Toe by Toe

Toe by Toe is a highly structured, one-to-one reading and spelling program from UK educators Keda and Harry Cowling, designed especially for dyslexic or struggling readers. The small red manual lays out very short daily sessions where a tutor or parent guides a learner through carefully sequenced decoding exercises, focusing on accuracy and automaticity. Progress is tracked with checkmarks and tiny steps, which can be motivating for students who have experienced repeated failure. Families and tutors use Toe by Toe as an intensive intervention alongside or after other phonics programs, often seeing significant gains in reading confidence over months of consistent work.