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Reading: Teaching Methods

Answer

Our Every Child a Reader programme provides a 'layered' approach to early literacy intervention based on providing Reading Recovery teaching to the very lowest attaining children; supporting other adults to provide less intensive interventions for children whose difficulties are not so severe; and working with colleagues to support improved everyday class teaching of literacy. The less intensive interventions include Better Reading Partnership which trains, among others, volunteers to read 1-to-1 with children using techniques from Reading Recovery. These layers will apply equally to children who do not require Reading Recovery or those who have previously been through Reading Recovery and require some follow up support.In 2007, Greg Brooks, of Sheffield university, produced an updated version ““What Works for Children with Literacy Difficulties? The Effectiveness of Intervention Schemes””. The review synthesised evidence on partnership approaches to improving reading: partners included older pupils, teachers, and adult volunteers. Brooks concluded that"““where resources are limited, and partners are available and can be given appropriate training and ongoing support, reading partnership approaches deserve close consideration”” (p29)."The interventions reviewed by Brooks which specifically used adult volunteers were Better Reading Partnerships, ENABLE One-To- One and Time for Reading. There was some evidence that these interventions had a positive effect on pupil outcomes, although in some cases the findings were more mixed, and it is important to remember that the interventions often involved components other than the adult volunteers, which makes it hard to identify the specific effect of the volunteers.Separate to this Torgerson, King and Sowden (2002) conducted a systematic review of randomised controlled trials of adult volunteer reading schemes. Overall, volunteering appeared to have a small positive effect on pupil outcomes, but the evidence base was not sufficient to draw firm conclusions.The Government are committed to ensuring every child learns to read. For most this will mean good systematic phonics through the early years and beginning of primary school. For others, extra provision will be necessary—primarily through school based interventions and our Every Child a Reader programme. We continue to fund local authorities and schools to strike the appropriate balance between specific intervention programmes with trained teachers for those children that need it; and other less expensive approaches using other members of the workforce and volunteers in other circumstances when they are known to work.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

483 c1435-6W; 237452

Session

2007-08

Related items

Reading: Teaching Methods
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Written questions
House of Commons

Subjects

Reading Teaching methods

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk