Quick 60

The Quick60 Small Group Intervention Programme is a small group intervention programme designed to bring groups of up to five struggling students to year-level in reading and spelling in 60 quick lessons or fewer. Each Quick60 lesson plan is set out explicitly for teachers but also allows for flexibility and needs based teaching and learning. Print and digital resources are sequential and levelled covering reading accuracy, spelling, fluency practice, comprehension, vocabulary instruction and writing, as well as revision and consolidation. There was a significant purchase of resources made at the beginning to ensure that this programme was resourced.

The children are selected using both data gathered throughout the year; the 6yr Net testing or “Observational Survey” which tests children close to their 6th birthday on Reading, Writing, Spelling and Alphabet knowledge, and previous years end of year PM testing which uses an unseen text, and also using teachers referrals at our Special Needs Meetings.

The Quick 60 programme allows for children to enter at any age, and at any stage of the programme, be grouped according to their learning needs, and be taught at a pace that suits them. The children are working in small groups.

In past years I have noted that children’s progress has been greatly hindered by absence. This year I have been able to schedule a lesson slot for them at least 4 days a week which has meant that when they are at school they get a full instructional lesson. This years Term 3/4 progress was interrupted by Covid-19, and sadly a lot of the data I would usually be able to show is missing due to this. After initially spending time in the classrooms helping the teachers after we returned, supporting them with the Covid restrictions, and testing, attendance was noted to drop off for many of these students and this has greatly affected their learning and testing.

The programme caters well for the ESOL children’s needs. Quick 60 uses Nonfiction content. Nonfiction offers topics that tie in with their personal interests and gives them a broader vocabulary base. There is much room for discussion and the comprehension elements of this programme mean that the children are engaging in thinking around the context and have many opportunities to acquire new vocabulary in a carefully scaffolded manner.

This Programme is essential catering for some of our hardest to teach children and once again in spite of the ‘exceptional’ year 2021 has been we have seen some significant gains.

Irene Wilson and Toni Nua