Introduction
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.”
– Louise, 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
Conclusion
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.
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To discuss your school’s training requirements in more depth, get in touch with one of our friendly Implementation Consultants.
