As an assessor for dyslexia and specific learning difficulties, I have the privilege of spending a lot of time getting to know the learning profile and views of individual children. I always ask them what helps the most and I love these conversations. Usually, small group or one to one teaching is very high on their list. Intervention is costly, especially now as school budgets are increasingly stringent. But if done well, it can be hugely impactful for pupils with dyslexia and specific learning difficulties. This is for two evidence based reasons:

1. It improves pupil attainment (if the intervention is right)
2. It improves motivation and confidence, therefore increasing children’s independent, autonomous learning, as well as resilience, metacognition and self-regulation.

Often point 2 above is achieved whatever the intervention. But intervention is expensive! It’s therefore essential that it offers value for money by improving pupil attainment as well as confidence, and this requires planning and evaluation. 

Intervention needs to be shown to make an impact against what it is targeted for, especially for pupils with the most persistent difficulties, including dyslexia, who by definition are resistant to intervention. I’m proud that schools have moved so far on from when I took my first SENCO post, when the main purpose of intervention seemed to be simply to provide support with little consideration of measured impact. We’re doing a great job! But we can always do better.

I have supported many schools in targeting intervention. I’ve worked with schools in evaluating impact against cost and developing strategy for making the most of (very limited) budgets. There is definitely no moon on a stick or quick fixes when it comes to dyslexia, but there are a number of principles that help.

Common pitfalls when planning intervention as a school

I’ve observed some common pitfalls in planning intervention, as follows:

1. Schools putting something quick and easy in place just because a parent has asked. Of course this is not a bad thing; parents know their children the best! However, intervention should be well thought out and part of a bigger strategy, considering also those children whose parents don’t have the understanding or skills to ask
2. Choosing something because it is quick, cheap and easy. Again, of course this is not a bad thing! But ensure you measure the impact as well!
3. Not factoring in the required training/preparation/communication time for the intervention. While it’s possible for great intervention to be delivered by non-specialists, impact is often lost if adequate training is not provided, and planning and communication time not allocated. 
4. Lack of oversight & evaluation by SENCO or other teacher. This is usually driven by lack of time, not unwillingness, but failing to provide this oversight can be the difference between success and failure of an intervention
5. Intervention sessions don’t happen! This is more common than you’d think!

Planning for success

Here’s some guiding principles that I have drawn from my experience of effective intervention.

1. Be clear about what the need is that you are addressing and evaluate whether the intervention can meet this need. “Dyslexia intervention” is not enough – break down the dyslexia into the area(s) of need, e.g. spelling, phonics, reading, comprehension, accessing learning, accessing lessons, consolidating learning, sentence writing, etc. Be clear what impact you want to see, and be realistic!
2. Ensure that you are providing value for money – even the cheapest interventions need to be evaluated for impact. Impact can be measured in a range of qualitative ways, as well as assessment data. For example, pupil and parent interviews, work scrutiny, observation.
3. Allocate time for planning (if relevant). Include this in your evaluation of whether an intervention is manageable. Interventions requiring planning time simply do not work if planning time is not allocated.
4. Allocate time (or systems) for communication with the class or subject teacher. Research shows us this communication is important in the effectiveness of interventions, but in a busy primary school this needs to be intentionally planned, or usually it doesn’t happen!
5. Ensure someone is overseeing and evaluating the intervention, and that this person has the required expertise and knowledge to evaluate.
6. Timetable it! It won’t happen otherwise!
7. Keep a register (see example below – also available to download). Ideally this can show not just whether sessions take place, but if they didn’t, why? It’s often because the adult is unavailable, sometimes being asked to do 3 things at the same time! This type of register helps with monitoring impact too. So often interventions fail not because of the methodology, but because they are in fact hardly ever taking place! This is so common, and yet so relatively easy to correct.
   
8. Ensure the pace is appropriate; remember some dyslexics have slower processing speed and require multiple opportunities for over-learning.
9. Multi-sensory is best. This can be using tactile equipment (letters, cards, spinners etc), talking, touch screens, movement, visuals, pictures, video, etc.
10. Manage expectations when evaluating data. Remember that dyslexia is a persistent, significant difficulty with specific areas of learning. Some (but not all) learners with dyslexia will make slow, small steps of progress, and may not “catch up” in the way you expect from booster type interventions for children who need a little extra support. We absolutely expect progress but where dyslexia is present, it may be unrealistic to expect “catch up”. 
11. Communicate with parents so that they can support at home.

Types of intervention

There are so many interventions available that it can be difficult to know which to choose. Some are very expensive, others are home grown. What is important is whether it works! Not all learners with dyslexia need the same intervention. In fact, not all dyslexics need additional intervention at all; for some, the adaptations in class combined with high quality, supportive teaching are sufficient. Cost is always a major consideration with choosing an intervention. There are some types of intervention which are inexpensive but effective, while there are always a few children who need something more intensive and therefore more expensive. 

Below is an outline of different types of interventions for primary and secondary pupils, with pros and cons, to help you decide. 

School-based intervention for dyslexia (Primary)

School-based intervention for dyslexia (Secondary)

Budget constraints persist, and now they’re tighter than ever, but if we want out learners with persistent difficulties to make progress, we can’t afford to cut corners. Intervention (and the required resources) needs to be a whole school priority. Fortunately, there are so many great resources available to schools, which are more accessible than ever since the pandemic. There are also more children with considerable learning needs. Well planned, effectively delivered and rigorously evaluated intervention must therefore still be at the heart of our agenda for meeting these needs.