WHERE DOES TEACHING BEGIN?
We find the point where learning stopped being secure.
Children who struggle with reading and spelling do not all have the same gaps.
Before deciding what to teach, we need to understand what is already secure, what is confused, what is effortful and what is not yet automatic.
We don't start with a child's age or year level. We start with what they can actually do.
HOW DO WE FIND THE STARTING POINT?
SOUNDS & LETTERS
We check which sounds and letter patterns are recognised quickly and accurately.
What is secure — and where do hesitations or confusions begin?
NONWORDS
Unfamiliar words cannot be recognised from memory. They show us whether a child can use their sound–letter knowledge to actually decode.
Can they work the word out for themselves?
WORDS & TEXT
We look at real-word reading and connected text, noting accuracy, fluency, self-correction and the strategies a child uses.
What happens as the reading load increases?
SPELLING
Spelling asks the child to reverse the process: hear the word, identify its sounds and represent them in writing.
Can they apply what they know independently?
WHAT DO THE ERRORS TELL US?
The way a child gets a word wrong helps us understand what needs to be taught.
Guessing
The child uses the first letter, picture or context rather than reading the whole word.
Are they reading what is written — or predicting what the word might be?
Sound Confusion
Sounds may be confused, omitted, added or placed in the wrong order.
Can they hear and sequence every sound in the word?
Decoding Breakdown
The child may know individual sounds but struggle to hold and blend them accurately as words become longer.
At what point does accurate reading begin to break down?
Knowledge Gaps
Particular letter patterns, spelling rules or word structures may not yet be secure.
Which knowledge needs to be explicitly taught or strengthened?
WE START AT THE FIRST POINT THAT ISN'T SECURE
Not at the beginning. Not at the child's year level. At the point where new learning can be built successfully.
What is secure stays in the foundation. What isn't secure becomes the starting point.