Boosting the Literacy of Looked After Children

Children in care often fall behind in literacy, and for many of them one look at a worksheet is enough to switch off. Tutoring from a stranger rarely helps either, because the relationship has to come first.

You'll learn an approach you can adapt for a child you already know. Build short sessions around what they love (football word games for one boy, penguins for another) and leave the worksheets out. Plan with their carer every week on one shared sheet, so ideas go both ways. Some of the best ones, like Bananagrams, came from home.

In a small study run by one local authority, children made an average of two years' progress in four or five months. It's built on relationships the child already has, and that matters for a child who has already switched off from ordinary catch-up.