Tier 2 Literacy Intervention – Student Data Summary

Programme Focus: Literacy Acceleration for Tier 2 Students
Reporting Period: Mid Term 2, 2025

Overview

A total of 18 students from Year 1 to Year 6 were identified for Tier 2 literacy support. These students were selected based on assessment data and teacher observations indicating a need for targeted, small-group instruction to accelerate foundational literacy skills.

The cohort includes English Language Learners (ELLs), with several students newly arrived in New Zealand. While these students often show strength in their first language, they require support in developing English literacy skills.

Student Profile Summary

Category	Number of Students	Comments
Limited English proficiency (new to NZ)	5	Students have minimal English exposure but are fluent in their first language.
Not ready for formal schooling	2	Require support with school routines, attention, and early literacy readiness.
Difficulty with letter-sound recognition and sight words	8	Students show confusion with phonics and have limited fluency with basic sight words.
Strong oral English, weak written English	3	Students communicate well verbally but struggle with writing skills.

Key Considerations

• Literacy instruction was designed to meet the diverse needs of this group, including phonemic awareness, oral language, vocabulary development, and early reading strategies.

• Students were grouped according to their specific learning needs to enable targeted intervention.

• Interventions were delivered by trained learning assistants under teacher guidance, with a strong emphasis on consistency and modelling.

 Next Steps in Supporting Tier 2 Students

My next step was to identify all our Tier 2 students. The strategy was to accelerate their learning in literacy. It was interesting to see that students from all year levels were identified, and those working at Level 1 of the curriculum were placed into the Tier 2 programme.

This programme was to be run by our teacher aides, so I decided to set up hui with teachers to coordinate our approach. We organised for all Tier 2 students to be withdrawn during the first block of the day to focus on foundational literacy skills.

The most important task for me was to train our learning assistants, prepare resources, and model how to deliver the lessons. This process took around two weeks, during which time our learning assistants gained confidence and capability in taking the lessons themselves.

I must say, our learning assistants were fantastic at picking up new learning and applying it effectively to support students. Considering their level of understanding and enthusiasm, I decided to enrol them in the Best Start Literacy Programme through the University of Canterbury.

This course includes regular weekly Zoom hui for the learning assistants. To ensure this runs effectively, we at Tāmaki have allocated dedicated time for them to attend the sessions and practise completing the required quizzes, which are an essential part of the course.

It’s been very satisfying to see our learning assistants making such a strong effort to upskill themselves while also providing valuable support to our students

My Inquiry Question 2025

 

Bridging the Literacy Gap: A Kāhui Ako Teacher’s Inquiry into Foundational Skills, Daily Practice, and Collaborative Support

Introduction
As a Community of Learning (Kāhui Ako) teacher within my school, I’ve been reflecting deeply on the literacy challenges many of our students face. Despite the best efforts of our educators, we continue to see a number of learners—particularly those in Tier 2—struggling to meet expected literacy benchmarks. These aren’t isolated issues. Across schools in our Kāhui Ako, a pattern is emerging.

Addressing this challenge isn’t something that can be done in isolation. Alongside my own teaching inquiry, I’ve also been working closely with our learning support teacher aides—training and supporting them to deliver structured literacy programmes and help accelerate student progress.

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Expanded Section: What I'm Trialing

Currently, I’m working with a small group of Tier 2 learners across our Kāhui Ako, trialing the following approaches:

• Structured Literacy Blocks: Implementing daily 40 minute sessions focused solely on foundational skills, using a scope and sequence to ensure coverage and progression.

• Learning Support Collaboration: A key part of this work involves our learning support teacher aides. I’m actively training them in the principles and practices of structured literacy so they can deliver targeted support confidently and consistently. This not only increases the impact we can have with students but also builds the capacity and expertise of our support staff.

• Progress Monitoring: Using short, regular assessments to track growth in specific skill areas, such as phonological awareness or high-frequency word recognition.

• Reinforcement Activities: Providing take-home resources and in-class activities that link directly to what’s being taught—reinforcing learning across different contexts.

• Whānau Communication: Exploring ways to better involve whānau in supporting literacy at home, including simple literacy games, story sharing, and feedback loops.

By investing time in upskilling our teacher aides, I believe student outcomes will improve and will also boost the confidence and capability among our support team. Their consistency and relationship with students make them a vital part of this intervention model.

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Conclusion 
This journey is ongoing, and I’m excited by the early signs of progress—not just from the students, but also from the learning assistants who are growing in expertise and confidence. Building a culture of shared responsibility and capacity-building has been key.

As a Kāhui Ako, we have the opportunity to share our findings, collaborate across schools, and ensure that no student is left behind because of barriers they couldn’t control. Literacy is not just a subject—it’s the foundation for learning across the curriculum and for lifelong success.

I welcome dialogue with colleagues who are working on similar inquiries. Together, we can deepen our understanding of what works—and, more importantly, why it works—for our learners and for those who support them.