Targeted Literacy and Numeracy Intervention – Small Group Learning

Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support Initiative

The Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support (MYLNS) initiative provides secondary schools with an intense funding booster for students in Year 10 who need additional support. MYLNS funding is provided for schools to deliver targeted small group learning to students who were identified as ‘Needs Additional Support’ in one or both reading and numeracy domains in Year 9 NAPLAN. These students will be automatically tagged as MYLNS students in CASES21. Schools can select additional Year 10 students who may benefit from MYLNS initiative support.

Schools receiving funding under the MYLNS initiative must:

• provide targeted learning support to identified MYLNS students; implementing evidence-based teaching strategies to progress learning in literacy and/or numeracy
• review the MYLNS students pre-identified by the department in CASES21, and update as required. This may include adding students who join the program throughout the year, or adding students who transfer from another school (as a MYLNS CASES21 pre-identification will not transfer with a student)
• notify parents/carers of their child’s involvement in the MYLNS initiative
• set, document, and monitor goals for MYLNS students
• maintain records of student learning.

Program requirements

The MYLNS initiative aims to ensure that identified students are provided with targeted learning support so that these students have the literacy and numeracy skills they need for future work and study.

Provide targeted learning support to identified MYLNS students

Teachers support MYLNS students through small group learning or other targeted interventions. To effectively deliver MYLNS, teachers must:

• set, document, and monitor goals for MYLNS students
• implement evidence-based teaching strategies to progress learning in literacy and/or numeracy
• regularly evaluate learning progress via formative assessments.

Schools must deliver MYLNS using one or a combination of the following approaches:

• separate sessions timetabled to coincide with the student’s regular literacy and/or numeracy lessons
• separate sessions timetabled in addition to their existing literacy and/or numeracy lessons (note that it is recommended that students are not consistently removed from the same class)
• sessions within the student’s existing literacy and/or numeracy lessons (that is, the teacher attends the mainstream classroom to work intensively with a specific group of students).

It is recommended that teachers working with MYLNS students in small group settings are experienced classroom teachers.

MYLNS case studies

The following case studies can be used by teachers and school leaders working with MYLNS students when deciding on an intervention approach.

Case study 1: Working with a small group in class

A humanities class is working in small groups. One group is with the classroom teacher, one group is working independently, and one group is working with an additional teacher supporting MYLNS students.

There are 3 MYLNS students in the class, who work with the additional teacher, alongside a few of their peers who the classroom teacher determined could use extra support.

The additional teacher guides their group through a year-level text by pre-teaching key vocabulary and modelling through a ‘think-aloud’ on how students will make sense of the text. The teacher then checks in with students about their understanding during and after reading.

Case study 2: Working with individual students

A teacher supporting a MYLNS student analyses a wide range of evidence of the student’s learning in numeracy. They determine that the student has a gap in their understanding of place value and decimals that is impacting their achievement in mathematics, as well as in science.

After meeting with the student to build a relationship and to further understand their learning needs, the teacher plans to work with the student individually prior to their maths class for 20 minutes, 3 times per week by withdrawing the student from their other class for this time. The teacher monitors the student’s learning each session and helps them master this key element of numeracy.

Case study 3: Pre-teaching key concepts

A teacher regularly engages with a group of 4 MYLNS students in class during mathematics to preview the concepts that are coming up in their mathematics classes.

The teacher coordinates with the regular classroom mathematics teachers to know the language they are planning to use to teach the concepts, along with the learning intentions and success criteria for the unit. This ensures that students can be prepared to access the content alongside their peers.

Review the MYLNS students pre-identified by the department in CASES21, and update as required

Students assessed as 'Needs Additional Support' in reading and/or numeracy as per their Year 9 NAPLAN (2025) will be automatically tagged as MYLNS students in CASES21 in 2026. Schools must provide MYLNS support to these Year 10 students identified in CASES21.

Schools must ensure all students receiving MYLNS initiative support are tagged in CASES21 and must update CASES21 throughout the year if additional students are added to the MYLNS program. If MYLNS students are transferring into a school, the new school must identify them manually (CASES21 MYLNS pre-identification will not transfer with them).

Measure student attainment twice per year

Teachers must maintain records of student learning, including through formative or summative assessments.

Teachers regularly evaluate students’ learning progress throughout participation in the MYLNS initiative via formative assessments.

Schools must also measure student attainment using a standardised assessment tool at the beginning and the end of the year in which students participate in MYLNS targeted teaching support.

High-quality standardised assessment tools recommended for use include:

• Digital Assessment Library (DAL)
• Abilities Based Learning and Education Support (ABLES)
• Reading and Vocabulary Assessment Tool for students with English as an Additional Language (RVEAL) via the VCAA Insight Assessment Platform
• National Numeracy Learning Progressions and National Literacy Learning Progressions. These are Australian Curriculum resources that can be used to map a student's developmental progress.

Resources, including a sample letter to parents, are available on the Resources tab.

Contact – MYLNS

Schools can direct queries as follows:

• for queries about MYLNS in your school, contact your school’s senior education improvement leader (SEIL)
• for general queries about the initiative, contact: mylns@education.vic.gov.au
• for queries regarding funding, contact the School Financial Management Support Unit: schools.finance.support@education.vic.gov.au
• for information about MYLNS funding, please refer to the Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives: Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support initiative (Reference 118).