Understanding why a child is not making progress in reading and spelling
Some children work hard at reading, spelling, and writing but continue to struggle to make meaningful progress. This can be confusing for families and frustrating for children, especially when support has already been put in place but outcomes remain unclear.
At Coded Pathways, I help families move from uncertainty to clarity through specialist literacy assessment and structured intervention.
The goal is simple: to understand what is getting in the way of progress and what needs to happen next.
This may be for your child if…
They are not progressing in reading or spelling despite support
They guess at words, avoid reading, or read with low confidence
Spelling does not reflect their spoken language or understanding
Writing is slow, effortful, or difficult to structure
They appear capable in some areas but struggle to show it in literacy tasks
School feedback feels unclear, inconsistent, or not fully explanatory.
A science-informed approach to understanding literacy difficulty
My work is grounded in the science of how children learn to read, spell, and write, and how these skills develop over time.
Learning to read and spell are not natural processes—they require explicit teaching, learning and lots of practice. When something within this process is not developing as expected, it is important to understand why, so that support can be targeted and effective.
Through assessment, I look closely at your child’s strengths, the gaps in their learning, and how these shift as tasks become more complex and demanding. Assessment tasks are carefully layered to examine literacy skills at the word level, as well as how they are applied in more functional reading and writing.
I also consider how factors such as attention, regulation, sensory needs, and language demands are impacting learning. These are often closely connected to literacy development and play an important role in how a child engages with and responds to teaching.
The outcome is a clear, integrated understanding of your child’s literacy profile—so that any next steps, whether at home, school, or through intervention, are targeted and aligned with how they learn best.
Assessment and intervention that work together
Coded Pathways offers interconnected supports:
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A targeted, short assessment designed to identify early signs of difficulty in reading and spelling.
This is suitable for:
children who are beginning to show signs of struggle
families seeking early insight
situations where it is unclear whether a full assessment is needed
The screener provides an overview of key literacy skills and helps determine whether further, more detailed assessment is recommended. For children with ongoing or significant difficulties, a comprehensive assessment is recommended as the most effective starting point.ion text goes here
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A detailed assessment that identifies a child’s specific literacy profile and areas of difficulty.
This provides:
A clear understanding of current literacy development
Identification of underlying skill breakdowns
Insight into why progress is not occurring as expected
This assessment forms the basis for targeted support, clear recommendations, and—where appropriate—structured intervention.
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Targeted, explicit teaching designed to build the foundational skills needed for reading and spelling development.
This may include:
Phonological awareness and decoding
Spelling
Reading fluency development
Writing support
Intervention is always informed by assessment data, ensuring teaching is precise, targeted, and purposeful.
Where to begin
For most families, the first step is a literacy assessment. This provides the clarity needed to understand what is happening and what support will be most effective.
Following assessment, you receive a detailed report that brings together all findings into a clear, structured understanding of your child’s literacy profile. This includes strengths, areas of difficulty, and practical, prioritised next steps.
This report is designed to guide action—whether that is support at home, adjustments at school, or targeted intervention. The report is where assessment brings a deeper understanding—and where the pathway becomes clearer.
A tailored intervention plan can be developed if ongoing support is appropriate.
Some children require structured intervention over time. Others benefit from a clear understanding of their learning profile and a defined pathway forward.
If starting with a Literacy Screener
A literacy screener provides an initial overview of key skills and can help determine whether further assessment is needed.
A brief summary of findings is included, with the option to upgrade to a more detailed report if a clearer pathway forward is required.
