READING
Preventing failure
Preventing literacy failure
There will always be some children who need help learning to
very lowest literacy learners to catch up.
read and write, and early interventions can prevent long-term
After several years of National Literacy
Strategy implementation, and recent
literacy failure, says Sue Burroughs-Lange
developments in RR in response to new
research on the functioning of the brain
and the role of phonological knowledge in
LITERACY IS AN EXPECTATION and a them can be confusing. Decision makers early literacy acquisition, does RR still work?
right. It has become a universal measure in schools and districts ask: “What will This was explored in a comparison study by
of educational quality, and a focus of work in our schools?” The best evidence Burroughs-Lange and Douetil (2007). From
international comparison. A normal showing what does work comes from 10 London districts that were amongst the
distribution curve is no longer acceptable – studies reporting effect sizes and/or ratio lowest achieving in England, 42 schools
every child needs to achieve literacy. gains, where the results of interventions were selected. They were similar in size
are compared with control groups (where (average 355 pupils), and had similarly high
Which intervention? children were taught as usual). The scale of levels of economic disadvantage (average
Sam is the Reading Recovery (RR) teacher at the evaluation also matters when making 41% free school meals) and children with
Thornberry, a large inner-city school where judgements, ie how many children were English as an Additional Language (average
children’s life and learning skills on entry are involved, and whether it was a localised or 49%). All schools offered some children
very low. Each day Sam individually teaches representative sample. extra tuition as well as classroom literacy
the four lowest-achieving Year 1 children in teaching. RR operated in half of these
RR, an early literacy intervention designed
Introducing improvement
schools, allowing for RR progress to be
for children who have diffi culties at the end
of their fi rst year of primary school.
strategies can be daunting,
compared with the children who continued
to be taught as usual.
After his RR training year, Sam also
especially when they appear
The literacy progress of all the lowest
became intervention manager for the school.
to hinge on the dynamism of
achieving six year-olds was compared at the
Supported by his expertise in literacy
acquisition, teaching assistants (TAs) moved
an individual or a particular
beginning and end of the 2005-6 school year,
and the end of 2006-7. Literacy progress of
away from general classroom support to set of circumstances whole classes (1,166 children in all), including
provide a range of oral language, reading, these lowest groups, was also assessed. In
and writing interventions. TAs welcomed the Financial analysts have shown that September 2005, the 292 lowest-achieving
development, gaining more satisfaction from for every £1 spent on effective literacy children were unable to read the simplest
the children’s results and having a higher intervention, £18 is saved. Literacy texts, could only recognise a few letters, and
status attached to their role. diffi culties lead to costly risks over and write about six words correctly. At the end
Sam also operates a pupil tracking process, above those associated with social of the year, the study showed that most of
holding progress meetings with class disadvantage in general, such as these children had made very little progress.
teachers. They plan for any child not making truancy, exclusion, reduced employment The exception was the group of 87 children
good progress, including any interventions opportunities, increased health risks, and who received between three and 20 weeks of
that might be needed. Proven interventions increased risk of involvement in the criminal RR teaching during the year. From similarly
are selected on the basis of audited need justice system. Therefore, the right literacy low starting points they had, on average,
and the provision map is reviewed termly, interventions can also benefi t both schools gained 14 book levels, 20 months in
with parents always involved when their child and wider society in this respect. reading age, and could write 45 words
takes part in any intervention. The effects correctly, successfully catching up with
have been dramatic despite the low entry Case study: their average peers.
levels. Standardised testing results at age The Reading Recovery programme In comparison, the 147 children in schools
seven have gone from 47% of children in Pupils participating in Reading Recovery without RR had gained on average only three
average band to 81% in reading, and from receive daily 30-minute one-to-one lessons book levels, seven months in reading age,
49% to 84% in writing. As Sam says: “Now for 12 to 20 weeks, tailored to meet their and could write around 21 words correctly.
teachers have seen the impact, they ask for own specifi c needs. More than a decade of Furthermore, teachers reported greater
more of what is clearly working.” evidence has shown consistently positive progress across a range of learning and
Success stories such as Thornberry’s results for the programme. In Brooks’ review social behaviours from those children who
are inspiring. Nevertheless, introducing of research on literacy interventions (2007), experienced RR.
improvement strategies can be daunting, he concluded that an intervention should In 2005-6, the Year 1 classes in schools
especially when they may appear to hinge demonstrate at least double the rate of with RR (566 children) were fi ve months
on the dynamism of an individual or a normal progress, and listed evidence on those ahead in reading of those without RR
particular set of circumstances. Furthermore, schemes. He noted that RR achieved four provision (600 children). This provides
the choice of interventions is vast, and times the rate of progress which, after only one evidence of wider impact beyond those
understanding the evidence relating to year in school, is the gain necessary for the children receiving the intervention.
12 Better: Evidence-based Education spring 2009
Better Spr09 pp12-13 Prevention.indd 12 20/4/09 09:16:20
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