Reading programme boosts results for disadvantaged children across the North West

An evaluation has found that an innovative reading programme developed by teachers in Merseyside is improving reading skills among disadvantaged children across the North West.

Children on free school meals who participated in the Are You Really Reading? programme exceeded the expected standard in their reading SATs, achieving even better results the longer they took part.

The findings come from an interim report into the initiative by ImpactEd Evaluation, which analysed data from 21 schools and 762 pupils.

Disadvantaged children who used Are You Really Reading? scored, on average, three to 4.7 points above the expected standard. The longer they participated in the programme, the higher their average score.

Are You Really Reading? comprises five teaching strategies, or ‘strands’, including one that utilises hashtags to summarise text and another that employs emojis to identify and express characters’ emotions.

The five strands, developed by staff at the Merseyside-based Three Saints Trust, are designed to engage children in the texts they are reading and ensure they fully understand them.

The evaluation collected qualitative data from teachers which indicated that the programme had been able to engage more reluctant readers and had increased pupils’ reading for pleasure

Students said they liked using hashtags and emojis to help them understand what they were reading.

Funding from education charity SHINE has enabled Are You Really Reading? to be rolled out across approximately 50 North West primary and secondary schools, reaching more than 100,000 children.

Schools have reported excellent results since adopting the programme.

Lyndsey Lewis, headteacher at St Mary and St Thomas C of E Primary School in St Helens, commented: “Over 50 per cent of our pupils are disadvantaged.

“We have tracked the impact on these pupils and internal data shows an improvement in reading for both progress and attainment. Children have made huge steps of progress from their starting points using the strands.”

A Year 5 teacher at St Ann’s C of E Primary School, in Prescot, said: “The project has had a big impact on growth mindset and resilience when reading.

“Pupils have an inner confidence where they have built reserves of experience when reading and they tap into this when faced with a new text. It’s incredible to be part of this project and watch the children grow into readers.”

A teaching assistant at St Michael with St Thomas, in Widnes, said of children using the strands: “The progress in their self-belief as readers is amazing.”

A Year 6 teacher at Delph Side Primary School in Skelmersdale said: “I know we’ve only been using the strands for one year, but the impact has been huge.

“At the start of the year, a 70 per cent pass rate would have been if the stars aligned, but we ended up with 90 per cent.”

Katherine Harrigan, from Up Holland High School, Orrell, said she was ‘blown away’ by how Year 8 and 9 pupils could apply skills learned from using the strands to other subjects.

She said: “I can see the impact the strands have had on data,” she said. “But have been equally impressed by the student’s ability to transfer their skills without prompting.”

Moving forward, the Three Saints Trust aims to reach more schools located within six clusters around the North West.

Work is also underway on developing a website for Are You Really Reading?, which will help the project to become sustainable.