We spoke to Suzanne Abram, SENCO of St Joseph’s Primary School in East Belfast. Suzanne tells us of how a chance encounter with our program nearly a decade ago has led to over two years of closing literacy gaps in her school, and how Core5 Reading transformed one boy’s perspective of education.
How did you first come to across the Lexia programme and what led to the school’s final decision to purchase?
We are an urban school in East Belfast and we have about 400 pupils on our register at the minute, with two classes in each year group. There’s a wide range of abilities across the school. We have a lot of newcomer pupils, and about 16–17% of pupils on our register have a special educational need. Within that group, we have children with specific literacy difficulties.
I was away on a career break and, when I came back, the numbers of children with literacy difficulties really had shot up. I had heard about Lexia before, and we really felt there was a need to put some sort of intervention in place to help these pupils. Differentiation obviously works within the classroom, but there are those pupils who need that one-to-one, targeted approach that’s consistent and progressive.
I thought Lexia was kind of perfect for that, because you could deliver it to a lot of pupils all at the same time.
How did you first come to across the Lexia programme and what led to the school’s final decision to purchase?
Well, I had heard about it probably about seven or eight years ago when I was working with another local school. I had met up with their SENCO and we were walking through the school, and all these computers were set up in the assembly hall. I was like, ‘Oh, what’s this?’ And she explained that this was where they delivered Lexia.
It was really good because it could be facilitated for a big group of children, all working individually. Her classroom assistants could help, and it was targeted at spelling. They have a similar demographic of children to us and a similar size of school, and I sort of had thought about that, but obviously the budget wouldn’t allow for it at the time.
Then I went away and, when I came back, it just came into my head again. I remembered that and thought, this is something we could use. So we decided, with the okay from the principal, to go and trial it. And within a few weeks, the staff had said they’d already seen an impact. The children were engaged, and it was able to be targeted at each individual level for them.
Within a few weeks, we were like, ‘Yes, that’s for us. Thank you very much!’
What do you feel makes Lexia stand apart from other reading skills software products on the market?
Well, I think to start with it’s the number of children that you can actually target, because we are a large school and we need to be able to deliver something to large groups of children at different levels. So it’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of approach.
It also uses technology, along with any Skill Builders or any lessons that could be delivered by the teachers or the classroom assistants. Every child loves technology and they don’t feel like they’re doing spellings. When you’re trying to do spellings with them, they don’t want to do spellings, but if you put it on a computer, they’re happily going to sit and do it and engage with it. Even as low down as P2 are doing it now.
So, I think that blended approach of technology, and being able to deliver it at different levels, really works. We can see the data really quickly. The teachers do the five-minute check-ins, so they’re able to see exactly that week who needs more time, who hasn’t been on it, and whether there are any lessons that need to be delivered. It’s very fast.
Which cohorts do you use Lexia with and how do you identify pupils to put on the programme?
Well, initially in September, I start screening all the children from P3 to P7. Any children that fall below their age-related expectations then get issued a licence.
Initially, I had to be very picky because we had a lot of children who were two years below or more, you know. Now we’ve seen the impact (this is the second year we’re running it) so I’ve been able to increase that to children within six months of the age-related expectations. So, we use it that way.
After talking with an Implementation Adviser at LexiaUK, I’m going to screen all the P2s in Term 3 so that they’re ready for September. That way, I don’t have do that in September when it is busier.
So, if I know exactly who’s going to have a licence, they can start doing it in class because we have iPads and they can use them during those times as well.
What is your approach to timetabling and how you ensure that you reach recommended usage?
With our initial training it was recommended and encouraged to timetable it in. I know from visiting the another school, that’s what they did, because school days are really busy. There’s lots of activities happening, and the daily routine can change. Sometimes interventions can be the first thing to be bumped off that list because it’s easy to say, ‘Okay, we won’t do it that day.’ But then that has a snowball effect.
So, what I did was timetable it, in conjunction with our ICT coordinator, for four mornings a week for Key Stage 2 pupils, and then four afternoons a week with our Key Stage 1 pupils. That way, even if they didn’t hit every single session for those four days, there’s still a minimum of two or three that they’re getting every single day.
With children with specific literacy difficulties, it’s little and often, and repetition and overlearning is key. It’s not going to be one day a week that they’re going to have any kind of impact, it has to be constant.
Even with the Primary 2 pupil that I work with one-to-one, he gets it every single day. Whilst the first level took nearly a month or two to get through, he’s working far quicker now because he’s getting that every day and he’s getting used to the activities and learning how to work the program.
Describe the impact that Lexia has had on your pupils
Yeah, well, I think it’s had a positive impact, particularly in Key Stage 2. If they see me in the corridor, they actually ask, ‘Is Lexia on today? When am I coming?’ So, the fact that they actually want to go and do it is a big plus.
Sometimes getting children to do spellings is very difficult, and especially if they have a difficulty in literacy, they’re more resistant or reluctant to take part in a session focused on something they find challenging.
They love to get the certificates, so we find those really beneficial. In Key Stage 1, we would have our weekly assemblies, and the teachers have decided to give those certificates out during assembly to really highlight their achievement.
We also look at their GL data three times a year. You can see an impact, especially with those children who have specific literacy difficulties. For those we were specifically targeting with spelling, they are able to transfer those skills from the intervention into their daily writing. You can see an impact on their daily writing and then in their GL assessments as well.
Can you give an example of a Lexia success that sticks out to you?
I would say yes, one of our P6 boys. This is our second year of running the Lexia programme, so he would have started when he was in Primary 5. He had quite significant spelling difficulties in his literacy, and that impacted on his confidence. There was actually school-based anxiety as well, which would have been an issue for him too. He would have held a lot of that in during the school day.
Towards the end of the last term in Primary 5, I actually got an email from his parent, and she had pinpointed the Lexia programme as the defining feature in why he suddenly did not hate coming to school. We didn’t even know he was having meltdowns about coming to school, but he didn’t want to come. He didn’t want to be participating in lessons, and he would have masked all of that in school.
She had really great difficulty getting him to school, and by the end of the year, he was happy to come. He loved school. She actually wrote in black and white that it was the Lexia programme that had been the change for him, because it had been P5, so that was the only thing that had changed for him in school. He’d been with us for five years.
He has completed Lexia. He’s completely finished it!
How have you used rewards to motivate and celebrate success on the Lexia program?
It is done as a daily practice within the classroom. The teachers all know the timetable, they’re given that in August before we start, so they know when their pupils are going, and throughout the year we might add pupils to it.
They’re always very positive about the certificates and about the pupils doing it. They can see every week how their pupils are doing in relation to the progress they’re making, and it’s that positive praise. Children love positive praise and that verbal feedback, and it’s every week. It’s not just one week and then you forget about it for months – it’s constant.
It reminds the children that other staff members, who maybe aren’t their teacher or directly involved are able to see what’s going on. Then at assemblies it’s highlighted as well, with the certificates alongside the verbal feedback.
The first year was about implementing it, getting it into the timetable and teachers remembering to send their pupils. But this year it’s embedded. We’re tweaking it, the children know the routine, and it’s become part of the school culture and daily life.
How useful have you found the myLexia reports in terms of demonstrating progression and informing planning?
I think they’ve been really valuable. Obviously, I would be on it every other day, checking the different classes and the SEN cohort, and after speaking with Chris, I’m going to change how I classify the children as well, so I can see reports for the SEN children or newcomer children, as well as the main body of children who are working on it.
I’m in and out of it every day, but the teachers are also logging in as regularly as they can and they can see the data. If Skill Builders need to be done or there are lessons to deliver, they can see that exactly. We’re lucky enough to have classroom assistants, and I got them trained last year. They’re familiar with the programme and how to deliver the lessons, and they’re on it as staff as well, so they can see the data too.
We’re using that real-time data to really see who’s struggling and what they’re struggling with. The children can see that it’s not a standalone lesson every day in the ICT room, it filters into the classroom routine and into all aspects of the curriculum really. It’s transferable skills. It’s not just, ‘I go to the computer room for Lexia,’ and then I never think about it for the rest of the day.
What main piece of advice would you give to a school that was just getting started with Lexia?
I think I would have two main pieces of advice really. The first would be to avail of the training – not just the initial training, and not just for teachers. Get the classroom assistants trained as well, because they can facilitate it too.
Also, take up the training throughout the year. I was able to do the training again last year as the SENCO, and to include other staff as well. It refreshes your memory about what you need to do and helps you implement it properly and get the most out of it. It’s an expensive programme and you want to get as much out of it as you can, and you get as much out of it as you put into it.
The second thing would be to timetable it, because as we all know, schools are very busy and it could be the first thing to go. But if it’s timetabled and it’s part of the daily routine, it’s going to be beneficial for the children and valuable for them.
What feedback have you had from your Lexia pupils?
Yes, they like using it. They love that aspect of playing with the technology, it doesn’t really feel like learning for them, and it’s gamified a wee bit. They can play the games, and even after individual units within a level, they get the little on-screen reward.
As I say, in the corridor they’ll ask me, ‘Is Lexia on today? What’s happening?’ Especially at times when assessments are taking place, and they know it’s not happening, they’re all eager to find out when it’s going to start again. I think if the pupils are asking when it’s going to be, you know it’s valuable and you keep it!
Is there anything else you would like to add?I knew from speaking with that teacher that Lexia was very valuable, and there’s a reason why it’s been used in so many schools for so long. Things come and go. Education can be very fad-based. One year there’s a new intervention, and the next year it’s gone and there’s a different one.
But Lexia has been around for a good few years, and if something’s around that long, there’s a reason for it. It’s the impact on the children that’s the most important thing.
If you could describe Lexia in 3 words, what 3 words would you use?
I would say definitely engaging for the children and valuable for the staff. And effective, because we can see the impact back in the classroom on their literacy work and on them being able to access the curriculum, especially at Key Stage 2, when some of them were maybe reading three or four years below their level.
Some of these children weren’t on my SEND register, so they weren’t able to access provision at Stage One or Stage Two of the Code of Practice. This is a whole-school provision and it’s on our provision map. So, if a child has any kind of barrier to their literacy, they don’t have to have a special educational need to access it, they can access it as part of whole-school provision