Putting some spring into Matthew's steps
Matthew was a very sad nine year old when he arrived at Springboard, with a permanent frown and eyes glued to the ground. What's more, his reading and spelling ability was 18 months to two years below his actual age.
After a term of intensive support he began to respond more readily to his Springboard tutor. His moods became brighter and he started to bring in stories that he and his mum had made up at home. With his tutor, he then developed these further to improve his spelling.
By January 2007 he was ready to leave the programme: now just over 10 years old, his spelling had caught up completely and he had a reading age of an 11 1/2 year old. Even though he's now left Springboard, he still visits them regularly to say hello and tell them what he's up to.
For more information on how Springboard is helping other children who are falling seriously behind at school, click here.
