English

Early Level literacy covers listening and talking, reading and writing as one connected set of skills. Children learn to listen carefully and take turns in conversation, retell familiar stories, and explain what they think about a book — the talking comes first and carries everything else.

Reading starts with phonics: hearing and saying the sounds in words, blending them to read simple words, and recognising common words on sight. Writing develops from mark-making into forming letters correctly and writing simple captions and sentences with growing independence.

Because so much depends on regular one-to-one reading practice, this is a stage where a patient tutor and a consistent weekly routine make a visible difference within a term.