Unlocking Potential: Early Intervention and Individualised Literacy Teaching
Written by Ros Lugg, CEO/Founder, StepsWeb
Literacy is more than just reading and writing—it’s a gateway to opportunity. In today’s fast-paced, information-rich world, core literacy skills are essential for accessing knowledge, participating fully in society, and achieving personal success. Yet, many children struggle with literacy from an early age, and without timely support, these challenges can snowball—impacting academic achievement, emotional wellbeing, and long-term prospects.
Spotting the Signs Early
One of the biggest challenges in education is identifying literacy difficulties before they become entrenched. Early signs such as:
Difficulty recognizing letters or sounds
Poor spelling and grammar
Avoidance of reading or writing tasks
Trouble following verbal instructions
Limited vocabulary
…are often misinterpreted as behavioral issues or lack of motivation. In reality, they may point to underlying learning challenges like dyslexia or language processing disorders. With wide variation in developmental readiness among new entrants, early identification is more important than ever.
Why Early Intervention Matters
Research consistently shows that early intervention is the most effective. Young brains are highly adaptable, making the early years ideal for building foundational literacy skills. More importantly, early support helps prevent students from internalizing a sense of failure. While teachers don’t label students as “failing,” children are acutely aware when they’re falling behind their peers—and this perception can deeply affect their confidence and behavior.
The Limits of Whole-Class Instruction
The current emphasis on explicit, research-based instruction—especially the Science of Reading—is a positive shift. However, it’s often interpreted as requiring whole-class teaching of every phonics pattern or spelling rule. In practice, this approach struggles to meet the needs of a diverse classroom.
Even as early as Year 2, there can be a four-year spread in literacy levels. Whole-class instruction tends to target the middle, leaving advanced learners unchallenged and struggling students unsupported. Add weekly spelling tests, and we risk creating regular opportunities for some students to fail.
A Smarter Way Forward: The StepsWeb Approach
StepsWeb offers a solution through individualised, structured literacy progression. While whole-class instruction can introduce new concepts, students then engage with those concepts at their own level and pace via the StepsWeb platform.
Each student receives:
Explicit teaching and demonstrations
Activities targeting phonological awareness, decoding, encoding, fluency, and comprehension
Automatic error analysis and personalised reinforcement
Supporting resources—including workbooks and hands-on activities—ensure that high-need learners are supported from the start.
Empowering Teachers and Learners
By enabling personalised progression, StepsWeb frees teachers from repetitive planning and allows them to focus on higher-order teaching tasks—like creative writing, critical thinking, and novel study. It’s a model that supports every learner, right from the beginning, and helps unlock their full potential.