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With the first inspections now underway under Ofsted’s updated 2025 framework, many leaders are taking stock of what the changes mean for their schools. The shift to a more detailed report-card model, the introduction of new evaluation areas and the sharper focus on inclusion all represent a significant adjustment to the inspection landscape.
For reading and literacy, particularly for pupils who may face barriers to learning, these changes bring renewed attention to how consistently and effectively schools support progress. While the framework continues to evolve in response to feedback from the sector, one thing remains clear: strong, joined-up literacy provision is essential for ensuring all pupils can access the curriculum.
This blog offers a clear overview of the reforms now in place and provides practical strategies to help your staff and wider literacy provision feel confident and well-prepared for the months ahead.
Overview of the New Ofsted Framework
From December 2025, all routine school inspections transitioned to the updated Education Inspection Framework (EIF). Key developments affecting reading include:
A shift to detailed report cards
Schools are no longer defined by a single headline judgement. Instead, each setting receives:
- a 5-point grade across several evaluation areas
- a short narrative describing strengths and priorities
- Contextual information that acknowledges pupil need and school demographics
This more detailed approach gives leaders richer feedback, but it also means inspectors are looking more closely at the quality and consistency of provision.
Evaluation areas
ding and literacy now contributes evidence across multiple areas, most notably:
- Curriculum and teaching
- Achievement
- Inclusion
- Leadership and governance
Because reading and literacy underpins curriculum access, practices in this one area now influences outcomes in several parts of the report card.
A new 5-point grading scale
The scale is designed to recognise sustained excellence and identify improvement needs more transparently:
- Exceptional
- Strong standard
- Expected standard
- Needs attention
- Urgent improvement
The expected standard reflects effective, consistent teaching aligned with statutory guidance. Most schools are likely to sit between expected and strong.
Stronger emphasis on inclusion
The introduction of a standalone Inclusion evaluation area signals a national commitment to addressing gaps in attainment and curriculum access. Inspectors are paying close attention to:
- How quickly needs are identified
- The quality of adaptations and scaffolding
- The impact of targeted support for disadvantaged, SEND, and vulnerable pupils
What These Changes Mean for Literacy Leaders
With reading and literacy threaded throughout the new evaluation areas, leaders have a clear opportunity to make literacy a central strength of their school. Strong literacy provision directly impacts Curriculum and Teaching, by ensuring pupils can access lessons across all subjects; Achievement, by supporting measurable progress in reading and comprehension; and Inclusion, by addressing barriers faced by disadvantaged or SEND pupils. In practice, inspectors will look at how well reading is taught and supported, how gaps are identified and addressed and how all pupils are supported to make meaningful progress, making literacy a key factor in multiple aspects of a school’s report card.
1. The need for a coherent, school-wide approach
Inspectors are looking for:
- shared understanding of reading progression
- consistency in lesson design and support
- routines that help pupils build secure, cumulative knowledge
Inconsistency between classes or phases will be more visible under the new toolkit.
2. Confidence in demonstrating impact
Because outcomes are reported across multiple categories, leaders need:
- timely, accurate data
- clear evidence of progress over time
- specific insight into the experiences of disadvantaged groups
Being able to talk confidently about how your pupils are reading and how quickly they improve supports several inspection areas at once.
3. Sustainable support for teachers
The new framework also recognises teacher workload and wellbeing. Approaches to literacy need to be:
- manageable
- repeatable
- aligned to existing routines
Teacher confidence is a key part of demonstrating a strong standard. When staff know what to prioritise, pupils benefit and inspectors notice.
How Technology Can Support
While digital tools are not always required, many schools are now turning to technology to help manage the increased emphasis on evidence, early identification and targeted support.
Technology can help by:
- Improving assessment accuracy, giving teachers precise information without additional workload.
- Providing adaptive practice, supporting diverse needs at the right level.
- Reducing differentiation burden, helping teachers plan in a way that supports all abilities without additional workload.
- Generating clear progress evidence, which can strengthen inspection narratives across multiple evaluation areas
Used thoughtfully, technology enhances teacher effectiveness and ensures pupils receive consistent, well-targeted support.
Leading Literacy with Confidence
The new Ofsted framework introduces more detailed reporting and new evaluation areas, but the fundamentals remain consistent: clear, structured reading provision supports pupil progress, including for disadvantaged learners.
Focusing on reliable routines, targeted early identification, and consistent teaching allows schools to manage inspection expectations effectively. The reforms provide a framework to demonstrate the quality and consistency of your reading provision and the practical impact of your teaching and support.
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Discover the impact of Lexia in classrooms around the UK
We are thrilled to publish the 2025 Data Report into the efficacy of Lexia Core5 Reading – our comprehensive, research proven literacy skills program aimed at KS1/2.
Our latest data report contains findings from the 2024/25 academic year, with a sample size of 600 schools that have implemented the program. Based on consistent, structured usage, we have found pupils achieving up to 17 months’ average reading progress.
Download the report today to see how Lexia Core5 can make an impact in your school.
Want to experience the impact of Lexia Core5 in your school? We’re offering a free 30-day evaluation for schools interested in seeing how Lexia Core5 can support their students’ literacy skills development.
Fill out the form below to enquire about a 30-day evaluation of Lexia Core5 Reading.
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.
Disengagement or Disadvantage? Looking Beneath the Surface
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:
- Avoidance of reading-based tasks.
- Low-level disruption to deflect attention.
- Withdrawal, refusal or even behavioural escalation.
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.
What These Pupils Need to Succeed
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.
What does that look like in practice?
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.
Here are some key strategies and how they can work in practice:
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.
How Lexia PowerUp Literacy Re-engages the Learners Others Struggle to Reach
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?
- It empowers pupils to work independently and at their own pace, crucial for restoring confidence.
- It celebrates progress, no matter how small, to show learners that they can improve.
- It’s accessible and age-appropriate, designed to avoid the stigma often associated with reading interventions.
- It gives teachers real-time insight into progress, so they can offer additional support without guesswork or unnecessary testing.
And crucially, it supports pupils in developing the skills they need not just to read, but to thrive across the curriculum.
The Bottom Line: Literacy is the Foundation of Engagement
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.
Proven Results
Backed by independent research and trusted by thousands of educators, our literacy programmes are research-proven.
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Independent evidence to support literacy improvement
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.
The study explored how Core5 could:
- Support struggling readers in making accelerated progress.
- Help disadvantaged pupils close the attainment gap.
- Be implemented alongside existing school provision with positive feedback from staff.
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 PDF Summary
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.
Tip 1: Little and often works best
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:
- Who needs more time on the programme?
- Who is ready for a Skill Builder?
- Who is struggling and may need a Lesson Plan?
- Who’s ready to celebrate?
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
Tip 2: Use class-level reports to flag priorities
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:
- In the Core5 usage report, pupils who haven’t made expected progress in the last four weeks are marked with a blue exclamation mark (!), a quick visual cue to check in on their learning journey.
- For PowerUp, the weekly usage report is colour-coded based on whether pupils have met their weekly units target. This makes it easy to identify who may need encouragement to stay on track.
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
Tip 3: Let pupil data guide your use of paper-based resources
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:
Skill Builders: Use the Skills Report
This report provides a detailed breakdown of each pupil’s performance within a unit.
- Skill Builders: Look at the Skills Check scores (shown as a percentage). If a pupil scores below 75% on any Skills Check, that’s a strong signal they may benefit from a Skill Builder for that specific skill.
- You don’t need to assign Skill Builders for every skill, focus only where the score indicates a gap.
Lexia Lessons: Check the Step Attempts
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.
- If a pupil has made 10 or more attempts on their current unit without success, that’s a sign they may need more direct support with that concept.
- This is the point where using a paper-based Lexia Lesson Plan can be really helpful, providing structured teaching to address the difficulty head-on.
Bonus Tip: Consider a quicker intervention first
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.
Proven Results
Backed by independent research and trusted by thousands of educators, our literacy programmes are research-proven.
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Find out how we are helping schools to accelerate their literacy progress.
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Identify Reading Gaps. Take Strategic Action. Accelerate Progress.
At LexiaUK, we know that reading proficiency is the gateway to academic success, and that every learner’s journey is unique. Whether you’re supporting early readers in Key Stage 1 or helping students navigate the demands of the GCSE curriculum, our Reading Assessment Toolkits are designed to help educators quickly identify skills gaps, understand literacy challenges and implement targeted, effective interventions.
What’s Inside the Toolkit
Each toolkit is tailored to the needs of either primary or secondary educators, but both include:
- Gap Identification Checklists to assess mastery across key strands of reading and literacy.
- Intervention Planning Grids to turn assessment insights into trackable, strategic actions.
- Rapid Reading Catch-Up Guides with evidence-based advice for school leaders.
- Visual Overviews of how Lexia’s adaptive programs, Core5 for primary and PowerUp Literacy for secondary, support every strand of reading development.
- Next Steps & Further Support to help you access expert guidance, training, and additional resources.
Who These Toolkits Are For
These resources are designed to support:
- Senior Leadership Teams – to guide strategic decisions and monitor impact.
- Literacy Coordinators & Leads – to ensure consistent, data-driven approaches across the school.
- SENCOs – to identify and support pupils with specific or complex literacy needs.
Download Your Literacy Assessment Toolkit
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.
The Critical Window: Why Early Intervention Works
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.
What the ‘Literacy Gap’ Looks Like in the Classroom
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.
The Cost of Waiting
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.
What Schools Can Do Right Now
School leaders aiming to close reading gaps early can take decisive, practical steps immediately. Here’s how to get started:
- Start a free Lexia Core5 or PowerUp trial. Experience firsthand how adaptive technology can transform reading support in your school, offering personalised learning paths and instant progress insights without adding to teachers’ workload.
- Screen key cohorts early. Early screening helps catch emerging reading difficulties before they widen, allowing for timely and targeted intervention. Lexia’s programmes include an initial assessment enabling teachers to both identify and address reading gaps all at once.
- Engage your EdTech lead and literacy coordinators. Collaboration across leadership and teaching teams ensures smooth implementation and ongoing monitoring of interventions, aligning literacy goals with broader school improvement priorities.
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.
References
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.
Proven Results
Backed by independent research and trusted by thousands of educators, our literacy programmes are research-proven.
Real Schools, Real Stories
Find out how we are helping schools to accelerate their literacy progress.
Blog
Keep up to date with the latest industry news from LexiaUK.
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.
Understanding the Diverse Needs of Learners with SEND
Learners with SEND often face a wide range of challenges that impact their ability to develop literacy skills. These may include:
- Difficulties with decoding: Struggling to break down words into sounds.
- Language processing issues: Difficulty understanding and using language effectively.
- Comprehension barriers: Challenges in understanding what they read or retaining information.
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.
Key Strategies for Adaptive Teaching in Reading Intervention
Tailoring Speed and Intensity
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.
Resource Selection: Providing the Right Materials
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:
- Levels of challenge: Choose resources that are appropriately challenging but not too difficult for the student to engage with successfully. Resources that are too simple will not promote growth, while those that are too complex can lead to frustration.
- Multisensory elements: Some learners may benefit from resources that engage more than one sense. For example, visual aids, tactile activities, or spoken instructions can help students better understand the material.
- Interest-based materials: Engage students with texts and topics they find interesting, helping them build motivation and a love for reading.
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: Supporting Independence While Building Skills
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.
Key techniques for scaffolding include:
- Modelling: Initially, provide clear, step-by-step demonstrations of the task at hand. For example, when teaching reading comprehension, model how to read a passage aloud, highlight key information, and summarise the main points.
- Guided practice: Allow students to practice tasks with support. This might include working through a passage together, providing prompts or questions as they read, or discussing vocabulary words.
- Gradual release of responsibility: As students become more competent, gradually reduce the amount of support you provide. Start by offering more guidance and slowly move towards independent work, ensuring students are ready to take on tasks by themselves.
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.
Progress Monitoring: Tracking and Adjusting Intervention
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.
Practical Tips for SENCOs
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:
- Collaborate with teachers: Regular communication with classroom teachers is key to ensuring interventions are aligned with classroom learning. By working together, you can ensure that support is consistent and well-integrated.
- Use data-driven decisions: Regularly monitor student progress and use data to inform your decisions. If something isn’t working, don’t be afraid to make changes—whether it’s adjusting the pacing, selecting new resources, or altering the focus of the intervention.
- Offer ongoing support: For many students with SEND, literacy development is a long-term process. Ensure that there is a plan for continued support beyond initial interventions. This can include follow-up sessions, extended practice opportunities, or adjustments to the classroom environment.
Conclusion
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.
Looking for a Reading Intervention that Supports Both Pupils and Teachers?
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.
Introduction
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.
1. Detailed Skills Reports: A Deeper View of Student Progress
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.
Why it’s Valuable
- Allows for targeted interventions by highlighting precise skill gaps.
- Supports progress tracking over time, ensuring that detailed evidence of literacy skills acquisition can be easily obtained and analysed.
- Provides clear and specific information to support discussions with colleagues and parents.
How to Access and Use
- Log into myLexia and navigate to the student overview. This can be done by clicking on the student’s name from the Class Overview.
- Select the button at the top right to view their Skills Report. A detailed version of this can be obtained by clicking on the name of a current or past level.
- Use this report to identify areas of need by assessing the number of steps into Lexia’s instruction mode. The common errors column can also be used to identify and address any more specific issues, such as an issue with spelling a particular sight word.
2. The Resource Hub: Practical Teaching Tools at Your Fingertips
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
Why It’s Valuable
- Offers ready-to-use teaching resources aligned with students’ individual needs and abilities.
- Saves planning time by providing detailed intervention lesson plans and activities for skill reinforcement.
- Provides a host of additional, high-quality literacy and reading resources that cater to all ages and ability levels in school.
How to Access and Use
- Log into myLexia and navigate to the Resources tab.
- Click on the Core5 or PowerUp Resources Hub Link.
- Browse a host of printable and digital resources to integrate into whole-class teaching, group interventions or 1-to-1 teaching. We recommend the ‘Support for Instruction’ area as a great place to start.
3. Skill Checks and Skill Builders: Assessing and Reinforcing Learning
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.
Why it’s Valuable
- Enables targeted support and adaptive teaching. Skill Checks provide quick assessments that help pinpoint student mastery levels, ensuring that Skill Builders are used effectively for reinforcement where needed.
- Provides valuable data to inform further support and offers detailed insights into pupils’ understanding and skill mastery.
- Promotes stronger skills retention while ensuring that valuable teaching time is used as efficiently as possible.
How to Access and Use
- When a student completes a level, check their assigned Skill Builders under the Action Plan tab in the Class Overview.
- Use Skill Checks to assess proficiency in recently completed skills. Skills check scores can be found by accessing the student individual Skills Report. We recommend providing a Skill Builder for any skill score below 75% to enable to students to gain further practice and consolidation in this skill.
- Print and distribute the activities for small-group work, independent practice, or homework.
Maximising the Impact of Lexia
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.
Next Steps
- Explore these features in myLexia and consider how they can support your teaching strategies.
- Share this post with colleagues to help more educators make full use of these tools.
- For additional guidance, contact the LexiaUK Implementation and Support Team. We offer unlimited training and support to help you get the best out of Lexia.
Contact the LexiaUK Customer Care Team
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For many pupils with special educational needs and disability (SEND), learning to read and write can be a significant challenge. Difficulties with phonics, comprehension, and spelling often lead to frustration, disengagement, and low confidence. Traditional, one-size-fits-all approaches may not provide the flexibility or reinforcement these learners need.
This is where multisensory learning can play a transformative role. By engaging multiple senses—sight, sound, movement, and touch—multisensory strategies help embed literacy skills in a way that feels natural and meaningful to pupils with SEND. In this article, we’ll explore how multisensory learning works, practical strategies that can be used in the classroom, and how technology can enhance these approaches to break down barriers for learners with SEND.
What is Multisensory Learning and Why Does It Work?
Multisensory learning involves using visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic-tactile pathways simultaneously to support literacy development. This approach is particularly beneficial for pupils with SEND, such as those with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, or speech and language difficulties. This tactile approach to learning through a wide range of modalities makes it more likely to work with the pupil.
Why is it effective?
- Supports memory retention – Engaging multiple senses strengthens neural connections, helping learners retain and recall information.
- Reduces cognitive overload – Breaking down complex literacy tasks into sensory-based activities makes them more manageable.
- Encourages engagement – Pupils are more likely to stay focused when lessons include movement, hands-on actions, and interactive elements. Spoken word activities and active participation are great teaching methods to encourage this.
- Caters to diverse learning styles – Some pupils learn best by hearing information, others by seeing it, and others by doing. A multisensory approach meets all these needs.
Multisensory instruction is not just a theory—it is backed by research and widely used in evidence-based literacy programmes to support struggling learners.
Practical Multisensory Strategies for Literacy
Visual Strategies
Engaging the visual sense can help learners understand and remember literacy concepts more effectively. Some simple techniques include:
- Colour coding – Assign different colours to sounds, word patterns, or parts of speech to help pupils distinguish between them.
- Graphic organisers – Use story maps, sequencing charts, and mind maps to support comprehension.
- Word walls and picture clues – Reinforce vocabulary with images alongside words to aid recall.
Auditory Strategies
Many learners benefit from hearing information repeated and reinforced through sound-based activities, such as:
- Phonemic awareness games – Clapping syllables, rhyming activities, or blending sounds aloud.
- Verbal repetition and echo reading – Reading aloud together or repeating words to build fluency.
- Text-to-speech tools – Using assistive technology to support independent reading.
Kinaesthetic and Tactile Strategies
For many pupils, movement and touch-based activities can make literacy learning more engaging and memorable:
- Air writing and tracing – Encouraging pupils to trace letters in the air or on textured surfaces (e.g. sand trays).
- Movement-based learning – Hopping on letters, jumping to syllables, or moving counters when segmenting words.
- Hands-on letter building – Using magnetic letters, Play-Doh, or foam letters to physically construct words.
Combining Modalities for Maximum Impact
The most effective multisensory strategies often combine two or more senses at once. For example:
- Say it, See it, Do it – When learning new words, pupils say the word (auditory), see it on a flashcard (visual) and write it in the air (kinaesthetic).
- Tactile phonics – Pupils use their fingers to trace over textured letters while simultaneously saying the sound aloud.
By incorporating multisensory techniques, teachers can create an inclusive, high quality classroom environment where all pupils can thrive in literacy learning.
How Technology Can Enhance Multisensory Learning
While hands-on activities are highly effective, digital tools can also provide valuable multisensory learning experiences.
Technology can:
- Adapt to individual learning needs, offering personalised pathways for pupils.
- Provide interactive, gamified experiences that engage learners through sound, movement, and visual elements.
- Deliver embedded scaffolded support, offering real-time corrective feedback with visual and auditory instruction, and guided practice to reinforce learning.
Breaking Barriers with Lexia Core5 Reading
At LexiaUK, we understand the importance of adaptive, multisensory learning in literacy development. Lexia Core5 Reading is designed with evidence-based multisensory techniques, supporting pupils through a structured, personalised programme that integrates visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic-tactile elements. Schools using Lexia have reported increased engagement, improved reading confidence, and measurable progress among their SEND learners.
Would you like to see how an adaptive, personalised and multisensory approach can support your pupils?
Try Lexia Core5 free for 30 days
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