Transforming Spelling: A 5-Step Strategy Approach

Is your child struggling with spelling? We know spelling can be tricky, especially for dyslexic learners. However, there’s hope! Join us for an insightful presentation with Sarah Styles, Manager of Wandsworth’s Literacy and Numeracy Support Service, as she shares her successful ‘5 Word Attack’ approach to teaching spelling and word reading.

This session is designed for both educators and parents/carers of school-aged children with dyslexia or literacy challenges. In this presentation, you’ll discover practical word attack strategies that help students break down and decode unknown words. As part of this, we’ll explore the power of morphology—the study of word structure—and how understanding prefixes, suffixes, and bases can significantly improve spelling and impact writing skills.

Sarah will provide practical tips and tools that you can immediately apply to support your child’s spelling and reading success. Learn how to foster confidence and enhance literacy development in a way that’s engaging and effective.

Don’t miss out on these essential strategies to help your child develop their spelling confidence.

Please note that this talk will be held online via Zoom.

About the Speaker

Sarah Styles is an experienced educator with a passion for helping pupils develop their literacy and numeracy skills alongside their confidence in themselves as learners. She has worked extensively in both primary and secondary sectors.

Sarah’s interest in how children learn began with an initial degree in psychology which included coverage of both developmental psychology and cognitive psychology. Initially training as a primary school teacher, she went on to further study of special needs (particularly focused on literacy) working for 12 years as a SENCO (Special Education Needs Co-ordinator), and then as Assistant Headteacher. A particular interest in supporting pupils with dyslexia and other literacy difficulties led to a further qualification as specialist literacy teacher. This culminated in an MA in Specific Learning Difficulties at UCL, with the final thesis focused on spelling difficulties.

Sarah has worked for the Wandsworth Literacy and Numeracy Support Service for 12 years, most recently as the manager.