FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad

Leading primary literacy tutoring programme

Product Type: Software

Location: UK

Age Range: 4-115-7

Platform: PCMacTabletInternet-based

Environment: Classroom

Subject Area

FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad is a reading tutoring programme where pupils work in small groups with a tutor to improve their reading skills. The tutoring is a blended approach with face-to-face tutoring supported by an online tutoring platform. The tutoring activities are designed and structured to improve reading skills, fluency, comprehension, spelling and phonics. Pupils work through 65 specially written, engaging and illustrated stories.

Pupils will work with a tutor for six weeks to catch-up their reading skills, with daily 30-minute tutoring sessions in school. Research has demonstrated that pupils using Tutoring with the Lightning Squad make learning gains of between 3 and 5 months in reading attainment.

Assessment and feedback

All pupils take a short online reading assessment at the start of the tutoring programme to help decide which groups of pupils should work together and at what point in the programme they should start.

Regular checks are built into the tutoring programme. Pupils complete a set of reading activities related to what they have been learning. The teacher / teaching assistant will then decide whether pupils are ready to move on to the next story in the tutoring programme.

Tracking and reporting

We provide online reports for tutors, teachers and school leaders which monitor pupils’ progress and reading attainment.

The reports include the new words learnt, reading age, reading fluency and a measure of reading progress.

FFT’s tutoring reports will help schools to monitor the impact of the tutoring on pupils’ reading skills and development.

Costs: £500 per annum

Schools access FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad as an annual subscription service.

Half form entry – £500

1 form entry – £900

2+ form entry – £1,400

As part of the subscription service schools get a copy of printed resources which includes a set of stories as well as online training and support.

Trial Options: Bespoke trial options are available

Discovery Primary Academy Using Tutoring with the Lightning Squad

Case Study

Why did Discovery Primary Academy choose Tutoring with the Lightning Squad?

Read Case Study

FAQs

QWhat is FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad (TWL)?: AFFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad is a reading tutoring programme where pupils work in small groups with a tutor to improve their reading skills. The tutoring is a blended approach with face-to-face tutoring supported by an online tutoring platform. The activities are designed and structured to improve reading skills, fluency, comprehension, spelling and phonics. Pupils work through 65 specially written, engaging and illustrated stories.
QCan we access FFT's Tutoring programme using our school's tutoring funding?: AYes. You can access FFT’s Tutoring with the Lightning Squad platform using your schools tutoring funding. You just need to decide who will deliver the tutoring in your school. FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad can be delivered by an FFT Tutor, by your in-school staff or by using an academic mentor.
QWhich pupils is FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad aimed at?: ATutoring with the Lightning Squad is best suited to pupils in year groups 1 to 5 who would benefit from improving their reading skills. If you have any year 6 pupils that are working well below their age expected reading level they would also benefit from accessing the Tutoring with the Lightning Squad programme.
QWe don't currently use FFT Success for All Phonics, can we still access Tutoring with the Lightning Squad for a phonics catch-up?: AYes, absolutely. The system is based on a Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) approach to teaching literacy and it sits comfortably alongside and complements all the widely used SSP teaching programmes .
QHow will the pupils be grouped on the programme?: AAll pupils take a short online reading assessment at the start of the tutoring programme to help the teacher/ teaching assistant decide which groups of pupils should work together and at what point in the programme they should start. Regular tutor checks are built into the tutoring programme. Pupils complete a set of reading activities with their tutor related to what they have been learning. The tutor will then decide whether pupils are ready to move on to the next story in the tutoring programme.
QCan pupils access the programme at home?: APupils accessing tutoring in schools through their Tutoring with the Lightning Squad subscription can also access the platform at home. Pupils gain access, via a weblink, and can read three earlier stories and all six reading activities. This provides the ideal opportunity for pupils to continue their learning and develop their reading skills at home. We also include guidance for parents around how to support learning with their child.
QWhat evidence is there that FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad works to improve reading skills?: AResearch has demonstrated that pupils make learning gains of between 3 and 5 months in reading attainment when using TWL. This was demonstrated in the last academic year when we delivered to 25,000 pupils as part of the National Tutoring Programme. There has also been independent research carried out in both the USA and the UK which supports this increase in learning gains for pupils accessing the Tutoring with the Lightning Squad programme.
QCan I see how our pupils are progressing?: AWe provide online reports for tutors, teachers and school leaders which monitor pupils’ progress and reading attainment. The reports include the new words learnt, reading age, reading fluency and a measure of reading progress. FFT’s reports will help schools to monitor the impact of the tutoring on pupils’ reading skills and development.
QAre all the resources available through the online platform?: AThe tutoring activities the pupils work through are accessed through the online FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad platform.
QAre the resources available in print versions?: AFFT recognises that some pupils may benefit from accessing the words they are learning to read and spell on paper, so we also send a hard copy of resources to the school before the tutoring starts. These are all also accessible electronically, in case any additional copies are required.
QWhat computer equipment do we need to get started?: AYou can log into FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad from any device – Chromebooks, laptops or PCs. Sound is important, so use speakers or devices with good volume to ensure the pupils can hear the audio. Due to the interactive nature of the programme and with pupils working closely together we’d advise avoiding iPads and tablets as the screen size tends to be a bit small and the volume too quiet.