Students with Reading Difficulties
Diagnostic Testing
In 2012, a statutory phonics screening check was introduced for all students in Year 1 (ages 5 to 6) in publicly funded schools. It is administered by the Standards and Testing Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Education.23 Students participating in PIRLS 2016 are the first cohort to have undergone the phonics screening check. Delivered in a one on one situation by a familiar teacher, the check aims to identify whether a student has learned phonic decoding to an appropriate standard, and to initiate support for those who have not reached this standard. Students who have not reached this standard by the end of Year 1 should receive appropriate support from their school to ensure they can improve their phonic decoding skills and have the opportunity to retake the test during Year 2. The head teacher has the discretion to exclude from the test temporarily students who are below the level of the screening check. This could include English as an additional language students with insufficient understanding of English, or students with special educational needs related to the production of sounds.
Instruction for Children with Reading Difficulties
There are no national interventions for students with reading difficulties, but schools can select the approaches that best address their needs. In a 2012 report, the Department for Education summarized strategies to help struggling students catch up. For primary schools, the report has identified the most successful strategies as:24
- Paired reading—A technique in which a tutor and a student read aloud together until the tutor gradually withdraws, letting the student read aloud alone while giving the pupil support, praise and encouragement as necessary
- Reading Recovery—A program in which a specialized reading teacher supports students who are struggling with reading in daily half hour individual lessons tailored to their needs
- Literacy catch-up programs—Programs in which students with special educational needs receive a 10 minute instructional session once or twice a week to work on a particular skill
- Success for All—A school level literacy program including the whole school to provide tutoring to individual pupils who struggle in reading, specifically those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds