am to 3.30pm

Day 2 content:

-        Module Reading activities – activities to build accuracy, speed and comprehension

-        Module Writing activities – spelling words and using punctuation correctly

-        Fresh Start timetables

Timings: 9am to 3.30pm

Fresh Start is a rapid catch up programme for:

• Years 5 and 6 pupils who are reading below national expectations.
• Secondary school students who did not meet national expectations at the end of KS2 and older struggling readers.

Fresh Start uses the same teaching and learning principles as Read Write Inc. Phonics and includes many of the same activities. The Modules, matched decodable texts, are age appropriate to capture the interest of older students. We aim to get students reading accurately and fluently as quickly as possible so they can soon participate in all other school learning.

Yes, we have many schools where children with SEN are taught to read with Fresh Start. SEN students with significant delay will benefit from being taught one-to-one by a teacher or teaching assistant. Some students might be better placed on Read Write Inc. Phonics.

Yes, EAL students new to English make speedy progress and should be taught alongside other students. Always group EAL students according to their phonic progress. They are not held back in the programme because they are new to English.

You will need 20 to 25 minutes a day, 5 days per week, per student or small group.

These short catch up sessions mean you can implement Fresh Start straight away without needing to re-organise the school timetable.

Students are assessed and grouped every half term by incremental phonic stages.

Students who are tutored individually make the speediest progress because you can target the tutoring specifically at their challenge point.

If this is not possible, teach students at the same challenge point in small groups (4 students or fewer).

Students who are reading the same Module can be taught in groups at the later stages of the programme.

All students in Years 5, 6, 7 and 8 who are below National Curriculum expectations for reading are assessed using our Entry Assessment. Students are placed in reading groups and reassessed and regrouped every 6-8 weeks.

Note: students are grouped by their word reading and fluency – not by comprehension or writing, or by their age.

Some schools also choose to use a commercial reading age test before and after Fresh Start teaching to measure the impact on their reading age.

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