Fresh Start  (Reading Intervention)

Fresh Start is a phonics programme for pupils requiring additional support with reading. Pupils are taught at their 'challenge' (current ability) point either individually or in a small group.

Fresh Start is for pupils who:

• are not yet reading age appropriately

• have missed schooling or are late arrivals into school

• are new to the UK education system

• are learning English as an additional language.

Every day, pupils learn new letter-sounds and review previous sounds and words. They apply what they’ve been taught by reading words containing the sounds they know in lively, age-appropriate stories and non-fiction texts closely matched to their phonic knowledge. By the end of the programme, they are able to read these sounds and words accurately and fluently. 

Pupils are taught either individually or in a small group for 25 minutes each day. Pupils therefore learn at their ‘challenge’ level for over two hours a week. The duration of the course depends on each pupil’s starting place. Some pupils might need only a few weeks’ of tutoring whilst others may need two or three terms.  

Typically, at Williamwood, we aim to allocate an initial 6 week block to our pupils undertaking Fresh Start.