A few weeks ago, out of the blue, we received a letter from an SEN teacher. It included these fantastic results of reading progress of her pupils during 2011/2012, using the Totem and Talisman series.
RA = reading age
SS = standard score
| Pupil | Year | Start | RA | SS | End | RA | SS | Progress |
| 1 | 6 | Sept | 7 y, 0 m | 70 | May | 8 y, 9 m | 86 | 21 m in 8 m |
| 2 | 6 | Sept | 7 y, 9 m | 80 | Feb | 11 y, 0 m | 103 | 39 m in 5 m |
| 3 | 6 | Sept | 6 y, 9 m | 69 | May | 8 y, 3 m | 84 | 18 m in 8 m |
| 4 | 6 | Sept | 6 y, 3 m | 83 | May | 10 y, 0 m | 95 | 21 m in 8 m |
| 5 | 6 | Feb | 9 y, 6 m | 94 | May | 13 y, 3 m | 109 | 45 m in 4 m |
| 6 | 6 | Sept | 10 y, 9 m | 101 | May | 13 y, 6 m | 108 | 33 m in 8 m |
| 7 | 6 | Sept | 7 y, 0 m | 73 | July | 8 y, 3 m | 80 | 15 m in 9 m |
| 8 | 6 | Nov | 7 y, 3 m | 79 | July | 8 y, 3 m | 82 | 12 m in 8 m |
| 9 | 6 | Nov | 6 y, 4 m | 70 | July | 10 y, 3 m | 95 | 47 m in 8 m |
| 10 | 10 | Jan | 7 y, 6 m | 69 | July | 9 y, 0 m | 77 | 18 m in 6 m |
| 11 | 6 | Apr | 8 y, 3 m | 62 | July | 10 y, 0 m | 96 | 21 m in 3 m |
| 12 | 4 | Jan | 7 y, 3 m | 88 | July | 8 y, 3 m | 93 | 12 m in 6 m |
Here is her letter to us and some background to these remarkable results.
She wrote:
“I thought you might be interested in some results obtained with my pupils who used your books. For my own interest, I am again keeping results, including the new Magic Belt Series which again is proving popular with both girls and boys. One of my schools is blitzing poor readers in Y3, 4 and 5 currently, on my recommendations. Pupils, TAs and teachers are loving the books and worksheets. THANK YOU.”
I called Anne to learn a bit more about her teaching and her pupils. She told me that she was dyslexia-trained and worked both in schools and with private pupils. A number of schools she worked with included very disadvantaged pupils who had suffered deprivation and violent homes. She worked one hour a week with some pupils and two hours a week with others, depending on the funding available. The intervention was 1:1 with all the pupils.
The pupils did not have a formal SEN assessment. Anne observed and noted various learning difficulties in her pupils, which included dyslexia, ADHD, speech and language difficulties, behavioural issues and lack of confidence. In addition to teaching reading skills and reading books, Anne included lots of games and resources to vary her lessons.