"Forward Together Programme"

spuddy

Hi all, have a child in senior infants who has been recommended for the Forward Together Programme as they are having difficulty with literacy. Has anyone had any experience of the programme?

byhookorbycrook

Hi, I'm a learning support teacher so can hopefully enlighten you a bit.

Forward Together is a programme that can come into play after the MIST- Middle Infant Screening Test. The test is carried out in the 5th term of a child starting school.If a child scores below certain cut offs, say letter sounds/listening/ sentence dictation/letter reversals etc. they will be flagged for this. Think of it like a fire prevention system- the child gets help before a "fire" ( significant literacy issues) break out.

It was originally designed for parents to do at home, but these days is usually done at school. It involves 12 weeks of help with a learning support teacher . The child is then tested again to see how they are doing. It's an early intervention- trying to stave off problems down the line. If your child is offered it, I'd grab it with two hands.

spuddy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120367433#Comment_120367433

Thanks for quick response! That's very helpful information. It's not come as a big surprise, we have discussed the challenges our child is having at the last parent teacher meeting. Blending is tricky, writing isn't neat / aligned, mixing up d's and b's still common. There's also a level of frustration at not being able to get things "right". We've certainly seen improvement over the year, which is encouraging. We are delighted the school is taking action, and let's see what the outcome is at the end.

byhookorbycrook

Were you told which subtests in which your child was below the cutoff? As to handwriting, letter formation is important, but unless the child has the requisite fine and gross motor skills (and patience!!) it may explain why there's a slight tweak needed now.

Forward Together will help with the blending. B and d reversals can persist until up to age 8 so hang in there. My late mother decided that any of her grandchildren who reversed letters were dyslexic which made for many frantic phone calls from anxious sisters/sisters' in law down the years There's an image online that uses shows a bed with b at one end and d on the other. It only serves to confuse children, I find. I've heard a teacher tell the children b has a belly and d has a diaper ( and let's be honest, small children love anything related to poo) and it strikes me as more useful. Otherwise - the bat (straight line) comes before the ball can help.

You could also get them tracing the letters/numbers they reverse in flour/on a carpet, on sand on your back etc. while saying the name of the letter. I'm sure you read to your child, but continue to do so and discuss the illustrations. what might happen next etc. Playing games to develop phonological awareness- rhyming games. clapping out syllables, giving you another word that starts with the same sound (use " sound" rather than "letter" or say 3 words and let them tell you which has a different initial sound/end sound .

This is a nice site for blending etc, but I'd keep it in reserve at present. Teach your monster to read is nicer for that age group.

https://phonicsandstuff.com/

Most importantly, don't panic! Keep it fun at home and don't overthink things- easier said that done, I know

http://wildaboutteaching10.blogspot.com/2012/03/b-d-reversals-and-freebie.html

spuddy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120367567#Comment_120367567

Fantastic post, thanks a million!

We've a call next week to get more information, all we've been told so far is 'literacy' is a challenge. We were also previously told at the parent-teacher meeting that our child needs a nudge to keep focused on what they're supposed to be doing, but that they are definitely trying to concentrate and it wasn't anything major to be concerned with.

Our child loves listening to stories, we've got through nearly every Roald Dahl book together so far, they enjoy the mischievous writing style. Will definitely use the belly/diaper one, it's right up their alley, and the other resources look very helpful too.