Jilly Crawford, one of our trainers who works closely with children with SEND, shares practical advice for leaders in how to secure reading as a first, fundamental step in tackling the crisis.
- Bring SENCOs and SEND tutors into the same ‘lane’ as your RWI reading team. Training SENCOs and SEND tutors in teaching children to read with RWI makes an enormous difference. They become part of the reading team, practise the tutoring steps, and join the shared mission to get every child reading.
- Develop language early. Teach children poems, stories, songs and action rhymes in class time or in a small group.
- Teach letter-sounds. When children can identify or say five ‘picture sounds’ (after a bit of practice), they could be ready to start learning to read.`
- Identify children with one-to-one tutoring needs from the start. Some pupils are best taught to read entirely one-to-one from the start.
- Build in flexibility. The children I work with benefit from 30 minutes at their challenge point every day, either in one session or in bitesize chunks throughout the day.
- Have faith in the RWI routines. With the right support, the children respond well to the routines. Over time, these children learn to regulate their behaviour and develop confidence in their ability to achieve because they know what’s expected of them. Their ability to focus grows as they learn more each day.
- Never get disheartened. Keep your expectations high! Although progress can sometimes be in small steps, I know that they will get there with the right support.
- We can help you make decisions about timetabling and resourcing within the context of your school. There is always a solution – no matter how challenging your circumstances feel at the moment.
Let us show you how in our free taster.