RE: https://lexonik.co.uk/literacy-intervention-programmes/lexonik-advance

 

Here’s a brief report following our visit to Marple Hall and meeting with their Intervention Literacy Lead, Claire Beirne.

 

 | Demo class contents | The sell it to students bit. Adult/baby vowels: AEIOU aeiou Part-time vowels: Y y Baby blanket  Hos pit al  Rep u ta tion  “Is revision any good?” Brain imprints (blue-tac) model The more you… SAY/SAY/SAY/DO/DO/DO  Suffix/prefix intro  Latin/Green/language and time  University word origin (recognising Manchester etc have broken that rule)

 

 

Lexonik Advance takes 1-2 days in-person training and 1 day online. It is tailor costed to the school. Claire mentioned £3.5K for a double pack of resources. Annual subscription (“you rent the equipment”). Website states: “Licences starting from as little as £3,350 +VAT in year one, with subsequent renewals start from £2,000 +VAT.”

 

4 students attended the demonstration class. The resources allow for 1-4 students, allowing for more resistant or challenging students. All students had clearly never attended a session. Each was engaged, although some settling was required by 2 students with S.E.N. Students joined in and developed a taste for the class, leaving the room with an apparent showing that they wanted more. 

 

Firstly, Lexonik Advance appears to be a superior option than the purposes of Lexia and Bedrock. This 6 week course enables students to decode and adapt by understanding prefixes, suffixes, base words and adult/baby sound of the vowels (and the part-time/mimic vowel). Lexonic Leap is similar to custom-made phonics packages, that we can and have produced. Marple Hall are moving away from Lexonic Leap. 

 

At entry students receive reasoning, a one-to-one assessment (reading-based) and the same exit-assessment is completed after 6 weeks. Students attend one class per week, over 6 weeks. In total, 6 class sessions and 2 short assessment sessions are needed.

 

Following the 6 week intervention, Claire attends classes with students around 2 weeks after, and also after 4 weeks to see the progression. 

 

Resources: packs for KS3 and KS4 are available, with all materials (heavily guarded for copyrights and intellectual property reasons). The activities range was broad, engaging and versatile drawing on sound chunks/syllables, Latin and Green word components, 

 

Is it suitable for all S.E.N.D. students? No. However, with proper guidance, it will certainly entertain and engage the majority, if delivered at a pace with impassioned delivery. 

 

To back up this review, a National Literacy Trust study supports use of Lexonik Advance.

 

 

 

Other matters to bring to attention:

 

 

Other matters to research:

 

Aphantasia [the inability to form mental images of objects that are not present]. No known cure. Affects 1/50 people.

In June, a South Korean film crew who are making a documentary on literacy levels and reading for pleasure, interviewed Teresa Cremin and visited Sayes Court Primary School to film interactions with staff, parents, children and their Patron of Reading, the author Stephen Davies. Sayes Court won the Farshore, OU and UKLA Whole School RfP Award in 2020 on ‘Developing a Reading Community.’