Catch-Up Learning

Caroline Henderson-Marks has been teaching children to read since the year dot. At eighteen she got a bit of a jolt: She encountered a teenager who couldn’t read. Caroline added an extra word to her vocabulary: illiterate. Shocked to discover this was a secret people kept, she resolved one day to help.

When her children started school, she volunteered in their classrooms. It turned out she possessed a natural ability for teaching and, just as importantly; she loved being there.

After a slight detour into the adult world, eight years followed as a teaching assistant at an inner-city primary school. But whilst the experience was golden, it wasn’t enough. Craving academia and a professional qualification, Caroline tooled up with a First Class Honors Degree in Teaching from Edgehill University in Liverpool. She then drove off into the sunset to teach her way. Her degree, combined with everything she had learned about why students fail, fuelled her passion, and carved out a new path.

A successful one-to-one tutoring business spanned the following ten years. That success was built on tailoring lessons to suit each student individually. A well-used phrase was, “you can’t build a house on sand.” So gaps were filled, and targets reached and smashed. Happy children achieved wonderful things: Out of the twenty-three children she taught each week, many went from the bottom of the class to the top in math. Delighted parents saw their children sail through previously failed entrance exams. Others passed the grammar and selective school exams. Confidence boomed. Great strides were made. Caroline shared her resources online. Catch-Up Learning was launched during lockdown in 2021.

With a focus on tackling low reading levels in older students, dedicated phonics resources for older students struggling to read were carefully created. After that, Caroline wrote stories to engage those same students. And when she discovered how many children couldn’t understand what they read, she created comprehension packages to go along with the stories.

Feedback like this spurred her on to create more of the thousands of resources she sold:

”The Phonics Decodable Passages Intervention for Older ELL Students is a game-changer. Tailored for older learners, it bridges gaps in phonics with engaging, age-appropriate passages. The resource provides a structured approach, fostering language development and comprehension. Its versatility in intervention settings is a true asset. Highly recommended for educators aiming to support older ELL students in building foundational phonics skills effectively.”

“Hands down the best program I could find for my reading remediation group in middle school. Most of my students are below a 250 Lexile.”

“My students worked harder on this than they have on anything else I’ve tried this year. Thank you.”

“I highly recommend this resource to anyone working with older students needing worksheets or decodables that target lower-level phonics skills!!”

“An essential resource to support your different learners. I used this mainly in sixth grade and it really helped my students out a lot. The whole resource is essential, and I love how well-organized it is!”

Caroline’s thirst for knowledge continues as she embarks on a master’s degree in psychology. She has written a book of short stories for struggling readers and continues to create engaging, artistically designed resources. She is preparing to launch her teaching resources as a book.

Whatever it takes. I am the master of the tailored lesson :) Being called upon to teach 30 kids at a moments notice on a regular basis, I learned to hit the ground running. I have taught inside and out, on top of a climbing frame, in a hot tub, face-to-face and online. I even taught a ten-year-old to tell the time in the pub. I'm pretty sure there has been a bit of upside down in there too ...

I’m very proud of my First-Class BA Honours degree (the highest degree level in the UK) as I left school with very few qualifications and absolutely no understanding of maths WHATSOEVER; which I believe puts me in a great place to understand kids who struggle.I am proud to have played a part in boosting the confidence of my students; some of whom have gained scholarships to fee-paying schools and accessed English grammar schools. Many students stay with me for up to five years. Here's to late developers everywhere :)

First Class Honours Degree Edgehill University, Liverpool, England. (Teaching).

Currently studying MSc (Master of Sciences) Psychology at Wolverhampton University, UK. I received the best phonics training available in the UK. Combined with decades of teaching reading to struggling readers, you can now access that golden combination through my resources. Don’t make older low-level readers feel worse by using intervention material for five-year-olds. All of my resources are written for older students.

Visit my website at: www.catchuplearning.com info@carolinehendersonauthor.com Join my newsletter here: https://www.carolinehendersonauthor.com/