Our Intervention team utilise a range of internal and external data, including student work samples, PLAN2, Check in, PAT and NAPLAN, to identify students who are not meeting minimum standards in literacy and numeracy. Students are withdrawn for three sessions per week where they receive explicit and systematic instruction in small groups. Student progress is tracked closely and SMART goals are updated in Individual Education Plans (IEPs) every five weeks.
Literacy: Our literacy intervention programs include the evidence informed five key components of effective reading:
Phonemic awareness
The ability to hear the sounds in spoken words and understand that words are made up of sequences of sounds.
Phonics
Phonics instruction connects phonemes with written letters so that the reader can transfer knowledge of sounds to the printed word. Synthetic phonics’ is the approach with the most robust evidence base.
Fluency
The ability to read at a reasonable pace and naturally with accuracy and expression. Fluency contains the skill of automaticity which allows a reader to recognise words quickly.
Vocabulary
When children ‘sound out’ a word, their brain connects the pronunciation of a sequence of sounds to a word in their vocabulary to find a logical match. If a match is not created because the word they are reading is not in their vocabulary, comprehension is interrupted.
Comprehension
The understanding and interpretation of what is read. Comprehension requires having a sufficient vocabulary.
Numeracy: Our numeracy program is informed by the National learning progressions which describe the skills, understandings and capabilities that students typically acquire as their proficiency increases in a particular aspect of the curriculum over time. They describe the learning pathway(s) along which students typically progress in particular aspects of the curriculum regardless of age or year level, and are designed to help teachers ascertain the stage of learning reached, identify any gaps in skills and knowledge, and plan for the next step to progress learning.