Read Write Spell
Tuition for people of all ages
"The whole world opened up to me
when I learned to read"
Mary McCleod Bethune
Tuition for people of all ages
"The whole world opened up to me
when I learned to read"
Mary McCleod Bethune
Identify and fill gaps in previous knowledge to enable the learner to read fluently and spell accurately.
Tailored lessons are suitable for learners aged five years to adult.
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A 90 minute session to establish the learner's history, test reading and spelling levels, and assess phonological awareness.
Weekly or fortnightly, 60 minute, tailored lessons. As skills and knowledge build, the time between lessons increases.
A systematic, synthetic phonics programme to teach reading and spelling adapted to suit the learner's age and ability.
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Location: Mount Pleasant, Western Australia.
Days: Lessons by appointment Wednesday to Saturday.
As an experienced teacher in public and private schools in both Perth and the UK, I have seen first-hand that not everyone learns to read and spell to an acceptable standard.
There are many reasons why people struggle with literacy including:
Poor literacy can place obstacles in the way of learning and enjoyment at school which can then impact career progression in later life. My aim is to remove those obstacles and give learners the satisfaction and confidence that comes from increased knowledge and quantifiable improvement.
My instruction is suitable for children and adults who have been diagnosed with dyslexia or who find reading and or spelling difficult. I use a systematic, synthetic phonics programme and decodable readers and believe that with systematic tailored instruction, anyone*Click for more ... can learn to read and spell.
I have dyslexia, can I still learn to read and spell?
Of course! People who have been diagnosed with dyslexia, who show tendencies towards dyslexia or who have a family history of dyslexia can still learn to read and spell. A structured programme that is tailored to suit you will speed the process and make learning to read and spell a positive and rewarding experience.
Do I need to book multiple lessons at once?
No. Lessons are booked one at a time and are scheduled to meet the learner's needs.
Is it my fault I can't read?
Absolutely not! It is never the learner's fault that they cannot read or spell well. With tailored teaching everyone can learn to read and spell. It is never too late to learn.
My child has done phonics at school, how will it be different with Read Write Spell?
Learning speech sounds in isolation will not achieve results for many learners. Phonics needs to be taught in a systematic way within a programme that also practises blending the sounds together to read and segmenting words into its constituent sounds to spell.
I'm nearly finished high school - is it too late for me to learn to spell?
It is never too late to learn to spell. Many people can read, but still find spelling difficult. It is often quicker to learn to spell as a teen or adult as you can concentrate for longer, and access untapped skills and knowledge as you work with Read Write Spell.
Would your approach to teaching reading and spelling work for home schooling?
Absolutely. The systematic, synthetic phonics and grammar programme that I use is perfect for home schooling as it has student books, teacher manuals and many other useful resources. In a home school setting it can be used for children from Pre-primary to Year 6. I can support you as you teach your child to discover the joy of reading and the pride that comes with writing proficiently.
My daughter was diagnosed with non-specific learning difficulties and her psychological report indicated a below average level in literacy. The first time her Year 1 teacher discussed with us her difficulties we were all very overwhelmed. By the middle of Year 1 she could not recognise many words and her spelling was also extremely poor. The teacher recommended I call Read Write Spell. Following this call, we started the most empowering and positive journey for my daughter and for me as a confused parent. Her progress over one year of work with Roisin has been amazing. Her confidence grew day-by-day as well as my understanding of how to teach her. I am now very confident she will be able to progress her literacy as well as the other children in her class. Now she is in Year 3 and can read most books and spell well. She recently received recognition from her teacher for her outstanding progress. I would advise any parents of children with learning difficulties to start this journey with Roisin.
Riccardo - Parent of Year 3 child
My daughter began Year 1 unable to read and spell and it was affecting her confidence at school. This had me very worried as her older brothers could all read from an early age, and we are a family of readers. After a few lessons with Roisin, I was able to work through Book 1 at home. When we started Book 2 we only saw Roisin from time-to-time to borrow reading books. My daughter is now a competent reader and speller, and a much happier pupil too. I am extremely grateful to Roisin for all her tuition, support and advice.
Rachel - Parent of Year 1 child
In early primary school my son was having trouble reading and spelling. We took him to see Roisin who assessed his ability and prepared a programme for improvement. We then had 5 lessons over a 4-month period and did plenty of reading and regular targeted practice at home. We saw a massive improvement in his reading skills over the year to the point where he was reading really well for his age. Now in upper-primary, my son is a frequent book reader, easily getting through fiction and non-fiction books for kids around his age. Doing the early work with Roisin really benefitted his overall learning in primary school, it was easy to do and well worth it.
Michael - parent of Year 5 child
I am delighted at how our knowledge and confidence has improved! We are now working independently at home and only have a lesson from time to time so I can stay ahead of my son. This programme is also helping me teach my older child with gaps in her knowledge. The struggle with literacy is over in our house!
Joanne - Parent of Year 1 & Year 4 children
I engaged Roisin's services to help me understand an ongoing issue my 10-year-old son was experiencing with English based curriculum activities at school. As a teacher, I could see that my son was doing ok at school but there seemed to be a little glitch that I just couldn't put my finger on. Having gone into the school on many occasions and repeating myself each year to the new teacher, we could not pinpoint what was going on.
When we started the Initial Consultation with Roisin, my son was very nervous, but she put him at ease and by the end of the lesson he walked out very confident of having done a good job. It turns out that his problems had begun through a lack of appropriate teaching in his Pre-primary year, but that his school had recently done good work filling gaps in his knowledge with a MacqLit programme. What had taken several years of investigation by myself and the school, Roisin was able to pick up and clearly articulate in her assessment.
I am very grateful for Roisin's assistance. My son did not need any further intervention, just some extra support and practice with spelling multisyllabic words and reading comprehension - things I was easily able to do myself when I helped him with homework. I left the consultation relieved and confident that we were on the right path.
Catherine - parent of Year 4 child