The Link between Wellbeing and Literacy
Written by Ros Lugg, CEO, StepsWeb.
Preventing failure – sounds a negative way of looking at things, but in reality it’s anything but negative! It’s something we all need to be aware of in our schools, but it’s also a huge challenge for busy teachers with many different needs to address in their classes.
The reality is that literacy is the key to success in the school system and in the employment world. And literacy is a huge barrier to many learners – right through to adulthood.
Our prisons and homeless refuges are filled to the brim with people who failed in the education system. The statistics bear this out dramatically – and these are just tiny snapshots from a vast research bank:
The Western Australia prison system identified that 80% of prisoners are below an 11-year-old level for reading and writing. And their research confirmed that a strong link exists between literacy education in prison and the risk of re-offending – simply because adequate literacy enables people to access employment, sometimes for the first time in their lives.
In the UK, research shows 70% of pupils excluded from school have difficulty in basic literacy skills.
There’s no shortage of such dramatic statistics – and I have personal experience of the impacts of low literacy.
Many years ago, I was Head of English and Special Needs at a special school in the UK for boys with severe emotional and behavioural issues – quite an experience in many ways, as you can imagine! These boys were between 10 and 16 years of age and included a large percentage who were bussed in every day from the local youth correctional facility.
As the first educational psychologist to work in the school, I assessed every student - bar two who were completely non-compliant! Among other shocking findings, I found that the average literacy level across the whole school was at a 6-7 year level. No student in that school was anywhere near their age-level – and several were totally illiterate, in other words not able to read a single word.
This was one of the experiences which totally changed my outlook on literacy. I was already a dyslexia specialist – and mum of two dyslexic boys – but this really brought home to me the impact of educational failure.
The biggest question in my mind was - why on earth do we allow children to leave school with inadequate literacy skills? How can we allow children to fail at school because they can’t read well enough? And that started me on a journey which I’ve found both inspiring and occasionally depressing.
Why children leave school without adequate literacy skills
After nearly 40 years in education, these are my conclusions - not all of them by any means, but some of the main ones:
We don’t cater well enough for individual needs – we still have a ‘one size fits all’
approach to literacy teaching. And every primary school teacher knows how challenging it is to address a wide range of literacy needs in their class.We don’t pick up students for extra help until they have already failed – and all the research shows that’s too late for most.
We don’t address the cognitive aspects of literacy. ‘More reading will help them read better’. Actually, no it doesn’t – not with those students with skill deficits.
So what can we do differently?
The good news is that it’s not rocket science! This, in my opinion, is what we need to change:
Provide an early literacy approach which covers and develops all the key processing and perceptual skills, as well as literacy knowledge. Phonological awareness, of course, but also auditory and visual processing skills, memory and information processing.
Train teachers to genuinely understand how literacy develops – not happening at the moment in many cases.
Utilise a strong research-based structured literacy approach, which incorporates plenty of reinforcement and contextualization.
Enable every learner to progress at their own individual level and speed.
Identify students who need extra help before they start to struggle. And this can be done by utilising a four-tier Response to Intervention model, rather than the standard three-tier one.
Response to Intervention
The standard Response to Intervention model has three tiers:Here, we don’t start addressing individual needs until we’ve identified that a student is already struggling.
By this time, it’s too late for many learners to genuinely catch up.
A much more effective Four Tier system
Our ‘extra’ tier is Tier 2. These are the students who will start to struggle if we don’t meet their needs from the beginning.
These are the students who need to progress a bit slower, with more reinforcement and structure.
If we don’t meet these students’ needs in Tier 2, they will become our Tier 3s and Tier 4s. And then it’s too late for most.
How difficult is it to stop students failing in the early stages?
Actually, with the right resources, it’s not difficult at all. Imagine having a literacy progression throughout your whole school, with every learner able to work at his or her own level and speed.
And, as well as plenty of revision and reinforcement built into the literacy progression, every learner’s progress will be analysed for you, with individualized reinforcement automatically provided – online and printable. One click of a button would give you a named, differentiated worksheet of your choice for every member of your class – regardless of how many levels they’re on.
And that’s why I created StepsWeb, an innovative, online literacy program now being used in over 1400 schools worldwide – primary and high school.
A recent independent study in 6 Auckland primary schools showed an average literacy gain of 14 months in only 6 months. 2023 StepsWeb whole year-group study in 6 primary schools
And previous studies show that gains include not only reading and spelling, but also comprehension, vocabulary, verbal reasoning and even non-verbal reasoning. StepsWeb study with high-need students
How can you use StepsWeb in your school?
In lots of ways. It isn’t intended to replace your teaching, but to support teaching and empower teachers. It can replace your spelling program completely – or support your existing program. However, it is a literacy program which develops the core skills and knowledge for both reading and spelling. It includes the following:
Reading fluency and comprehension
Vocabulary development (including academic vocabulary at higher Course levels)
Understanding key numeracy/maths terminology
Core grammar points (plural rules, noun/adj/verb, etc)
Morphology and syntax
See our Scope & Sequence here: StepsWeb Course Scope & Sequence
And here’s how StepsWeb aligns with the Australian Literacy Progressions: StepsWeb and the Australian Literacy Progressions
Special offer – just for you!
As a National Education Show attendee, you’re also welcome to take advantage of a term’s free use of StepsWeb across whole classes or year-groups. This includes full support and training.
This is a perfect opportunity to explore how StepsWeb can help your students make significant literacy gains. You can learn more about StepsWeb here: www.stepsweb.com and here: StepsWeb Introductory Video.
You can also sign up for the standard free 14-day trial. Enter the code NES2024 and we’ll automatically extend the trial for at least a full term. No payment details are required and we don’t automatically charge you after the trial.
You’re also welcome to book an introductory discussion with me here: Free Zoom session with Ros Lugg. I’d be happy to talk through your needs and show you how StepsWeb can help you meet them.
Register for Ros’ session Exploring the link between wellbeing and literacy at the Wellbeing for Future Focused Schools Conference.
You can also visit the StepsWeb team on Stand C02
