Teaching and Learning

Literacy Learning Intervention at Gardenvale

At the heart of our teaching practice is the belief that every student deserves the opportunity to thrive. Intervention is a key strategy in supporting students who need additional help to build foundational skills, close learning gaps, and achieve personal success. By identifying students early through data and observation, we can provide timely, targeted support that meets their individual learning needs. 

Intervention planning is guided by cohort-wide data and careful analysis by the teaching team. While we greatly value the insights and partnership of our families, placement in intervention is based on identified learning needs, as shown through assessment and teacher observation. This ensures that support is directed where it is most needed, allowing us to provide the right assistance, at the right time, to help every student grow and succeed.

Our intervention program runs in 5-7 week cycles, allowing us to deliver focused, high-impact instruction. Our learning intervention team are all Orton-Gillingham (OG) trained and deliver evidence informed programs. At the end of each cycle, student progress is carefully reviewed using assessment data and teacher judgment. Based on this information, intervention groups are adjusted; students may continue, exit, or newly enter intervention depending on their growth and current learning needs. This responsive model ensures that support remains relevant, effective, and aligned with each student's developmental progress.

The intervention screening process is a structured, data-informed approach teachers use to identify students who may need additional academic support. It combines formal assessment tools, such as DIBELS, with professional teacher judgment to guide instructional decisions and ensure timely interventions.

1. Initial Assessment

   All students participate in regular school-wide assessments to establish a baseline of skills. In reading and phonics, the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment is used as a key screening tool. It provides reliable data on essential early literacy components such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

    

2. Data Analysis

   Teachers analyse DIBELS results alongside other formative and summative assessments (e.g. classroom tasks, other reading assessments and spelling inventories) to identify students who are performing below benchmark expectations in reading and phonics.

    

3. Professional Judgment

   Teachers integrate assessment data with their knowledge of students’ classroom behaviours, participation, language development, and engagement. This ensures the identification process reflects both academic performance and observed learning needs.

    

4. Collaborative Decision-Making and Planning

   Teachers meet with learning support staff, leadership teams, and/or literacy coaches to review student data. Together, they determine the most appropriate level of intervention, whether it be classroom differentiation or targeted support. 

    

5. Ongoing Monitoring and Re-assessment

   Students receiving intervention are regularly monitored and at the end of each cycle, re-assessed using DIBELS. This allows teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and make timely adjustments to instruction and grouping.

Communication with families

Families are notified via Compass when a child enters and exits the intervention program. As the focus remains on delivering targeted, short-term support, there is no routine communication during the cycle.

Our intervention focuses on developing essential literacy skills in reading and writing through targeted programs that concentrate on the key areas below.

Key Areas in Reading Instruction 

• Phonics: Letter-sound relationships for decoding words.
• Blending: Combining sounds to read words.
• Segmenting: Breaking words into sounds for spelling.
• Morphology: Understanding word parts like prefixes and suffixes.
• Spelling Rules: Patterns that guide accurate spelling.
• Syllables: Breaking words into parts to aid reading and spelling.
• Fluency: Reading smoothly with speed, accuracy, and expression.

Key Areas in Writing Instruction 

• Simple Sentences: Understanding basic sentences with one subject and verb (e.g. The dog runs.)
• Expanding Sentences: Adding details using adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions to make sentences richer (e.g.The happy dog runs quickly in the park.)
• Punctuation: Using full stops, commas, question marks, and exclamation marks correctly to clarify meaning. 

If you have any questions regarding our intervention program feel free to contact us. 

Dimi Sfetsas - Assistant Principal 

Lisa Sturgess - Inclusion and Learning Intervention