Cognition and learning

What I might see

• not progressing alongside peers
• difficulty understanding new concepts and applying prior learning
• struggles to use topic vocabulary
• difficulties focusing on set activities for extended periods
• slow acquisition of skills and knowledge in literacy, phonics, numeracy
• note-taking may be hindered
• organising and planning work needs support
• a mismatch between written work and oral contribution
• difficulties following multi-step instructions
• may exhibit tiredness due to the excessive concentration levels needed
• social and behavioural difficulties may arise from low self-esteem and frustration

Strategies in the classroom

• ensure young person can see and hear teacher clearly
• text and print should be easy to see – dyslexia friendly
• learning environment should be calm, uncluttered and in well-defined areas
• lessons should be differentiated to meet the needs of young people
• extra time should be given for processing information, answering and completing tasks
• use visual aids as checklists with clear frameworks to support organisation of ideas
• provide opportunities for overlearning
• pre-teach topic vocabulary and use concept maps
• present new information in small chunks and keep language simple
• use colour highlighting for word patterns, prefixes, suffixes etc. to engage other sense
• introduce new material in a multi-sensory way – show it, listen to it, look at it, hear it, say it, write it
• use technology to support learning e.g. speech to text, typing rather than writing
• use calendars to manage homework tasks and meet deadlines
• positive feedback given to celebrate achievements

Targeted interventions and further support

• staff to facilitate small group interventions and aid learning and organisation within the classroom environment
• resources specific to the needs of the young person e.g. personalised task management board, checklists, subject specific vocabulary books
• literacy interventions such as, precision teaching for reading and spelling, cued spelling 
• implement strategies recommended from external agencies, monitor and review advice
• create a personalised curriculum tailored to the young person’s needs (this may require consultation with all professionals involved with the young person)
• provide appropriate small group interventions and resources specific to need with measurable SMART targets
• provide regular, specific focused teaching which is increasingly individualised from teacher or teaching assistant. Ensure pre and post assessments are completed for each intervention
• try a range of coloured overlays and/or reading rulers. Use calendars and checklists to structure classroom/homework tasks and enable child or young person to meet deadlines.
• teach keyboard skills.

Useful website

Website: Nasen

Website: Crick Software - Educational Software

What I might see

Children and young people may have difficulty with:

• recognising common HFW
• remembering letter-sound relationship for reading/spelling
• remembering HFW for reading and/or spelling
• accurate and/or fluent reading
• understanding text
• inferring meaning from or answering questions about text
• reading words outside their vocabulary
• syllabifying words to aid spelling and reading.

Reading accuracy, rate and comprehension

• over reliance on a limited number of strategies
• reluctance to read and lack of interest in printed materials
• inaccurate word recognition
• unable to recognise words with same initial sound
• disjointed slow reading
• difficulties understanding text. Reliance on personal experience to answer questions.
• unable to express opinions about a text
• difficulties locating information in a text

Spelling

• poor grapheme/phoneme correspondence
• inability to orally segment
• difficulty syllabifying words

Classroom Strategies

• teach HFW using a multisensory approach, overlearn and use in context
• Pre teach vocabulary
• opportunities to listen to stories read aloud to develop vocabulary
• develop personalised mnemonics which will have greater meaning for the pupil
• link words to topics to support writing
• ensure range of reading materials is age appropriate and reflective of interests
• implement story sacks to share with home to encourage a link
• provide reading opportunities linked to activities and interests- e.g. recipes
• use repetitive texts to build familiarity with high frequency words
• use reading partners or a paired reading approach
• use speed reads
• use illustrations to support comprehension
• work on question types-who what why where when questions
• use cloze procedure activities

Targeted interventions and further support

• simultaneous oral spelling
• precision teaching
• follow a programme such as action words
• hot seating activities
• precis of text rather than answering direct questions
• implement speed reads timing the pupil and recording the times.
• mind maps or diagrams to demonstrate understanding
• lifeboat spelling
• no nonsense spelling
• widget software for pre-teaching vocabulary
• NAPLIC teaching resources

Useful websites

Website: Action Words

Website: Widgit Symbols Help Communication

Website: NAPLIC Pre-Teaching Vocabulary (PTV)

The Education Endowment Foundation Guidance Reports

Improving Literacy in Key Stage 1

Improving Literacy in Key Stage 2

Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools

What I might see

• difficulties with 1:1 correspondence
• inconstancies reading, writing and ordering digits.
• problems understanding the 4 main maths symbols + - x  ÷
• difficulties remembering times tables facts
• over reliance on concrete apparatus
• following a mathematical process without understanding
• difficulties with place value
• inaccurate estimations
• following multi step processes
• selecting relevant information in word problems

Strategies in the classroom

• ensure new concept are linked to existing knowledge
• offer concrete and pictorial representations of a concept before moving on to the abstract
• place maths problems in the real world to make them relatable
• be consistent in the use of maths vocabulary. Use colour to link words that mean the same in written calculations
• number songs and rhymes will help memorizing facts
• ensure pupil has access to a number strip at all times, displays of numbers to 10/100/1000 depending on age of pupil
• encourage children to use their fingers— an important manipulative for children

Targeted interventions and further support

• ensure that children understand the links between the manipulatives and the mathematical ideas they represent
• a variety of methods should be used to assess children’s mathematical understanding, and practitioners should check what children know in a variety of contexts
• small group support is likely to be more effective when explicit connections are made between targeted support and everyday activities or teaching
• use a structured programme such as 1^st Class @ Number or Numicon

Useful websites

Website: LUMEN Loughborough University

Website: Numbers Count - Every Child Counts

Website:Times Tables Rock Stars

Website: Catch Up Numeracy

Website: Numicon, Primary School Maths Resources

What I might see

• may have a spiky profile-noticeable strengths in some areas- e.g. good verbal skills that are not matched in writing or poor number skills but good in other maths areas such as shape and space
• in Early Years: difficulty learning nursery rhymes, paying attention, sitting still, listening to stories
• difficulty learning to sing or recite the alphabet
• a history of slow speech development and muddling sounds in speech e.g. cubumber, flutterby
  • poor auditory discrimination
  • substitutes words e.g. "lampshade" for "lamppost"
• finds it hard to carry out two or more instructions at one time, (e.g. put the toys in the box, then put it on the shelf) but is fine if tasks are presented in smaller units
• primary school age: speed of processing: slow spoken and/or written language, poor concentration, difficulty following instructions, forgetting words.
• poor standard of written work compared with oral ability
• produces messy work with many crossings out and words tried several times, e.g. wippe, wype, wiep, wipe
• confused by letters which look similar, particularly b/d, p/g, p/q, n/u, m/w
• poor pencil grip. Handwriting with many ‘reversals’ and badly formed letters. Produces badly set-out written work, doesn’t stay close to the margin
• makes anagrams of words, e.g. tired for tried, bread for beard
• produces phonetic and bizarre spelling: not age/ability appropriate
• secondary school age:
  • is disorganised or forgetful e.g. over sports equipment, lessons, homework, appointments and is easily distracted
  • may find it difficult to remain focused on the task
  • often in the wrong place at the wrong time. Could be excessively tired, due to the amount of concentration and effort required
• has a poor standard of written work compared with oral ability
• has poor handwriting with badly formed letters or has neat handwriting but writes very slowly
  • produces badly set out or messy written work, with spellings crossed out several times
  • confuses upper and lower case letters
• spells the same word differently in one piece of work
• has difficulty with punctuation and/or grammar
• has difficulty taking notes in lessons and organising homework
• is hesitant and laboured, especially when reading aloud
  • loses their place easily/uses a finger or marker to keep the place
• see Worcestershire Dyslexia Pathway Checklist of Common Characteristics
• difficulties with maths are persistent and will have been present since the learner was young
• difficulties apply to arithmetic but not necessarily to other areas of maths such as geometry and algebra
• difficulties in maths but not subjects like English and subjects which do not involve numbers
• lack of an intuitive understanding of numbers and simple number concepts, for example the relationship between multiplication and repetitive addition
• lack of a fundamental understanding of how numbers relate to each other, for example 6 can be made from 5 + 1, double 3, 4 + 2 (flexibility of number) as well as a visual concept of the magnitude of numbers
  • they cannot make sensible references to numbers
  • for example, if asked if a pair of trainers (not a designer make) should cost £4,000
• young children have difficulties with subitising, knowing how many items there are in a set
  • they need to count them one by one
• learners rely on following procedures which they may not understand, rote learning and simple ways of working out answers like counting on their fingers
• extreme difficulties spotting patterns in numbers and making generalisations
• high levels of maths anxiety

Classroom Strategies

• coloured overlays
• coloured background for whiteboard
• use symbols and visuals to support written information
• regular opportunities to show understanding or potential difficulties (traffic lights, thumbs up)
• help available to support processing, sequencing and memory
• arrange tasks that reduce the barriers to writing and offer options of alternative forms of recording
• sensitive marking of work
• provide subject specific word banks to support spelling of technical vocabulary
• use of IT to facilitate written work and remove barriers to spelling and handwriting
• use of devices to record verbal narrative
• use of IT to produce PowerPoints to show knowledge and understanding, rather than written prose
• Dyslexia friendly dictionaries e.g. ‘The School Spelling Dictionary’ (Barrington Stoke)
• buddy reading
• seating next to a supportive reader in class
• post-it notes to record ideas and then use to sequence and re-order
• use of mind maps to group/structure ideas
• use of IT software to create mind maps
• talking tins (or other recording device e.g. voice notes in Clicker) to record sentences that can be listened to, to aid recall
• use manipulatives to support maths concepts
• put maths problems into real world situations

Targeted interventions and further support

• individual targeted spelling support
• guided writing sessions to develop sentence structure
• daily reading intervention
• rapid reading intervention
• whole word approach
• onset and rime approach
• Precision teaching approach to recognise whole words

Dyslexia resources

Since the introduction of the original dyslexia pathway into Worcestershire schools in 2010 the level of understanding of this condition and the impact that it can have on a child’s learning, attitude and self-esteem has improved considerably. Teachers are now aware that there is a process to be gone through before a decision can be made and tracking progress over time is an integral part to this process.

As this understanding is now embedded in schools the system for obtaining an identification of dyslexia for an individual pupil has been simplified and made more cost effective.
Schools should continue to track and monitor pupils progress and use the checklist of common characteristics as an initial screening tool.

Collecting of background information and evidence remains crucial to the process and if school feel they have gathered enough evidence to suggest Dyslexia could be likely they can then request a Dyslexia Assessment.

The information provided by the school must include:

• information about interventions implemented and that have been completed and reviewed over time (at least 3 individual provision maps with dated reviews
• results of interventions – how much progress – this must be measurable and compared with other children’s results who have completed the same interventions
• assessment and tracking information completed by the school
• characteristic checklists completed by school – should be 50% or more indications
• pupil’ views
• parental views (either face to face meeting with LST teacher or parental view sheet completed)
• PACE questionnaire
• any reports available from outside agencies if available

The specialist teacher will then review this evidence along with a formal assessment and after discussion a decision can be made. This reduces the involvement of outside agencies early in the process and the time it may take to reach a decision.

Dyslexia pathway to access a copy of this document please email the Learning Support team: LST@worcestershire.gov.uk

Dyslexia common characteristic checklists (Word document)

Framework for Action (Word document)

PACE checklist (Word document)

Parental interview (Word document)

Pupils view (Word document)

Worcestershire Dyslexia Pathway policy (PDF)

Useful website

Website: British Dyslexia Association

Website: Crick Software - Educational Software

Website: Hereford and Worcester Dyslexia Association