Phonics and Early Reading Keep-up

Are your phonics interventions helping pupils keep up—or trying to catch up too late?

As the new term starts assessments have taken place, this is a valuable opportunity for reflective self-evaluation of your school’s current intervention provision and its effectiveness; it is a chance to be honest and vulnerable with yourself.

School leaders may wish to consider:

• Are expectations for intervention delivery clear and consistently applied?

• Does the school timetable enable effective implementation without compromising high-

  quality first teaching?

• Are staff leading interventions appropriately trained and supported?

EEF guidance is clear that pupils make the strongest progress when difficulties are identified and addressed early and precisely. In phonics, even small gaps in knowledge can quickly become barriers to accessing future learning. Delayed intervention often leads to broad “catch-up” approaches, whereas timely “keep up” support enables pupils to secure the necessary foundations.

Teaching assistants should be deployed to supplement, not replace, high-quality teacher instruction. Ofsted and EEF guidance highlight that TA-led interventions are most effective when they are structured, evidence-informed, aligned with the school’s systematic synthetic phonics programme,
and delivered by trained staff under clear teacher direction.

Short, targeted interventions—delivered promptly, focused on specific gaps, and reviewed regularly—support pupils to make rapid progress. Ongoing assessment ensures support is time-limited, purposeful, and responsive to pupil need.