The catch-up series are designed to be used as a structured reading intervention for older students with gaps in their phonics knowledge which prevent them from becoming fluent readers.  These books are truly decodable with action-packed age-appropriate story lines and illustrations to engage and motivate older readers who may have previously experienced reading failure. 

When a pupil begins a reading programme, it is important to assess reading skills using a diagnostic assessment. This is also a useful opportunity to observe your pupil’s reading strategies. 

1. Decide which series to start with using a diagnostic assessment 
2. Explicitly teach the phonics focus 
3. Use the decodable book to practice and consolidate the phonics skill taught
4. Build reading confidence and fluency using the activities in the photocopiable activity book which is linked with the stories in the reader

Top tips to ensure success

1. Make sure that the pupil has been taught the target phonemes and spellings in the book before starting to read the decodable book. Some activities in the accompanying activity book will help with this.
2. Encourage the pupil to read new words by blending sounds together rather than by guessing.
3. If the pupil does not know a spelling (grapheme), you can fill in the missing knowledge by telling them what it is. Then, ask them to blend all the sounds into the word.
4. High-frequency words can be treated like any other new word. Help the reader with the part they do not know.  Ask them to blend the sounds into the word.
5. With beginner readers, re-read the sentence after the pupil has read it to help comprehension.
6. Discuss new vocabulary, characters, plot and illustrations to develop language and engagement.
7. Read in short bursts with beginner or struggling readers as decoding can be very tiring initially. Take turns to read pages or paragraphs.
8. Build up the amount of time you read for, slowly increasing it as the child's reading progresses.
9. Repeated reading will help with fluency so ask the pupil to read the same text to different people or to read it a second time with expression and intonation etc.
10. Be patient! Give the pupil plenty of time to work out new words.  Reading is hard work and demands concentration and application.
11. Make sessions as multi-sensory as possible. Children take on board new learning much more easily when they are having fun and using many senses. Use activities which involve them looking, hearing, moving and speaking about things. 
12. Use lots of praise and encouragement.