Mind The Gap

I was in a CPD session recently where we were discussing how best to help students who come to us with huge gaps in their knowledge. Any student can have a small gap - a missing piece of the puzzle which makes moving forward with their learning difficult. The standard approach in most schools is to give the student some extra support in a time limited one to one intervention (say half a term). But for some students their gaps are huge "grand canyon" chasms which seem impossible to fix - especially when they come to us in Year 9 or later which they frequently do.

A typical referral to an alternative provision will have missed a lot of school either through ill health, truancy, exclusion or a combination of factors; some will have missed months - even years. Frequently these learners have gaps that go right back to the basics - most critically in their literacy and numeracy. Learners who are missing key concepts and knowledge then find it very difficult to access many parts of the secondary curriculum where competency in reading, writing and numeracy is assumed.

Imagine trying to decode a GCSE Science textbook when your reading ability is somewhere around Year 4.

As they fall further behind, the learner becomes more and more frustrated, angry and ashamed: they may reject the help of a TA because they don't want to be singled out or patronised; they may deliberately behave in a way that gets them removed from the classroom; they may avoid assessments and testing out of a desperate desire not to feel like a failure, so it becomes challenging to divine precisely what their needs are. Sometimes there is a specific learning difficulty like dyslexia that is undiagnosed because the learner will not engage with the assessment process.

As the learner's behaviour deteriorates, it becomes harder for staff to have sympathy with them. Even the kindliest TA will begin to dislike spending time with a learner who is rude, sulky or defiant, and you get a vicious cycle.

There is a chicken and egg element to the relationship between poor literacy and numeracy and poor behaviour. Which came first? Did the child behave poorly and so missed out on the learning, or did the child miss out on the learning and the result was poor behaviour? While it is an interesting question, I am not sure how much it helps me in my classroom with a thirteen year old boy who won't pick up a pen except to throw it across the room. Whichever came first, they are now inextricably linked - my job is to make it a positive link rather than a negative one.

While each learner will need a highly individualised programme of intervention, there are some overarching principles that work in alternative provision and in mainstream:

1. Build Trust
Before you can do anything else, this child needs to know that you are not a threat and they are not being judged. Play games, chat, listen to them...

2. Use Their Strengths
Are they a good artist? Do they like talking?  Find what they can do and work with it. Scribe for them or let them draw their responses if that is what they can do best.

3. Let them Shine
In every lesson there has to be something for everyone - make sure there is something they can be good at.

4. Save their Face
Learner's face needs are very important. Make sure that their weaknesses are not telegraphed to others and tackle poor behaviour away from onlookers.

5. Tactically Ignore
Focus on the positives rather than the negatives. Praise what is right and ignore what is wrong wherever you can.

6. Prioritise
Work on the skills that will have the maximum impact on the learner's progress in the time available. Decide what will help them the most and tackle that first. Don't try to do everything at once.

7. Make Time for Fun
Learning should be fun. Whatever you are doing, put some joy into it for both you and the learner and don't let either of you get bogged down in the struggle.


We work with the art of the possible in teaching. Sadly, we know that for some learners, we will never completely close that gap because we don't have the time or resources that it would take.  It takes a really special person to persist in the face of such a challenge*, but in alternative provision this is what we do. We never give up on a child. We do what we can to enable our students to take their next step with confidence and pride.


*I am still a work in progress!