Should Schools Rethink Timed Reading for Children with Dyslexia and Struggling Readers?
Timed reading has long been used in classrooms to help children improve reading fluency. Supporters argue that it encourages speed, builds automaticity, and helps prepare students for timed assessments. However, is it truly beneficial for all children, especially those with dyslexia or other reading difficulties? Schools must consider whether timed reading supports struggling readers, or whether it adds unnecessary pressure that hinders their progress.
The Case for Timed Reading
Timed reading is designed to improve fluency by encouraging children to read more quickly while maintaining accuracy. Supporters highlight several benefits:
✅ Builds Automaticity – By practising speed, students learn to recognise words more quickly, freeing up cognitive resources for comprehension.
✅ Increases Reading Stamina – Regular practice with timed reading can help children sustain reading for longer periods.
✅ Encourages Goal-Setting – Measuring words per minute (WPM) can help track progress and motivate students to improve.
✅ Prepares for Assessments – Many national tests, such as SATs and the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, require children to read efficiently under time constraints.
While these points are valid for many learners, they don’t necessarily apply to children with dyslexia or those who struggle with processing language.
Why Timed Reading May Not Work for Struggling Readers
For children who have dyslexia or those who find reading difficult, timed reading can have the opposite effect, creating stress and reinforcing negative feelings about reading. Here’s why:
🚫 Increases Anxiety – The pressure of a timer can make reading feel like a race rather than a skill to develop. Many dyslexic students experience heightened anxiety, which can actually reduce fluency and comprehension. In fact, the working memory is known to be less effective when experiencing anxiety. Working memory is a key factor in processing information.
🚫 Prioritises Speed Over Understanding – Some children may rush through a passage just to improve their WPM, sacrificing comprehension along the way. In fact, reading accuracy is likely to decrease under timed conditions and therefore impact comprehension. Many children with dyslexia may also have a language development delay or less exposure to vocabulary, making comprehension additionally difficult if reading is not accurate. This may also cause children to guess at words in the context of a sentence. Often, the guess is incorrect as they were unable to accurately read all words.
🚫 Leads to Frustration and Low Confidence – Struggling readers who don’t see rapid progress may feel demotivated and associate reading with failure. Ultimately, this leads to a negative view of reading rather than the love of reading we are trying to inspire.
🚫 Ignores Individual Processing Needs – Children with dyslexia often need more time to decode words. Timed reading does not accommodate these learners and can make them feel inadequate compared to their peers. In fact, many learners with dyslexia may have a speed of processing difficulty, therefore making this an additional stressful task.
If the goal is to foster a love of reading and ensure all children become confident readers, schools should consider alternative approaches that support fluency without the stress of a ticking clock.
A More Effective Approach: Systematic Synthetic Phonics & the CodeBreakers® Programme.
Rather than focusing on speed, struggling readers benefit from structured, evidence-based methods that target the root of their reading difficulties.
“Rather than pushing speed, struggling readers need structured intervention that allows them to build confidence at their own pace. CodeBreakers® provides a clear, step-by-step approach to literacy, removing the pressure of racing against a clock.”
Discover how CodeBreakers® supports struggling readers without unnecessary stress.
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Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP).
Many literacy experts, including those in the UK government’s English Hubs, advocate for systematic synthetic phonics as the most effective way to teach reading. SSP programmes like CodeBreakers® provide a structured, step-by-step approach to phonics.
These programmes focus on:
✅ Decoding skills – Teaching children how to break down words into phonemes and blend them together.
✅ Multi-sensory learning – Using visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic techniques to reinforce learning.
✅ Mastery before fluency – Ensuring children fully grasp phonics patterns before expecting them to read at speed.
Readers need to be exposed to words several times before we can expect them to have whole word recognition, to enable them to read fluently. For some, that means working at a decoding stage first and understanding how a word is built and the representation of letters to sounds. For the struggling learners I work with, I understand they need to work at their own pace and have significant opportunities to practice the sound and letters connected to it, in many different ways, then see it within words at single word level before moving on to sentence level and ultimate extended reading in passages or books.
“CodeBreakers® follows the proven principles of Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP), ensuring learners master phonics patterns before progressing. Unlike timed reading, our approach focuses on structured repetition, consolidation, and multisensory learning to build fluency naturally.”
Give your students the tools they need to succeed—explore the CodeBreakers® Programme today!
The CodeBreakers® Programme: A Specialist Approach for Dyslexia
The CodeBreakers® programme is specifically designed for struggling readers and children with dyslexia. It goes beyond traditional phonics by integrating:
🔹 Bespoke, dyslexia-friendly resources – Tailored worksheets and activities that break words down into manageable chunks.
🔹 Multi-sensory techniques – Engaging learners through touch, movement, and sound to reinforce reading skills.
🔹 Self-paced learning – Allowing children to develop fluency at their own speed, without the pressure of a timer.
🔹 Rule based information – Teaching children why different letters make the same sound if they are different positions in a word.
🔹 opportunities for self correction – Self led and independent learning building confidence and self esteem.
🔹 Language and vocabulary – Develop language skills and semantic links to support comprehension.
🔹 Phonemic awareness – Often this skill is used or reinforced beyond reception years.
🔹 Overlearning – Workbooks are packed with opportunities to practice from stages of discovery to application, practice, self correction and independent application.
“By focusing on structured phonics and personalised interventions, these methods help struggling readers develop fluency naturally, rather than forcing speed before they are ready. I often find that many resources don’t give children an opportunity to practice.
“Many reading programmes move on too quickly, leaving gaps in learning. CodeBreakers® is designed with overlearning and structured reinforcement so that struggling readers get the practice they need before progressing to more advanced concept.”
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What Should Schools Do Instead?
Schools should adopt a balanced approach to fluency, one that prioritises comprehension, confidence, and mastery. Here are some best practices:
✔️ Use Timed Reading Sparingly – If used at all, it should be one of many strategies, not the primary focus.
✔️ Emphasise Accuracy First – Ensure children can decode and understand words before pushing for speed.
✔️ Encourage Repeated Reading – Let students practice passages multiple times before introducing time constraints.
✔️ Use Paired or Buddy Reading – Reading with a fluent partner can improve confidence and fluency naturally.
✔️ Provide Dyslexia-Friendly Materials – Use large fonts, and high-interest, low-level books or decodable books.
✔️ Integrate Comprehension Checks – Reading should be about understanding, not just how fast a child can get through a passage.
“Schools looking to replace stressful timed reading with structured, effective intervention can benefit from the CodeBreakers® Programme. It ensures students are developing fluency, confidence, and comprehension—not just racing against the clock.”
The Bottom Line
Timed reading may be beneficial for some students, but for children with dyslexia or struggling readers, it often creates more barriers than benefits. Schools should carefully consider whether timed reading is truly helping all learners or whether alternative strategies, like systematic phonics and the CodeBreakers® programme, offer a more supportive path to fluency.
By shifting the focus from speed to mastery, schools can help every child become a confident, capable and accurate reader.
We have explored the limitations of timed reading for children with dyslexia and highlighted the benefits of structured, multisensory approaches like systematic synthetic phonics (SSP). A prime example of such an approach is the CodeBreakers® programme, designed specifically to support struggling readers and those with dyslexia.
About CodeBreakers®
CodeBreakers® is a structured, cumulative literacy programme that employs SSP and multisensory techniques to enhance reading and spelling skills. Developed by Georgina Smith, a qualified dyslexia specialist, the programme aims to create independent and confident learners by moving away from rote memorisation and focusing on understanding the mechanics of language.
Key Features of CodeBreakers®
Systematic Synthetic Phonics: The programme teaches students to sound out and blend words, reinforcing decoding skills essential for reading proficiency. It also simultaneously works on spelling through encoding skills.
Multisensory Techniques: By engaging multiple senses through activities like writing, speaking, and listening, CodeBreakers® caters to various learning styles, making it particularly effective for those with dyslexia.
One of the stand-out features of CodeBreakers® is its multisensory approach, which is particularly effective for children with dyslexia and other reading difficulties. A multisensory programme engages multiple senses, sight, sound, touch, and movement, to reinforce learning in a way that is easier to process and remember.
Working Memory Techniques: The working memory is now a key indicator of education outcomes, not just IQ. May learners with dyslexia have a poor working memory and it makes it difficult to process information to store in the long-term memory, ready for instant retrieval, in tasks such as reading and spelling.
How Does CodeBreakers® Use Multisensory Techniques?
🔹 Visual Learning – Students see words, letters, and patterns in carefully designed worksheets and structured spelling activities. Colour coding is often used to highlight specific phonics rules.
🔹 Auditory Learning – Students say words and letter sounds aloud, reinforcing the connection between sounds and written symbols. This is often paired with listening to a teacher or tutor model the correct pronunciation.
🔹 Kinaesthetic (Movement-Based) Learning – Writing letters and words in sand, tracing them in the air, or using magnetic letters helps reinforce muscle memory. This is especially helpful for learners who struggle with handwriting or letter formation. We include lots of games, often advocating movement. There is also a firm argument for including movement in general within learning sessions.
🔹 Tactile Learning – Engaging with physical materials like wooden letters, flashcards, and textured surfaces allows learners to physically manipulate sounds and words, helping them better understand phonics structures.
By integrating multiple senses, CodeBreakers® ensures that students internalise spelling and reading rules rather than relying on rote memorisation. This approach strengthens memory retention, improves recall, and boosts confidence, making reading and spelling more accessible for those who struggle with traditional methods.
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Why Multi-sensory Learning Works for Dyslexic Learners
Children with dyslexia often process language differently, making it difficult to learn through visual-only or auditory-only methods. By engaging multiple senses simultaneously, CodeBreakers® helps form stronger neural connections in the brain, allowing students to grasp and retain literacy skills more effectively.
This is why multi-sensory teaching is at the core of structured literacy interventions like Orton-Gillingham and CodeBreakers®, it offers a research-backed way to make reading and spelling achievable, engaging, and long-lasting.
How Does CodeBreakers® use Working Memory Techniques?
CodeBreakers® offers regular activities which will help support learners with poor working memory through activities which help to bond/link information together and aims to develop an automated response to seeing letter/s together and recognising the sound they make to hearing specific sounds and understanding the written response and choices to represent that sound.
How Does CodeBreakers® use a Structured and Cumulative Approach?
The CodeBreakers® programme follows a structured and cumulative approach, meaning that it builds on previously learned skills in a logical, step-by-step way. Instead of presenting random or disconnected reading and spelling rules, each lesson systematically reinforces prior knowledge while introducing new concepts at a manageable pace.
Here’s how it works:
🔹 Step-by-Step Progression – Students start with the most fundamental letter-sound relationships and gradually move to more complex spelling patterns, ensuring mastery before moving forward.
🔹 Reinforcement & Overlearning – Key reading and spelling rules are revisited regularly to strengthen retention and prevent gaps in learning.
🔹 Error-Free Learning – By carefully scaffolding lessons, students develop confidence as they consistently build upon what they already know, reducing frustration and simultaneously allowing them to focus on the component parts of words that they haven’t yet consolidated.
This structured and cumulative methodology is particularly effective for students with dyslexia and processing difficulties, as it removes the unpredictability of traditional reading instruction and replaces it with a clear, logical, and sequential framework.
Flexibility for Home and School Use:
CodeBreakers® offers editions tailored for both home and school environments, ensuring that learning can continue seamlessly across settings.
Benefits of CodeBreakers® for Struggling Readers
By focusing on a structured and multi-sensory approach, CodeBreakers® addresses the root causes of reading difficulties rather than merely the symptoms. This method reduces anxiety associated with timed reading and allows students to develop fluency at their own pace, leading to genuine progress and a lasting love for reading.
“The right intervention changes everything. By focusing on structured learning rather than speed, CodeBreakers® ensures struggling readers develop the foundational skills needed for lifelong literacy success.”
The government is currently developing strategies to offer CPD for teachers who support KS3 struggling readers. Why wait? CodeBreakers® is suitable for all ages and especially those who have not passed a phonics checklist or are older learners who have not developed literacy skills. I believe it’s one of the best dyslexia programmes available, providing targeted support which not only supports the learner but offers a complete prepared resource to reduce panning time and increase teaching time.
Give your child or students the best start in literacy with CodeBreakers®. Shop now!
