This week in Bushey Meads the SEND department has been focusing on Texthelp Read and Write and how staff can support students’ use of it effectively in the classroom.

What is Texthelp Read and Write?

Texthelp Read and Write is a simple and easy to use toolbar that helps students with both reading and writing. The toolbar provides students with access to a computer reader, phonetic spell check and many other literacy support tools. This allows students to become independent learners.

Why is using Texthelp Read and Write effective?

A recent study found that, in a year, Read&Write learners improved by 13.7% in writing, compared to non-read&write learners who improved by 4.2%. It also found that Read&Write learners improved by 66% in reading, compared to non-read&write learners who improved by 27%.

Texthelp Read and Write success at Bushey Meads:

This week we had a refresher Read&Write training for all Learning Assistants.

It was a great success and gave the Learning Assistants time to use the toolbar and learn all the useful functions. They now plan to help students access and use Read&Write in the classroom effectively.

Mrs McDermott and I also introduced Texthelp Read & Write to our students at the Dyslexia Lunch Club (DLC). They were so incredibly excited about the vocabulary list feature which enables students to highlight words from a text, then it automatically creates a vocabulary list that includes pictures and definitions. They plan to use this tool to help them with revision!

Overall, Texthelp Read and Write is a very useful tool for students to have access to both inside and outside the classroom. If you would like to download Texthelp Read and Write to a device at home to support your child’s learning needs, please email me at dentone@busheymeads.org.uk for all relevant information.