St Patrick's School InvercargillIn 2022, Kelly Townson and Abby Bates, Literacy Leads at St Patrick’s School in Invercargill, recognised an opportunity to enhance literacy outcomes when approached to participate in a MoE-funded Literacy and Communication support trial.
The iDeaL Approach for Schools is a complete, comprehensive, and cost-effective approach that lifts literacy outcomes when delivered as intended.
The iDeaL Approach for schools:
- Is founded on extensive national and international research perspectives and findings
- Provides professional learning and knowledge to teach explicitly
- Provides a systematic, cumulative and clear scope and sequence aligned to resources and decodable texts
- Is diagnostic and provides the tools to measure students’ progress
- Is New Zealand’s only online Structured Literacy platform, and can be accessed anywhere online using the iDeaL Online Platform
- Aligns consistent practice in a whole-school approach
- Creates an evidence based, consistent educational pathway for ākonga and kaiako
- Provides an online community which connects and supports through shared experiences
- Is tried, tested and trusted by kaiako across New Zealand
- Is suitable for use with students from Year 1 - Year 8 and also intervention in secondary schools.
Professional Learning
The iDeaL Online Platform hosts a variety of iDeaL Professional Learning Webinars and Modules.
Each module includes carefully selected materials including videos and readings and a quiz at the end of each module to check your progress.
These modules may be completed individually, in teams and or as a whole staff.
Assessment Tools
The ability to determine your students’ capabilities and immediate teaching needs in both phonological awareness and alphabetic principle and fluency.
Stage 1, 2, 3 and 4 assessments are able to be administered to all students in years 1-8, and students who are struggling with reading and writing.
Individual, Group and Comparison Reporting
Student data can be entered into the iDeaL Online Platform and will save automatically. Reports for individuals, groups, classes, cohorts and across a whole school will be generated and show you where to begin teaching. Progress and comparison reports generated throughout the year are used to report to parents, school leaders and the Board of Trustees.
Teaching Resources
We provide a comprehensive suite of teaching resources including phonological awareness and alphabetic principle scope and sequences, lesson powerpoints and teaching material, instructional practice videos, 40 systematic concepts, roll and read activities for building fluency, vocabulary activities, and over 50 electronic decodable texts.
A core goal of the iDeaL Schools Platform is ensuring kaiako are fully supported with materials and resources so their time and energy can be focused on teaching.
Informative instructional videos, professional development modules and specific teaching resources are provided. These support a diagnostic, systematic, and cumulative approach to the delivery of Structured Literacy through direct instruction in both mainstream classes and intervention settings.
Importance is placed on supporting kaiako to learn effective lesson sequences that are delivered using the principles of explicit instruction.
The iDeaL Schools Platform also provides assessment tools, an automated ‘start teaching from’ tool and a progress-monitoring system.
NB: this tour was recorded via a live webinar in June 2024.
The iDeaL Approach for Schools scope and sequence
The iDeaL Approach scope and sequence is systematic and cumulative. It is purposefully slow and thorough. The iDeaL Approach scope and sequence has been aligned to a variety of text series to ensure children have access to a range of texts.
The years associated with stages are a guide only. The content within the stages aligns with the Literacy Learning Progressions and the levels of the New Zealand Curriculum. The iDeaL diagnostic assessment tools specifically direct teaching and learning to the starting teaching points within the stages.
Pre Concepts
New entrant students - to build sound to symbol association with the first progression of sounds.
Stage 1 - Phonological Awareness
Years 0/1 and older students with gaps in their phonological awareness
Stage 1 - Alphabetic Principle
Years 0 - 2
Stage 2 - Spelling
Years 3 - 4 and students requiring learning support in literacy
Stage 3 - Spelling
Years 5 - 6
Stage 4 - Spelling
Years 7 - 8
What do other people think about the iDeaL Approach?
Watch Kauri Park School's video of their Structured Literacy journey.
We ran a little competition for schools using the iDeaL Approach to share with us a video of their school's Structured Literacy journey and what they love about using iDeaL.
Such a creative and fun video which brings our iDeaL concept characters to life.
Ka pai Kauri Park School.
Hear from Ladbrooks School Principal Penny O'Brien and Deputy Principal Keryn Wilson about their journey with implementing the iDeaL Approach to Structured Literacy.
You can also view an interview with Penny O'Brien on TVNZ Breakfast where she discusses with Jenny-May Clarkson how Structured Literacy benefits ALL and is essential for some.
For more Structured Literacy media coverage head to our media page.
Independently evaluated report reveals Learning MATTERS’ differentiated T2 & T3 intervention accelerated literacy progress.
In 2022, Learning MATTERS was chosen as one of three providers to trial literacy and communication (lit/comm) support packages, aimed at accelerating support for learners in Years 2 to 8 with Tier 2 and 3 needs. The trial, funded by Te Mahau, within the Ministry of Education, has been independently evaluated by a consortium of Ripple Research, Design and Evaluation, and Kōtātā Insight.
Focusing on Learning MATTERS’ participation in the trial, our methodology facilitated a comprehensive analysis of overall impact, unveiling statistically proven accelerated progress at both T2 and T3 interventions.
Click here to view full trial summary.
We are often contacted regarding schools that are using the iDeaL Approach to Structured Literacy.
On this map we provide information of Schools implementing a whole-school approach through consultancy with Learning MATTERS (ORANGE PINS), and Individual Users/Schools that are independently using the iDeaL Approach (BLUE PINS).
We encourage you to contact the school directly for further information regarding the implementation of Structured Literacy in their school.
Investment for an annual membership
Per Teacher
(up to 9 Teachers)
$259 + gst per teacher
(per annum).
Per Teacher
(between 10 - 19 Teachers)
$239 + gst per teacher
(per annum).
20 or More Teachers
$209 + gst per teacher
(per annum).
Consultancy
Complete the form and our team will be in touch to discuss consultancy investment.
*Per teacher you can have up to 35 students added to your class on the iDeaL Online Platform.
Still have questions?
How many students can I have for my membership?
Per teacher you can have up to 35 students added to your class on the iDeaL Online Platform.
Does every teacher in my school have to sign up to iDeaL?
You can sign up as an individual teacher, or every teacher in your school can sign up. We can cater to all requirements.
What support do I receive?
As part of your membership, you will become part of our iDeaL Community. This means you will receive monthly newsletters, become a member of our iDeaL Community Facebook page where we host live Q and A sessions and webinars, plus you have access to step by step instructions to help guide you through using the iDeaL Online Platform.
Who is iDeaL for?
Whole schools, individual teachers, Sencos, RTLBs, RT Lits, LSCs and homeschooling parents.
I am a Homeschooling parent, can I access the iDeaL Schools platform?
Yes, absolutely provided you have been granted an exemption to homeschool.
Will my school senco, teacher aides have access to the platform too?
Please contact us to discuss your particular setup needs.
What is involved in implementing iDeaL as consultancy school?
As a consultancy school our team work with you to assist the implementation of Structured Literacy using the iDeaL Approach. Learning MATTERS’ Consultants are engaged for their evidence-based knowledge and practice in facilitating Structured Literacy and the change process, as well as their ability to build relational trust to guide and enable their peers through the iDeaL Pathway of Delivery, supported with the iDeaL Online Platform.
Do we have to work with you in a consultancy capacity to access this?
No. You can access the iDeaL Online Platform independently.
Do you have more information on the development of the iDeaL Approach?
Yes, you can view our theoretical underpinnings document for more information on how the iDeaL Approach has been developed and the theories it is based on.
I’m guessing you will be thinking 1 of 2 things
You are so ready for this...
In fact, you now realise you need to develop your knowledge and you want ALL teachers to be on the same page.
This sounds great, but...
I would like to talk to someone further about the iDeaL Approach. One of our team will be able to talk through your specific circumstances and whether iDeaL is the right fit for you.
