Proven Results
Backed by independent research and trusted by thousands of educators, our literacy programmes are research-proven.

Secondary schools face complex challenges, from growing academic pressures and stretched resources, to managing student wellbeing and behaviour. Among the most difficult to support are the pupils who appear disengaged from learning altogether.
These learners often arrive in Year 7 already on the back foot. They may have struggled throughout primary school, fallen behind in reading, and developed a deeply rooted belief that school isn’t a place where they can succeed. By the time they reach secondary education, their refusal to engage, especially with reading, isn’t just a behaviour issue. It is often a sign of a much deeper problem: significant gaps in literacy.
And when reading becomes a barrier, it limits access to every area of the curriculum. In effect, they’re shut out of learning before they’ve had a chance to catch up.
It is easy to label these pupils as ‘disruptive’ or ‘unmotivated’. But for many, what looks like defiance is actually a defence mechanism. For years, they’ve struggled with the foundational literacy skills needed to access schoolwork. They’ve experienced early failure, and often repeatedly, which chips away at their self-esteem.
By the time they arrive at secondary school, they’ve already learned ways to cope with the shame and frustration:
These aren’t pupils who won’t engage, they’re often pupils who can’t. After years in this cycle, they carry a mindset of disengagement with them into secondary school, believing that no matter how hard they try, success is out of reach.
To break this cycle, these learners need more than just good intentions and extra support. They need targeted, consistent, and compassionate intervention that tackles the root cause of their disengagement, their literacy gaps, while also rebuilding their confidence.
Re-engaging struggling readers in secondary school starts with creating the right environment, one that removes barriers, supports confidence, and allows learners to rebuild their skills at a pace that works for them. While the right technology can support this process, it’s the principles behind the approach that make the real difference.
Autonomy
Pupils who’ve struggled with reading often prefer to work independently, away from the pressure of performing in front of others. Giving them space to learn at their own pace, in a structured but self-guided way, helps reduce anxiety and gives them control over their progress. In practice, this might involve timetabled sessions using adaptive tools or online programmes, where pupils can quietly work through literacy tasks suited to their current level.
Quick Wins
When learners experience early success, however small, it builds momentum. Literacy interventions that focus on building blocks, such as decoding or sentence structure, can help pupils achieve small but meaningful progress quickly. Over time, these wins can start to shift a pupil’s mindset from “I can’t” to “Maybe I can.” Recognising these milestones, even informally, can go a long way in restoring confidence.
Low-Stakes, High-Impact Practice
Struggling readers may associate literacy tasks with failure, especially when they’ve had to repeatedly perform in high-pressure environments. Instead, regular opportunities for low-stakes practice, such as short, independent exercises with immediate feedback, can help reinforce skills without triggering fear of failure. Pupils benefit from being able to revisit and retry tasks without judgement, building fluency in a supportive way.
Bitesize Challenges
Literacy activities that are broken into manageable, skill-focused segments can make reading and writing feel more approachable. Many schools embed this approach into the day by offering short, structured literacy sessions. For example, during form time, as part of intervention periods, or in catch-up lessons. Keeping tasks concise helps reduce cognitive load and supports learners with lower attention spans or processing challenges.
Age-Appropriate Design
Engagement is closely tied to how relevant and respectful pupils find the content. For older students, intervention materials that feel too simplistic or “babyish” can be a significant barrier. It’s important that literacy tasks use age-appropriate language, themes, and visuals that reflect the interests and maturity of KS3 and KS4 learners. This helps ensure that pupils feel included and valued, rather than singled out.
Data to Inform, Not Overwhelm
Teachers supporting disengaged readers need timely insight into what’s working and where further support is needed, without adding to their workload. Digital tools that provide real-time data can support staff in identifying gaps, tracking progress, and offering timely intervention. This approach enables a more responsive and efficient use of staff time, helping schools reach the pupils who need the most targeted support.
Lexia PowerUp Literacy was developed specifically for struggling readers in secondary school. It’s not a one-size-fits-all programme, it adapts to each pupil’s needs across word study, grammar, and comprehension, filling in the foundational gaps that are holding them back.
What makes PowerUp different?
And crucially, it supports pupils in developing the skills they need not just to read, but to thrive across the curriculum.
If you’re seeing pupils switching off, acting out, or falling behind across the board, it’s time to look deeper. Disengagement is often not about attitude, it’s about ability. And for many pupils, that ability hinges on literacy.
By closing the literacy gap, we can unlock access to learning, restore confidence, and re-engage the pupils who’ve been left behind for too long.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) recently commissioned a large-scale, randomised controlled trial to test the impact of Lexia® Core5® Reading with groups of Year 2 pupils across multiple regions of England.
With a high evidence security rating, and the intervention deemed very low cost to implement, the trial provides trusted, independent insight into the role of adaptive technology in supporting reading development.
Download the free summary PDF to discover the study’s design, key findings and what teachers said about using Core5 in their classrooms.

Time is one of the rarest resources in education. Between teaching, supporting in class and or leading interventions, there’s often little space left in the week to dive into data. Yet, those insights are key to understanding pupil needs and planning next steps.
That’s why myLexia is designed to work with your workflow, not add to it. With just a few minutes each week, it can help highlight where to focus, who needs support and how best to use your time and resources.
To help you make the most of it, our Literacy Impact Coaches have shared three of their top tips, drawn from hundreds of conversations with teachers across the country.
Rather than saving everything up for an end-of-term review, taking five minutes a week to check myLexia can give you a clear sense of how things are going and where your time can make the biggest difference.
The Action Plan tab is particularly useful. It automatically organises pupils into helpful groups, helping you to quickly answer questions like:
This quick snapshot makes it easy to act early and positively.
“We always say: small, consistent check-ins win the race. Even just five minutes in the Action Plan tab can help you catch issues early, or recognise when a pupil is ready to be challenged further.”
– Denise, Literacy Impact Coach
When time is tight, class-level reports offer a quick and efficient way to check in on your whole cohort. You’ll find these reports to the right of the Class Overview screen in myLexia – just a couple of clicks, and you have a full picture of progress and usage at your fingertips.
Start with the Usage Report, which looks slightly different depending on whether you’re using Core5 or PowerUp:
Once you’ve reviewed usage, the Skills Progress Report can give further insight into overall progress. Look at the units gained column on the right-hand side of the report. By sorting pupils from most to least units gained, you can quickly see who’s making strong progress and who might benefit from additional support.
“Class-level reports give you a smart starting point. Sorting by units gained lets you spot patterns across the group and highlight any pupils who might otherwise slip under the radar.”
– Michael, Literacy Impact Coach
Paper-based resources like Skill Builders and Lesson Plans can be a valuable part of supporting pupils, but they’re most effective and time-efficient, when used at the right moment. Instead of printing packs for every pupil, use individual pupil data in myLexia to decide where these resources will have the most impact.
Here’s how to approach it:
This report provides a detailed breakdown of each pupil’s performance within a unit.
Within the same report, you can also see the number of attempts a pupil has made on each step in a unit by clicking into the level name, this will open the Detailed Skill Report.
In many cases, you can act even earlier. If you notice a pupil struggling after just a few attempts on a step, try offering brief, over-the-shoulder support. A short check-in or prompt while they’re working independently can often help them move past the barrier without the need for a full lesson plan.
“Skill Builders and Lesson Plans are brilliant when used with purpose. By checking just one or two key indicators, you can be confident that your support is timely, targeted and not adding to your workload unnecessarily.”
– Mark, Literacy Impact Coach
When used purposefully, myLexia can help you stay one step ahead without spending hours on admin or analysis. By setting aside just a few minutes each week to check in, you can spot issues early, celebrate progress and direct your support where it’s needed most.
Small, consistent actions, like reviewing usage patterns, sorting pupils by progress or checking skill-level data, can have a big impact on outcomes. Most importantly, they allow you to spend less time working out what to do and more time doing what works.
Remember that you are not alone. Our Literacy Impact Coaches are here to help you interpret your data, plan next steps and ensure Lexia is working as hard as possible for your pupils and your team.
If you’d like support with implementation, training or getting more from myLexia, we’re ready to help.
Contact Us to book an Online Review & Support Session to talk through your school’s data and next steps with a member of our team. These sessions are included as part of your Lexia subscription so there’s no extra cost.

The start of a new school year is brimming with opportunity. Fresh books, sharpened pencils and new opportunities for every learner. But the first term is more than just a settling-in period. It represents a critical window to identify and close literacy gaps before they widen, impacting confidence, motivation, and long-term success.
From teaching phonics and early reading strategies in Year 1 to supporting Year 7s as they navigate more complex secondary texts, acting early is crucial. Here’s why.
Research consistently shows that timely intervention is one of the most effective ways to support struggling readers. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) highlights that early literacy approaches deliver, on average, an additional four months’ progress (Education Endowment Foundation, 2023). Meanwhile, Ofsted (2022) stresses that “reading is the key to unlocking the curriculum,” urging schools not to delay support.
Catch issues early, and pupils are more likely to stay engaged and motivated. Miss that window, and literacy fatigue can set in: the demoralising sense of always being behind. By autumn half-term, gaps that might have been closed with targeted support can start to feel entrenched, leading to a cycle of avoidance and low confidence.
In primary classrooms, the early signs of reading gaps often appear as issues with decoding and fluency. Many teachers tell us that as texts grow more complex in Key Stage 2, children who once managed simpler books start to struggle, leading to a noticeable drop in comprehension and enthusiasm. Schools often report that it’s common to see some Year 3 pupils who can sound out words accurately but still lack the fluency to keep pace, and who begin to shy away from reading tasks as a result.
In secondary schools, the challenges for pupils with reading difficulties often become even more pronounced. Many schools tell us they see new Year 7s arriving with gaps that were manageable in primary but now hold them back across the curriculum. Limited vocabulary, weak inference skills, and poor reading stamina make it hard to tackle the dense, subject-specific texts that secondary learning demands. Pupils who struggled to keep up with reading in primary often find these demands overwhelming, impacting not just English, but their ability to access science, history, and even problem-solving in maths.
Delaying targeted reading support until later in the year can have far-reaching consequences for pupils and for schools. By the time gaps are fully recognised in the spring term, they’ve often widened considerably. Struggling readers may have spent months masking difficulties, losing confidence, and quietly disengaging. Meanwhile, the pace of the curriculum continues, widening the gap between those who read fluently and those who are still grappling with the basics.
This isn’t just about literacy lessons. When pupils lack the reading skills to access age-appropriate texts, it places a barrier across every subject. Left unaddressed, small gaps in September can become entrenched barriers by June, impacting progress, self-esteem, and long-term outcomes.
Many schools find that “catching up by Christmas” is far more realistic than trying to close extensive gaps from scratch in the spring or summer. Early intervention not only lifts reading ability but also rebuilds pupils’ belief in themselves as learners. The earlier schools act, the more time pupils have to develop fluency, deepen comprehension, and engage fully with the curriculum.
Fortunately, there are effective, evidence-based tools available that help teachers respond quickly and efficiently, providing targeted support exactly where it’s needed, without adding to workload.
In today’s busy school environment, literacy interventions need to be both effective and manageable for teachers. The best approaches provide timely insights into each pupil’s reading skills, allowing staff to tailor support without adding unnecessary workload.
Adaptive programmes that automatically assess learners’ strengths and areas for development can be particularly valuable. They reduce the need for lengthy baseline testing and make it easier to group pupils according to their specific needs. Built-in differentiation helps ensure that every child receives appropriate challenge and support, while engaging activities maintain motivation and build essential reading skills.
At secondary level, supporting vocabulary development, inference skills, and reading stamina is crucial for pupils transitioning from primary school. Interventions that offer personalised learning pathways and clear progress data help teachers focus on the areas that will make the biggest difference for each student, while integrating smoothly into existing teaching routines.
By using tools that combine adaptability, clear data, and ease of use, schools can respond quickly to emerging literacy needs. This not only helps close gaps early but also supports sustainable, whole-school approaches to improving reading outcomes.
School leaders aiming to close reading gaps early can take decisive, practical steps immediately. Here’s how to get started:
Taking these steps positions your school to act swiftly and strategically, closing gaps early, boosting pupil confidence, and ultimately raising attainment across the curriculum. With the right tools and a clear plan, you can make this critical start to the academic year your most impactful yet.
Ofsted (2022) ‘Now the whole school is reading’: supporting struggling readers in secondary school.
Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) (2023) Early literacy approaches. Early Years Toolkit.

The Lexia® team are dedicated to evolving our literacy programmes to meet the needs of today’s educators and learners. This year’s new enhancements will deliver even more effective, engaging, and accessible learning experiences.
Core5 is an adaptive literacy program that accelerates the development of literacy skills for all students from Reception to Year 6. It supports reading success by helping students with both word recognition and comprehension.
Enhanced Autoplacement Experience
To create a more supportive experience we’ve added engaging new visuals and audio, such as enhanced Language Support. This now plays before and after the competition of placement, so the learner knows what to expect when working through the programme.
Data-Driven Updates to Skills Checks
Skill Checks have been refined using data-driven insights, boosting student engagement while preserving assessment accuracy.
Audio Updates to Passage Fluency Units
The updated intro and directional audio in Passage Fluency activities provide clear guidance and a more immersive experience for learners.
Core5 Instructional Resources: Empowering Educators and Learners
The Comprehension and Vocabulary Lexia Lessons® have been updated with a new format that aligns with the science of reading and research-based best practices. Core5 Digital Lexia Lessons for Phonological Awareness, Fluency, and Phonics also now reflect these changes.
We’ve expanded language accessibility with the addition of Bengali translations for several key caregiver materials, including the General Achievement Certificate and General Home Use Letter, ensuring more families can stay informed and engaged.
Core5 Accessibility Enhancements
Recent enhancements to Core5 strengthen alignment with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), making the program increasingly accessible, inclusive, and user- friendly for all learners. Updates include:
PowerUp is designed specifically for students in Years 7 to 11 who need support with literacy to fully access the wider secondary curriculum. The program focuses on accelerating literacy gains through an personalised learning experience that enhances reading, writing, and comprehension skills. PowerUp enables students to make multiple years of growth in a single academic year.
New: Units Goals
PowerUp students now have weekly Unit Goals that display directly on the Home Screen. Each strand card features a progress meter showing how many units the student has completed during the week, along with their weekly time goal.

Each strand has its own specific unit goal, balancing achievability and progress, with these resetting at the start of each week. Students are encouraged to meet, and exceed, their unit goals on their way to improving their reading proficiency.
Flexible Strand Management Option
Educators have the ability to turn off automatic strand management, ensuring all learning units remain active even after students meet their weekly usage goals. This flexibility supports a wider range of instructional models and implementation strategies.
Boosting Student Engagement
PowerUp introduces the following exciting new features designed to create a more engaging, efficient, and motivating experience for students.
Engaging Content and Stronger Vocabulary Support
As part of PowerUp’s ongoing commitment to delivering research-driven, student-centred literacy instruction, we’ve made the following updates to strengthen comprehension and vocabulary support across the program:
myLexia is a platform and reporting tool designed to support educators using Lexia’s Core5 and PowerUp. The platform provides real-time student performance data, allowing teachers to monitor individual and classroom progress while equipping school leaders with progress and usage monitoring tools.
Usability Improvements for Educators in myLexia
Core5-Specific Enhancements in myLexia
See When Core5 Students Were Flagged for Instruction
In the Core5 Needs Instruction tab of the Class Action Plan, educators can now view the date each student was flagged. This added detail helps educators more effectively prioritise and plan timely interventions.
PowerUp-Specific Enhancements in myLexia
PowerUp Unit Goals and Usage Report Enhancements
Weekly unit goals have been added for students using PowerUp. Educators can now monitor student progress toward these goals in the Class Usage Report within myLexia. To support this, we’ve improved the report layout, making it easier to find key information at a glance. Updates include a clearer display of student usage and unit progress, now organised by strand.
A structured and adaptive literacy programme for primary schools. Developing reading skills from phonological awareness and phonics to SATS-ready comprehension skills. One solution – perfect for reading intervention in schools to support and encourage pupils of all ages and abilities.
Bridging the gap from learning to read, to reading to learn – building missed early skills and advancing literacy for GCSE readiness and secondary school success
myLexia™ is your educator dashboard – designed to enhance literacy instruction through data-driven insights and personalised support. Built to work seamlessly with Lexia’s literacy programmes. With features like Assessment Without Testing® and a rich Resource Hub, myLexia helps schools save planning time, close learning gaps, and elevate student outcomes.

At St Joseph’s Primary School in Islington, reading outcomes rank within the top 10% nationally. Lexia Core5 Reading has played a key role in helping their struggling readers, including those with SEND and EAL, improve their literacy skills.
By integrating Core5 into their morning reading interventions, the school has seen improved reading ability, confidence, and engagement among their students.
Learn from schools across the UK that have successfully implemented Lexia Core5 to boost reading attainment.
At Oakwell Rise Academy, Lexia has become a key part of the school’s drive to boost reading confidence and SATs success. Targeted at pupils who are not yet working at year group expectations, Lexia is timetabled daily, beginning with morning sessions and extending to afternoon support, to ensure consistent, meaningful use. Its adaptive nature means every learner receives personalised reading instruction, whether developing foundational phonics or tackling higher-level comprehension skills critical for SATs.
Staff have seen measurable gains, particularly in Year 6 reading progress from autumn to spring, with pupils independently accelerating through units and celebrating their success with pride. With intuitive data tracking via myLexia and regular celebration of achievements through assemblies, rewards, and home-school communication, Lexia is not only helping pupils achieve academically but also growing their confidence, independence, and motivation to succeed.
At Herne Junior School in Hampshire, Lexia has become a cornerstone of additionalsupport for struggling readers, transforming them into confident, motivated learners. Led by SEN Assistant and Lexia Coordinator Lynne Tandy, the school has embedded Lexia into a structured, daily routine—starting each morning with engaging sessions that combine literacy learning with a sense of community and celebration.
By using Lexia consistently and creatively, through targeted in-class support, home learning encouragement, or early-morning breakfast sessions, Herne Junior School ensures every child is given the chance to succeed. The program’s ability to plug foundational gaps, boost self-esteem, and show measurable progress has been key to this success. Pupils now arrive eager to participate, motivated by visible achievement, thoughtful rewards, and a school-wide culture that values their effort.
With insightful use of myLexia reports and a whole-school commitment, Herne has turned literacy intervention into a joyful and empowering journey for its learners.
At Chipping Ongar Primary School, Lexia has become key to their approach to literacy development, delivering measurable impact across key stages. Guided by HLTA Stacy Saddington and SEN TA Kate Crook, the school has embedded Lexia into daily routines with flexible timetabling and a clear focus on progress.
Staff have seen a transformation in pupil motivation and attainment, especially among Year 6 learners using Lexia PowerUp to build confidence in grammar, comprehension, and word study ahead of SATs. The school credits Lexia’s adaptive nature, engaging content, and powerful myLexia data reports for enabling targeted interventions and celebrating both big milestones and small wins.
From improved phonological awareness in younger pupils to older learners proudly completing the programme, Lexia has empowered Chipping Ongar’s children to take ownership of their learning and achieve lasting literacy success.
Join the growing number of schools seeing real literacy progress with Lexia. We’re offering a free 30-day evaluation so you can experience the transformative power of our program first-hand.

It’s one of the most common questions we hear from schools—and now, we want to hear directly from you.
Take part in The Big Lexia Survey 2025 to share how your school has been using Lexia this year—and help us better understand what’s working, where extra support is needed, and how we can improve our guidance, training, and resources to help you get the most from your programme.
Whether it’s your approach to targeting, timetabling, or tracking progress, your feedback will help shape the future of Lexia support across the UK.
And as a thank you, you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win £250 of National Book Tokens for your school library.
Join the conversation and help strengthen the LexiaUK community—one voice at a time.
Click below to take part. It only takes 15 minutes, but your insights will make a lasting impact.
To Enter, participants must:

Our Star School for April is…
We spoke to Stacey Saddington and Kate Crook who lead on the Lexia programme at Chipping Ongar Primary School. They shared with us how they have embedded Lexia into their school day, personalised learning for their pupils, use myLexia progress data to track progress and inform interventions and share some inspiring success stories with Lexia Core5 Reading and Lexia PowerUp Literacy.
Stacy: We first came across Lexia about four years ago. When researching different programmes it stood out to us as it provided an independent learning experience for the children, while still offering the right level of scaffolding for them.
The support it provides for them is brilliant. Lexia also came highly recommended and researched, something that we were really impressed with.
Kate: I agree. We love that Lexia gives children the independence to be responsible for their own learning. Even if they find something a bit tricky, they will still keep going, and we really love how it encourages that resilience.
Stacy: It was also a highly regarded programme, which was really important to us, so we wanted to be part of that. Plus, the training it offers is brilliant—it provides fantastic support for staff. Having that annual training each year has been great, and we make sure to share it with staff. That ongoing support has been key to our decision.
Kate: We really like the data it offers—not just for us as teachers but also to share with parents. It’s really detailed and accessible across iPads and computers, whether through the app or the website.
And it’s just so much more flexible. We’ve found we can easily manoeuvre it into our day and fit around the children in different classes.
The different formats are really engaging—Core5 works brilliantly, and we use the PowerUp programme with our Year 6 pupils. They absolutely love it with all the hip-hop songs and the variety of content. It just feels so much more mature for them, so they are loving that!
And obviously, the little ones love Core5 too; travelling through different countries, discovering new places, all while developing their reading and writing skills.
Stacy: I think the whole format is just brilliant—the engagement it creates really motivates them in their learning.
The little things they say, like, “I’ve been to Egypt today” or “I’ve visited this country today,” show how much it motivates them. That kind of motivation is key and really sets Lexia apart from other programmes.
Having those elements makes them feel like they’re playing a bit of a game, but they’re actually learning, which is fantastic for them. It keeps them engaged and wanting to do more. So yeah, that definitely sets it apart.
Stacy: So the timetable is always a priority—it’s all built into the curriculum, but it varies from class to class. We’ve tried a few different ways of implementing it, and we’ve found that the best approach is for each class to schedule it in a way that suits them best.
Some children do it first thing in the morning because that fits well with their class routine. Others do it as part of our “Drop Everything and Read” time. Then there’s also small intervention work built into the day, so that how it is embedded into the day.
We know that teachers stay on top of targets and individual progress, and one thing we focus on is talking about units rather than minutes. That’s a big one for us—it’s one of our little slogans here. We used to say, “Do 10 or 20 minutes,” but now we say, “Give me three green lines.” That shift has worked really well because it sets a clear expectation, and children know exactly what they’re aiming for.
Stacy: I think it’s definitely engaged their motivation, especially in reading. It’s not just about reading—it’s about writing too. But we’ve noticed improvements across the whole curriculum as well. If they can read and write, they’ve got more access to other subjects.
Kate: And I think with implementing PowerUp with the Year 6s, it’s really focused on those three strands: grammar, comprehension, and word study. As they approach their SATs, it really helps to embed those skills. It’s fun, and it makes such a difference in their learning, especially as they prepare for their SATs in May.
Stacy: That’s why we switched over, actually. We noticed a bit of disengagement with the Year 6s, where the format of the previous programme maybe wasn’t as mature for them. So, last year we decided to switch them over to PowerUp, and the difference has been incredible.
We’ve seen such a change with our Year 6s—they’re so engaged now. They’ll come up to you at break or lunch and say, “Oh, listen to this!” It’s been really effective, and you can see the instant impact on what the children are learning. Plus, like you said, it links directly to the SATs, so the teachers are more engaged too. There’s definitely been more of a buzz back in Year 6, which has been fantastic to see.
Kate: And with the younger ones on Core5, we’ve seen improvements in their phonological awareness. It’s not just in English or reading—it’s also in speech and language interventions, and even their social skills. They’re having more conversations with peers outside in the playground, and its expanding their vocabulary is expanding. The improvements are just phenomenal. It’s really brilliant.
Kate: So, we’ve had a few success stories, but the one we’re particularly proud of is a pupil who’s currently in Year 6. Last year, she set herself the target to be the first person to complete the entire Lexia Core5 programme. She’s faced some challenges herself, but she set that goal and absolutely smashed it. By the time she was halfway through Year 5, she had completed every single level on Lexia.
She was so proud of herself, and we were ecstatic, so proud of her! We made a big fuss of her in assembly, we made her a bunch of flowers as a keepsake, and celebrated with her certificates.
Stacy: Seeing that change in her was amazing. I’ve worked with her since reception, and we’ve done a lot of speech and language interventions. This was a programme she could really access, which was nice because some other programmes hadn’t worked as well for her. Lexia was engaging and motivational, so she felt at ease with it. Once she got into the flow, she was on a roll. We were all buzzing for her—just to see that child so proud of herself was amazing. It’s definitely one of our biggest successes.
Kate: We’ve also had some current Year 4s, who, when they were in Year 3 last year, make incredible progress. They exceeded the Year 3 benchmark and moved into the Year 4 benchmark before the end of Year 3, which was fantastic. This boosted their confidence and self-esteem. Once they got to the end Year 4 levels, their teachers decided they no longer needed the programme, which opened up licences for other children coming through.
It’s made such a difference for everyone. The children who were able to finish the programme moved into their regular learning with confidence, and we could help more children through the programme as well.
Stacy: The data backs it all up, too. We always make sure the data aligns with our planning, and it shows that they’re on track and at the right level, which has been brilliant.
The most rewarding part for us is seeing them take pride in their achievements. It builds a stronger relationship with the children. We get more dialogue from them, and that’s not something we would have had before but now we are the ‘Lexia Team’ in school. It has really helped strengthen those connections, which has been fantastic for us.
Stacy: Yeah, we have lots of reward systems in place, depending on the class. For example, we have Kings and Queens of Lexia in different classrooms, which the children love. We also have a Lexia Superstar assembly. In our star assembly, every week, myself and Kate print out and laminate the certificates. The children come up to the front of the class along with other children who receive different certificates. We make a big fuss of them in assembly, and we do that every week. So, every week, we’re giving out certificates to the children, which is fantastic.
As well as big achievements, we really make sure to focus on promoting all the smaller wins as well. It’s great that the children set themselves big goals and targets, but we also see from monitoring that some children might be struggling a bit with a particular unit. It might take them a while, but we know not to step in too quickly. We’ve learned to hold back a bit and give them that independence. We don’t intervene too soon; we let them try on their own.
Stacy: It provides lots of support in terms of next steps for planning, and it also supports the SEN cohort with their one plans and things like that, which is great. The data supports teachers with parents’ evenings, so they can monitor progress. We offer that as an extra piece of evidence alongside their school data. We can back up where they’re at in school with evidence from Lexia, which is brilliant for tracking progress as well.
Our SENCO will often go onto Lexia to track progress and monitor, just to make sure it backs up her data. The graphs and things are so informative. They’re so visual and easy to access, which we love.
Kate: She also finds them to be really valuable tools. It also supports any of the children’s transitions, because the data is easy to read and gives such a good overview of each child.
Kate: We also use the data for interventions. When I do precision monitoring, I’ll go onto Lexia, look at what words the children are reading, and where they might be coming up against challenges as they move further on in their levels. We’re constantly showing them as much as we can and integrating it across different areas, especially in our interventions.
Stacy: You can see that all on Lexia. For example, we’ll see if we need to focus on a particular word or skill. We put in skill builders after every level. Once they get a certificate, we’ll insert a skill builder mid-level if we need to consolidate any areas. They’re fantastic! We also send them home with a cover letter so parents are aware that their child has passed the certificate and done a fantastic job.
Kate: It’s also nice how Lexia lessons are labelled as low, medium, or high priority, which helps us know when to step in. It makes it easier for us to determine whether we need to intervene or if we can give the child more time and independence. But we’re still there if they need us.
Stacy: That’s the beauty of it all. It’s all right there for us to see straight away.
Stacy: My first piece of advice would be to start as soon as you can! Think carefully about the children you want to add onto the programme. It’s not always your low-attaining children. We’ve found that other children can access it too, and it can push them to greater depth.
Have a designated lead that monitors, tracks, and delivers Lexia interventions. I think we know the Lexia programme inside-out now. We’re comfortable enough to say that we know it, and we share the information. So I think that’s key—having a couple of people that can support, use the resources, and share knowledge. The Resources Hub page is fantastic across the board for teachers and LSAs, not just for Lexia interventions but for any sort of interventions. That resource point is really valuable.
The training provided is brilliant. Honestly, I’ve learnt so much from the training we’ve had from LexiaUK. We’ve had a couple of years in a row now, and then we share that with staff. So I think it’s key to make use of it! Make use of the emails and newsletters . There’s so much support, so make use of all of it.
Kate: Also, when we’ve found things through the training or the emails, we’ve put together tip sheets for the LSAs. For example, if there’s a specific unit, like the doubling rule, the tip sheet will explain how it’s being taught to the children.
Stacy: But I think, going back to the advice, make use of the data. Make use of everything, because it does save a lot of work, and it’s all there for you. Make use of the graphs, keep checking, keep monitoring. I think Lexia offers so much support—it’s brilliant.
Kate: They all love it. The buzz that Lexia has created around the whole school is just infectious. Even the children who aren’t on Lexia are so proud of their classmates and just so happy for them. There’s always this really lovely buzz of, “Oh, you’ve done so well this week, you got a certificate!” and it’s just been great.
But then, speaking to the children who are actually doing it, they love it. One of my little boys in my class loves that he has to do Stage One, Stage Two, and then a skill check. He likes that he has to repeat what he’s doing before he gets to the end of his level, and then he loves getting a certificate at the end of it. For him, that recognition really means something—it’s his reward for his hard work, and he loves that side of it.
Stacy: For some children, they need that structure. I think it works really well for them because they know what to expect, they know how the system works, and they feel more relaxed with it, which is really nice. That’s what stands out for him.
Stacy: They also love the visual side of it, the gameplay feel of it. The visuals are brilliant. They’re always telling us about places they’ve been in the programme, what they’ve learned, what they’ve seen—which is great!
The Year 6s love the songs on PowerUp too. The other day, they were all singing the noun song together in class. That’s the kind of buzz we want! It creates motivation—they actually want to go on the next day and continue, which is really good.
Kate: They know their work is really valued—not just by everyone at school, but by us as Lexia leads. They know we really value the hard work they’re putting in, and we see it. We see both the effort and the progress. They’ll say, “Oh, I know, I’m going to do five more units next week,” and we’ll say, “Brilliant! I’ll check in with you.” There’s just this buzz about it—they know we’re monitoring them, but it’s all positive.
Kate: When we were first introduced to Lexia and started using it, we spent time really getting to know the programme—so we knew exactly what we were delivering, what we were going to be saying to the children, and how we would introduce it to them. We just made sure we understood it fully.
Stacy: Having Educator Mode was helpful. We spent a lot of time on that, so we could actually access it through their eyes, which has been really helpful. I think we’re just so proud of how far we’ve come. Because you can see the progress visually, and then you’ve got all the success stories as well.
Kate: All the children who have been part of Lexia—we’re just so proud of them because they’ve come such a long way. And that’s credit to Lexia too—it’s amazing. It’s brilliant to see. It’s just lovely to see their progress, lovely to see their confidence grow. We just absolutely love it and we love the buzz that it creates in our school. We really do.

One of the most important tasks and school leaders face is ensuring that every student, regardless of their learning needs, receives the right support to thrive in literacy. However, with the diverse range of challenges that learners can face—whether it’s dyslexia, language delays, decoding or comprehension difficulties—tailoring needs to meet these can feel overwhelming.
In this post, we’ll explore practical, adaptive approaches to reading intervention. These strategies aim to empower you to adjust interventions for supporting pupils with SEND as well as those in need from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Learners with SEND often face a wide range of challenges that impact their ability to develop literacy skills. These may include:
For these students, it’s crucial that interventions are adaptive and flexible. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, so the key is to tailor your approach to each learner’s unique needs. This requires not only adjusting the content but also pacing and resources to ensure that every student has the right level of challenge and support.
The speed at which students advance through reading materials is critical, especially for pupils with SEND. A pace that is too fast can overwhelm, while one that is too slow can lead to disengagement. The goal is to find a pace that challenges the student while allowing them to build confidence and competence.
For example, break down tasks into manageable steps and allow students to revisit concepts as needed. Regularly assess progress to determine if the pace needs adjusting. The key is to provide just enough challenge to keep students engaged, while ensuring they are not overwhelmed by complex tasks too soon.
Students may also benefit from frequent breaks, particularly when they are working on new or difficult concepts. These breaks can help reset focus and provide time for students to reflect on what they’ve learned.
The resources you use play a significant role in how effectively students can progress in their literacy journey. It’s important to match the difficulty of resources to the learner’s level and needs. For learners with SEND, the resources should not only align with their current skills but also be motivating and engaging.
When selecting materials, consider the following:
By selecting materials that are the right level of difficulty, you can ensure that students are constantly progressing and building new skills, while also keeping them engaged and motivated to continue learning.
Scaffolding is an essential strategy for all learners but is particularly important in promoting independence in learners with SEND. Scaffolding allows pupils to build skills incrementally while still receiving the support they need to succeed. The goal of scaffolding is to help learners become more independent by providing targeted support that can be gradually removed as the student gains confidence and ability.
For example, when teaching a pupil to read a difficult text, start by reading aloud together and discussing the content. Over time, ask them to take over more of the reading, then support them with comprehension questions, and eventually let them read and answer questions independently.
Scaffolding allows learners to progress at their own pace, ensuring they have the tools to succeed even as the level of challenge increases.
Monitoring progress is essential to ensuring that the interventions you are using are working. Without regular assessments, it’s impossible to know whether a student is making the desired progress or if adjustments are needed. Ongoing progress monitoring also allows you to celebrate small victories, boosting students’ confidence and motivation.
Regularly track your students’ performance through formative assessments and observations. By collecting data on areas such as phonics, fluency, and comprehension, you can determine whether the pace and resources are appropriate or if adjustments need to be made.
If a student is struggling in a particular area—such as decoding or fluency—it may be necessary to adjust the focus of the intervention, providing more targeted support. Conversely, if a student is excelling, the level of challenge can be increased to ensure continued development.
SENCOs play a vital role in shaping how literacy interventions are implemented in school. Here are some practical tips to help maximise the impact of interventions:
Supporting learners with SEND in developing crucial literacy skills is an ongoing challenge. With the right strategies in place, you can help your students develop the skills they need to succeed. Tailoring interventions to suit each learner’s pace, selecting the right resources, scaffolding learning for independence and regularly monitoring progress are essential components of a successful literacy strategy.
By integrating these approaches into your practice, you can ensure that every student receives the support they need to build confidence and competence in reading, regardless of their learning needs. However, implementing these strategies effectively takes time and can be complex, requiring careful planning and adaptation. Utilising research-evidenced technology can help streamline this process, equipping teachers with the tools they need to provide targeted, effective support for SEND learners.
If you’re looking for a solution to streamline and personalise your reading interventions, Lexia Core5 Reading and Lexia PowerUp Literacy offer tools that can help. These programmes adapt to each learner’s needs, offering a flexible, data-driven approach to literacy development.
Request a Demo to learn more about how Lexia can support your pupils. We are proud to partner with schools ensure every student reaches their literacy goals, no matter their learning journey.

When it comes to maximising the impact of Lexia in your school, some of the most powerful tools are the ones that often go unnoticed. Beyond the familiar dashboards and progress reports, myLexia offers a range of hidden features that can transform the way educators track progress, target additional support, and enhance student learning.
In this article, we’ll explore three valuable features that you may not have fully explored. By making the most of these tools, you can gain a clearer picture of student progress, personalise support, and save valuable planning time.
While many are familiar with myLexia’s Class Overview and Class Progress reports, fewer are aware of the level of detail that can be gained from the student reports. The student-level Detailed Skills Report provides an in-depth look into an individual student’s strengths and needs, right down to the specific phoneme, high frequency word, or comprehension question type.
Lexia’s Resource Hub provides a veritable treasure trove of literacy resources, including structured lesson plans and printable activities, designed to reinforce key literacy skills. From comprehension passages and decodable readers to sticker charts and goal setting exercises, these resources can be integrated into classroom teaching, small-group interventions, or sent home as a homework
Many are already aware of Skill Builders and their ability to provide printed offline practice and consolidation activities to ensure students have fully grasped key literacy skills. However, the introduction of Skill Checks in a recent update means that the delivery of these resources can be even more targeted and effective. Skills Checks serve as quick and subtle assessments at the end of each level to provide added progress and mastery information to the teacher.
By making the most of these powerful yet often overlooked features, you can gain a deeper understanding into student progress and deliver more targeted interventions to boost literacy progress even further. Whether it’s using Detailed Skills Reports to fine-tune interventions, exploring the Resource Hub for ready-made teaching resources, or taking advantage of Skill Checks and Skill Builders to reinforce learning, each tool is designed to help you maximise the impact of Lexia in your school.
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