FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad

The leading reading catch-up programme

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Also includes

Reading Assessment Programme

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About Tutoring with the Lightning Squad

A keep-up and catch-up programme which improves reading skills for pupils in Years 1 to 6

Our approach

We believe that every child has the potential to be a reader and that catch-up support for pupils should begin as soon as possible to ensure the educational achievement gap is closed.

Tutoring with the Lightning Squad is not just about getting pupils to age-related expectations, but building the foundations they need for continued success once the sessions have ended.

FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad brochure

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Combined catch-up

That's why our programme is a blended approach, with face-to-face tutoring supported by an online platform and engaging, evidence-based activities to ensure that pupils are not just ticking boxes, but become fully engaged readers.

Evidence

Read about the benefits in our Data Impact Report

Impact report

Case study

How Discovery Primary Academy has been using Tutoring with the Lightning Squad

Case study

Independently reviewed

Independent review published in Teach Primary magazine

Read the review

Take a look

Welcome to FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad

Pupils learn in small groups with a trained member of staff to improve reading skills as they work through over 100 stories.

Move left and right to preview all of the activities!

Power Reader

Pupils practise reading stories together to improve reading fluency.

Letter Launch

Improve both phonic and phonemic awareness, and the sounds in new words.

Word Blender

Pupils learn to read new words for each of the stories.

Super Speller

Pupils practise spelling new words.

Word Quest

Pupils will learn new vocabulary and work on cloze activities and definitions.

Story Quest

At the end of each story, pupils will demonstrate what they’ve learned by reading a story and answering comprehension questions.

How it works

Tutoring with the Lightning Squad on a laptop

Approach

FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad is a reading catch-up programme where pupils work in small groups with a trained member of staff to improve their reading skills. The programme is a blended approach with face-to-face intervention supported by an online application.

The activities are designed and structured to improve phonics, decoding, fluency and comprehension. Pupils work through over 100 specially written, engaging and illustrated stories.

Gains

Pupils will work with a trained member of staff for approximately six weeks to catch-up their reading skills with, ideally, daily 30-minute tutoring sessions in school.

Research has demonstrated that pupils using Tutoring with the Lightning Squad make learning gains of between three and five months in reading fluency.

Evidence

The Education Endowment Foundation cites tutoring as one of the most effective ways to bridge attainment gaps.

Research shows that just 30 minutes of reading a day for six weeks can have a significant impact on reading fluency. Pairing frequent reading practice with tailored tutoring support will ensure that all pupils, regardless of background, can become the confident, fluent readers they deserve to be. Read more

Why choose FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad?

From reading experts

We have committed all our expertise into developing an evidence-based reading catch-up programme you can trust.

Implement in as little as three weeks from sign-up

FFT understands the pressures schools face to get pupils up to speed, as well as the strains on staff time.

No ticking boxes

Our catch-up programme is not just about getting pupils up-to-speed, but building the foundations they need for continued success once the sessions have ended.

You're in control

A trusted member of your school staff will receive high-quality training to deliver catch-up sessions using our expertly designed resources.

Reports throughout the programme

Detailed online reports let you monitor the real-time progress of your pupils every step of the way.

Engaging Content

Pupils access tailored KS1 & KS2 content, designed to effectively support pupils in developing and securing their reading skills as they progress through the programme. It includes new, engaging fiction and non-fiction texts linked to National Curriculum objectives and topics, and pupils' developing GPC knowledge.

Also included

Reading Assessment Programme

FFT's Reading Assessment Programme is a simple and effective online assessment tool designed to assess pupils on their GPC accuracy, decoding accuracy and fluency levels (words correct per minute).

Words correct per minute outcomes inform standardised scores, reading attainment levels and reading fluency ages for Year 1 to Year 6 pupils. For Reception pupils, standardised scores and reading attainment levels are provided based on decoding outcomes.

Instantly produced reports allow schools to analyse data at whole school, class, group or individual pupil level. Informs next steps, whether through whole-class teaching or keep-up/catch-up intervention with Tutoring with the Lightning Squad.

Learn more

Tracking and reporting

We provide online reports for teachers and school leaders which monitor pupils’ progress and reading attainment.

The reports include: reading progress, reading fluency age, areas of difficulty, areas of success and an analysis of intervention sessions received.

These informative reports will help schools to monitor the impact of the programme on pupils’ reading skills and development.

Used by schools nationally

FFT's Tutoring with the Lightning Squad was an approved Tuition Partner by the National Tutoring Programme. This accreditation reflects our commitment to providing high-quality reading tutoring for primary school pupils in all regions in England.

To find out more about how your school can benefit, join one of our upcoming webinars.

What schools are saying

Great progress in attitude towards reading

Our children are absolutely loving Tutoring with the Lightning Squad (some of our Year 2 children were doing a session yesterday and said we're playing our games!).

One child has made great progress in his attitude towards reading since using TWLS and he will absolutely fly through his phonics re-screen this year. It has made him want to read at home everyday. I have just had some Year 2 children do a mock phonics screen and every single one has gone up in their score since TWLS. Those two things alone tell me it's having an impact without even looking at the data!

Caroline Lang

Headteacher at Longsands Community Primary School

Really pleased

We're really pleased with how the programme is going and the children are certainly enjoying their sessions.

Cath Stubbs

Deputy Headteacher at Queen Emma Primary School

We are incredibly proud of their scores

We have used Tutoring with the Lightning Squad across the school with a number of children. Two of the children using it are in Year 6 and really struggled with their reading and comprehension at the beginning of the year. Their scaled scores on pre-SATs paper were in the 80s. They have carried out Tutoring with the Lightning Squad throughout the year and we are so incredibly proud that both children got a scaled score of 99 in their SATs results! What’s even better is that they have loved carrying out the programme!

Sophie Fielder

Class Teacher at Thurlaston Church of England Primary School

Engaging and responds to their needs

The children have thoroughly enjoyed their Tutoring with the Lightning Squad intervention sessions. The platform is engaging and responds to their individual needs. Parents have appreciated the opportunity to access Tutoring with the Lightning Squad at home, telling us that their children have been excited to share what they have been doing at school.

Jo Gunn

Phonics Lead at Mount Nod Primary

Children love it

I tutor FFT's Tutoring with Lightning Squad. The Power Reader activity really supports the rereading opportunity to develop fluency. Children love it and it allows children to reread familiar texts adding confidence and comprehension.

Julie Chantrey

Tutor, Bridge Junior School

Tutor is fantastic with the children

It has been a real pleasure having Moira working with us and we will miss her a great deal. She is fantastic with the children and they have thoroughly enjoyed their time with her.

Emilie Johansson

Selwyn Primary School

Significant impact

The programme has proved to have had a significant impact on our most vulnerable readers so we are really pleased to be able to continue with it.

Jo Jones

Deputy Headteacher, Dovedale Community Primary School

Our children have made real gains

Children who have tried every intervention going are finally making progress and becoming 'readers'. I will certainly pass on the training.

Claire du Toit

Deputy Headteacher, Bellfield Junior School

Adds confidence and comprehension

The Power Reader activity really supports the rereading opportunity to develop fluency. Children love it and it allows children to reread familiar texts adding confidence and comprehension.

Julie Chantrey

Tutor, Bridge Junior School

Find out more about the schools participating in our EEF trial

Details & documents

EEF trial information

Pricing

Schools access FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad as an annual subscription service with costs starting at £500 for a school with half form entry.

As part of the subscription, schools receive printed resources — including a set of engaging stories — alongside comprehensive online training and support.

Annual subscription for FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad

Size of school	Price
Half form entry	£500
1 form entry	£900
2+ form entry	£1,400

FAQs

We've answered some common questions about FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad. If your question is not answered, please get in touch.

FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad is a reading catch-up programme where pupils work in small groups with a tutor to improve their reading skills. The tutoring is a blended approach with face-to-face tutoring supported by an online tutoring platform.

The tutoring activities are designed and structured to improve reading skills: phonics, segmenting and blending, fluency and comprehension. Pupils work through 100 specially written, engaging and illustrated stories with a tutor.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) cites tutoring as one of the most effective ways to bridge attainment gaps. Research shows that just 30 minutes of reading a day for 6 weeks can have a significant impact on reading fluency. Pairing frequent reading practice with tailored tutoring support will ensure that all pupils, regardless of background, can become the confident, fluent readers they deserve to be.

All pupils take a short online reading assessment at the start of the tutoring programme to help the class teacher decide which groups of pupils should work together and at what point in the programme they should start.

Regular checks are built into the programme where pupils complete a set of reading activities related to what they have been learning. The teacher will then decide whether pupils are ready to move on to the next story in the tutoring programme.

Pupils accessing Tutoring with the Lightning Squad can also access the platform at home through Home Access. Pupils gain access, via a weblink, and can read three earlier stories and all six reading activities. This provides the ideal opportunity for pupils to continue their learning and develop their reading skills at home. We also provide guidance for parents on how to support their child's learning.

Research has demonstrated that pupils make learning gains of between 3 and 5 months in reading attainment when using TWL. This was demonstrated in 2021 when we delivered tutoring to 25,000 pupils as part of the National Tutoring Programme; since then, we have delivered to over 60,000 pupils in over 1000 schools. There has also been independent research carried out in both the USA and the UK which supports evidence of this increase in learning gains for pupils accessing Tutoring with the Lightning Squad.

Our internal data report shows pupils make, on average, 3-4 months' progress in reading fluency after six weeks of catch-up and three times as much progress as children not accessing any catch-up programme. Some pupils may benefit from more than six weeks of catch-up so, as part of your National Tutoring Programme package, we will give you free access to the programme for a further ten weeks so you can deliver more sessions yourself. We will train members of your staff for free to take over the tutoring and continue the tutor's work once they have completed the placement.

You can log into FFT's Tutoring with the Lightning Squad from any device – Chromebooks, laptops or PCs. Sound is important, so use speakers or devices with good volume to ensure the pupils can hear the audio.

Due to the interactive nature of the programme and with pupils working closely together, we’d advise avoiding iPads and tablets as the screen size tends to be a bit small and the volume too quiet.

Our partners

Success for All (UK) joined with FFT in September 2021. FFT is a non-profit organisation with 20 years’ experience in supporting schools with literacy and improving educational outcomes. We believe that success in life is built on a solid foundation of learning. A first critical step is to learn how to read. From our research we know that children who cannot read at the expected standard by the end of Year 2 have a much lower chance of achieving a Grade 4 or above in GCSE English. Our mission is to give all children a solid, full start to literacy and learning to read.

Our Success for All programmes provide schools with evidence-based literacy programmes which are fully aligned to the National Curriculum and help schools to teach English from Reception to the end of Key Stage 3. Our literacy programmes have been proven to be effective in a wide range of schools, including those schools with a high proportion of disadvantaged children.

Learn more

Operam is an agglomeration of four highly respected teacher and school workforce recruitment organisations (Provide Education, The Education Specialists, Teachers UK and Key Stage Teacher Supply). They have 20 years’ experience of understanding what schools need and how best to support them, providing around 150,000 teaching days to schools each year.

Learn more

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