Submission - Government Plan 2021 Review CEHA Panel - Every Child Our Future - 28 October 2020

Every Child, Our Future – Government Plan 2021-24 Review Submission – 28 October 2020

We would like to thank Deputy Ward and the other members of the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel for the opportunity to submit comments on the actions within the Government Plan 2021- 2024. Every Child Our Future is an educational charity and now in its fifth academic year, continues to address issues that hamper children reaching their full potential. We focus on literacy and numeracy and through our programmes, aim to reduce the number of children in Jersey who enter secondary school below age-related standards. We work alongside 20 schools and with CYPES. A copy of our annual activity report (2018-19) is attached.

In particular, you have asked for comments on three areas for additional spending, one measure for rebalancing expenditure and on projects and actions reviewed in last year's Government Plan. We have limited experience of the operation of the therapeutic support model for children with complex needs and do not feel competent to comment. We also have limited in-depth knowledge of the Youth Services' EAL provision and while in general, we support funding that addresses NEETS, we will again not be commenting on this item. In respect to the remaining items, we will start with an overview of the Reading Recovery provision supported by you in November 2019. Our experience in its implementation shapes and informs our response to the Education Reform Programme and to the Covid-19 catch-up programme.

Reading Recovery

CYPES successfully submitted a bid for £196,000 a year, alongside funds to be committed by ECOF. The funds are intended to pay not only for specialist teachers to deliver this programme aimed at the lowest attaining children in literacy but also to build a new generation of teachers with the skills to continue this work in the future. The window for tackling literacy difficulties effectively is short (by age 7) and when missed, as it continues to be in Jersey, hampers a child's life chances. Those children who end up in this group are predominantly from lower income backgrounds and their development is key to Jersey's achievement of a more equitable and fairer society for our children. If, as the Common Strategic Policy sets out, children should have timely access to specialist support, Jersey needs to both fund and train for this proven and transformative intervention.

ECOF is very pleased that CYPES successfully bid for this growth funding which contributes towards filling a recognised gap in provision even if it is insufficient to eradicate it.

Progress since, however, has been disappointing. In the first instance, because the Minister had not completed her review of savings, no new money could be accessed. Then, despite Every Child committing to fund a third Reading Recovery teacher, new recruitment procedures delayed the deployment of the three Reading Recovery teachers available. (We would strongly echo the feedback contained in the Independent School Funding Review Appendix that "The current process for amending headcount and advertising for new staff, for instance, was described as bureaucratic and burdensome."). There was only one respondent to the advertisement and she will be released from her existing duties to begin in January 2021 and will be funded by Every Child. Because of school closures, it might be argued that an earlier release would not have made a great deal of difference but the point we wish to make is that, for a programme billed as a priority, "putting children first" should prevail over internal hurdles.

In answer to a question put by Deputy Perchard, we were told that the underspend of £57,746 allocated to Reading Recovery in 2020 "has been reallocated to cover departmental Covid-19 costs". We think this is entirely wrong and inconsistent with what was approved in the Government Plan and that the underspend should have been carried forward to subsequent years to help cover the costs of training the next generation of Reading Recovery teachers. There should also be a firm commitment from CYPES to devote the whole of the £196,000 per annum agreed under the Government Plan to Reading Recovery in future years.

Additionally, there was an ambition for sustainability, a recognition that even if early year strategies kick in and reduce the number of children in need of specialist literacy support, there will nonetheless be pupils in each cohort and their needs must be met in the future. The expectation was that new teachers would be trained in this academic year. As far we are aware, no steps have been taken to do so. We have proposed the consideration of alternatives to the established Reading Recovery programme if this meant that children could be dealt with as effectively but for less money. This remains an unanswered question. As we said in our last submission to you, in response to a question about clear lines of accountability, "Accountability for the delivery of Reading Recovery lies with the Education Department. Every Child will continue to be a partner in the provision of funding and support but in order to satisfy our funders, we would expect to see continued energy and rigour applied to improving the impact on children."

In summary, we remain convinced that specialist literacy support is a gap that should be filled and would call for re-engagement around the challenge.

Covid-19 Schools' catch-up programme

Every Child welcomes the introduction of programmes to address the impact of school closures on children's education. Media and research bodies all highlight the severity of this and consistently make the point that those who suffer most are those from less advantaged backgrounds. In the UK, the gap between disadvantaged children and their more affluent peers is set to widen by as much as 75%, meaning a lag of about 2.5 years. Currently the gap in Jersey is about 20% and so if Jersey's experience maps the UK's (based on anecdotal information it would seem that it does), the Government's pledge to narrow the attainment gap is perhaps already unachievable in the near to medium term.

We, however, question why we are considering what is a Covid crisis measure in October. Measures such as these should be in place by now. If agreed, this programme will not be fully implemented until mid- November when it could have been running for months. The summer was a missed opportunity to address learning loss with only three schools undertaking any initiative to meet the needs of our neediest children and only enabled to do so by charitable donations. Mobile devices were provided to 5 schools for children with no or limited access to online classes, again funded by philanthropic donors. The lack of urgency and drive to help children is worrying, especially when the Government pledged to put children first. Emergency measures were rightly and promptly agreed for health. We do not know whether CYPES did not push or that the department was denied the authority to proceed but this collective slowness to shape a significant and effective response on behalf of children in a crisis is shameful.

The funds now requested will provide additional tuition. There is good quality evidence that one-to- one tutoring or small group tuition (up to 3 children) is effective. Children make good progress , markedly more than children not offered this support, and their confidence and academic perseverance improves. As importantly, particularly for those disengaged and struggling learners, support adapted for individual learning styles can build a mindset of success.

The additional funds also cover training for teachers. Every Child agrees that quality teaching is critical and that because of school closures, the demands of delivering online lessons and of the use of technology in group assignments and curriculum delivery are now much greater. That said, we would question whether teacher training is a compelling response in the context of Covid-19 catch up unless it is specifically focussed on accelerated learning techniques. Teachers' development is also well- covered under the plans for Educational Reform.

We feel confident from our observations of need that the funds would not be excessive but we do not know whether the resources allocated to the catch up are sufficient. This is because:

- There is no Jersey data available that tells us what the gap is after Covid. Nor is it clear from the submission what the goal is: to get children to where they were expected to be, based on past progress?

- The information available does not specify how many hours of tuition this bid buys and whether that adequately addresses the gap.

- The information available does not specify the exact nature of the training for teachers and the proportion of the total funds required for this.

- We do not know, but expect, that the funds used will be heavily targeted towards the groups of children in greatest need. These would include EAL and Jersey premium recipients. We would also highlight the needs of Years 10 and 11 in the lead-up to exams which define their future plans. Their qualifications matter enormously and all effort must be given to ensuring their success. However, children outside these target groups have been impacted by Covid and funds should also be sufficient to allow them access to additional provision if necessary.

In our submission last year, we were invited to comment on whether there was clear accountability and we would ask to be permitted a response to that question here too. Our concern about the catch- up project is that while schools must manage this and must quickly identify and engage teachers in the project, it needs to be driven by a named senior officer with the authority to ensure that all the determinants for success are in place and that the goal (to be clearly defined) is met. There needs to be oversight of the children chosen, the topics taught, the size of groups and the results need to be reported at regular points and publicly. This cannot be business as usual.

We would also suggest that if this intervention achieves the goal set, further consideration is given to tutoring as an ongoing complement to supporting struggling children. In the UK, the last Labour government looked at introducing an automatic provision of one-to-one or small group catch-up tutoring for those primary school pupils who were falling behind. Additionally, charities can and do provide trained tutors and there are well-established UK models. Every Child could help to mobilise appropriately skilled community volunteers to work alongside schools. We have played a part in responding to Covid-19 through supplying IT devices and enabling 3 summer schools and have offered to do more, as have donors, if we are cognisant of CYPES' plans and can collaborate constructively.

Education Reform Programme

Every Child welcomes the proposed increase in Jersey's expenditure on education. We welcome the recommitment to a goal to have an education system that is as successful as the best in the world. We believe that only through this additional expenditure can Jersey meet any of the objectives for children contained within the Government's 2018-22 Common Strategic Policy.

But we mostly welcome the publication of various reports and information that accurately calls Jersey's current educational performance for what it is. Attainment figures and data for our lower income, EAL and SEN children are set out, gaps between those at fee-paying schools and the States sector are highlighted, the barriers faced by schools exposed. Many of our children are underserved. It is time to bury the myth that Jersey has a great education system. What is clear is that whatever progress might have been made, a great deal needs to be done to narrow attainment gaps, to improve early year interventions and address known gaps in learning and development. There is significant substance in the proposals that if implemented effectively, will address these challenges.

We fully support:

- Revision of the formula for educational funding and that this is an immediate priority

- Making low prior attainment and English as an additional language (EAL) significant factors in determining funding allocations, so schools can focus resources on enabling children who fall behind to catch up. Recognition that those who struggle are not necessarily recipients of Jersey Premium or SEN is important. We are encouraged that this £1.4m a year is about catch-up to expected levels, not just doing a bit to help improve progress.

- Increase in Jersey Premium funding

- Measures to address mental health and wellbeing

- Policy options that recognise the criticality of early years, that includes pre-school, nursery and KS1

- Increased focus on post-16 and on building employment-ready young people

- The emphasis placed on the inclusion of disadvantaged children in the provision of the Jersey Music Service. If Jersey is to recognise the arts and culture as contributors to the rounded education of Jersey's children, this change will be important in spreading the service's benefits. The partnership with philanthropic donors could also strengthen the offering.

We have concerns:

- Literacy and numeracy are key determinants of the improvements in outcomes for children. Deprivation, language and standards of entry into school all have a negative impact on schooling but Education must focus on the aspect of these problems it can solve such as literacy and numeracy. There is a focus on these fundamental skills for Jersey premium and EAL children today and CYPES publicly reports on teachers' assessments. But for all this, Jersey only saw a marginal improvement in the proportion of pupils at KS2 achieving 6 secure in 2018/9 and the range in results by school is very wide. Greater overall funding only helps if it is used to address these basic building blocks with effective interventions. We would like to see more explicit statements around literacy and numeracy as priority areas. We would like to see struggling readers and those struggling with numeracy broken out as focus groups alongside EAL, Jersey Premium, SEN and LAC. These categories all overlap but do not necessarily include all the same children. As gaps are narrowed, standards will need to be reset in line with the aspiration to match the best in the world.

- Implementation needs to be swift. Many children are underserved and Covid has changed the odds of them achieving the success at school required to transition into a decent job or to go on to further education. We would argue for a greater sense of urgency in providing CYPES with the permissions to put in place the changes required and for CYPES in making them happen. The experience we described in respect to Reading Recovery cannot be the norm.

- Accountability must be clear. Greater autonomy to schools with their own governance committees is a positive development. But the educational agenda will need even tighter control to ensure overall priorities are met. This accountability must sit at the centre. We would argue that for those areas identified as critical (Jersey Premium, EAL, SEN, Literacy, Numeracy) there is increased oversight from the centre, not less, until targets are met.

- Tracking and evaluation. With greater funding, there is a higher expectation of change. Full and timely reporting is necessary. Goals need to be set and reported against. Headline figures are insufficient and a richer and more detailed analysis must be made available to the public.

- Teachers' development. A major plank of the plan for improvements in educational outcomes is based on improving the quality of teaching. We would want to see that there is some tracking of the effectiveness of these funds. With the various other new provisions in the reform plan, there will in all likelihood be an increase in teachers and in TAs and a distinction needs to be made between improvements in educational outcomes attributed to better teaching and those due to a bigger teaching staff.

- Are funds sufficient? Our concern here is based on our experience with Reading Recovery. The funds directed towards Reading Recovery will make a life-changing difference to the future of about 50 children a year but they do not come close to addressing the needs of the lowest attaining children across each annual cohort. Children's chances of decent GCSEs are being reduced from as early as 7 years old. Keeping a good thing going with the funding of 3 teachers is of course welcome but this is a long way from an ambition to resolve the issue for a manageable and identifiable group and to do so on a sustainable basis. Guernsey has 12 teachers. Our plea is that when it comes to addressing the known gaps in learning and development that we go beyond funding half-measures. Our understanding of the various proposals is that these fundamental challenges can be funded and resolved but that depends in great part on the ambition behind the costings.

Thank you for this opportunity for comment and we hope the input is helpful in your review of the Government's proposals.

Every Child Our Future (ECOF) Impact Report – 2018/19

Background

Every Child Our Future (ECOF) is a registered charity, which is working in partnership with the Department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES) to provide extra support to primary and secondary school children. The charity's literacy programme was launched in September 2016 and this paper details the impact  of  ECOF  support  in  19  Jersey  primary  schools  and  1  secondary  school  in  the  third  year  of implementation.

A funding bid to broaden and strengthen the impact of ECOF and Reading Recovery in particular, has been submitted by CYPES and is currently under consideration in the Government Plan. If agreed, this funding will affect  a  doubling'  of  investment  as  ECOF  will  seek  further  corporate  sponsorship  to  match  fund  our investment.

There were three elements to ECOF for the academic year 2018/19:

• Reading Volunteers

• Reading Recovery

• Numeracy pilot project

This year a total of 19 schools have had access to the reading volunteer programme, 6 schools have been supported by 3 full-time Reading Recovery teachers and 1 school has trialled the numeracy project.

Reading Volunteers

As  in  the  previous  2  years,  twilight  training  sessions for volunteers were held on a monthly  basis  throughout  the  academic  year.  These  sessions have continued to be very well attended  with between 20-35 participants at each session.  The training included a section delivered by a  headteacher  on  safeguarding  and  school  procedures and a practical training session on  supporting young children with reading, delivered  by  the  English  Adviser  and  the  Reading  Recovery teachers. A retired headteacher, Caryn  Stone, also provided training for 39 students from  Victoria College and Highlands College. In total,  210  volunteers  from  the  corporate  world  and  wider community were trained last year and have  provided one-to-one support for pupils from Year 1 to Year 6. All volunteers have a DBS certificate which is organised and funded by ECOF.

In addition, a pilot programme for support for Year 7 pupils in a secondary school has been introduced. Members  of  the  Jersey  Reds  rugby  team  have  been  trained  to  deliver  one-to-one  reading  sessions. Consideration is being given to extending this scheme and training a second cohort of players.

Pupils have been selected for volunteer support for a number of varied reasons including the following; little or no support at home, lacking in self-confidence, beginning to fall behind peers, English spoken as an additional language and those in need of reinforcement or extra practice.

In total, over the last three years, 980 volunteers have been trained to support our young people. As the volunteer programme continues to expand it will be vital to ensure that the training, organisation and management of the volunteers continues to evolve to provide the very best opportunities for our young people.

Reading Recovery

Reading Recovery is an early intervention reading and writing programme  designed  for  the  lowest  attaining pupils in Year 1 and Year 2. It is delivered by a specialist teacher who works for 30 minutes a day on a one-to-one basis. The aim is for the child to reach the average level of the class in 12 to 20 weeks, often from the starting point of a non-reader.

ECOF funded two Reading Recovery teachers, Angela Le  Cras  and  Jo   Ahier ,  for  the  whole  academic  year 2018/19 and funded a further Reading Recovery teacher, Suzanne Burke, for the Spring and Summer terms with CYPES providing funding for the Autumn Term. This support has helped to ensure that more schools and pupils  have  the  opportunity  to  access  this  very  successful  programme.  As  well  as  implementing  the intervention, the teachers have also worked with parents, provided training for Teaching Assistants and Newly Qualified Teachers and supported volunteer training. Close liaison with class teachers, the English Subject Leader and the Special Educational Needs Coordinator has ensured that pupils' progress is monitored, effective strategies are shared and the pupils continue to make progress once the programme is completed.

Numeracy Pilot

Rationale:

In 2018, following on from the success of the literacy programme, ECOF approached the Mathematics Adviser with a view to setting up an equivalent support in numeracy. After investigating the small number of catch up programmes currently used in schools in the UK and the Channel Islands, and identifying the pilot school, the Mathematics Adviser suggested creating a series of activities that built on the teaching approach in the school (which follows best practice guidance). The materials were trialled at the pilot school in the summer term 2018. It was agreed that the aim of the programme should be to support pupils' ability and strategies in counting to 10, so that they would be able to fully access the curriculum, by the end of Year One.

After a change in the headteacher, refining the resources and identifying a company willing to support the programme, training of volunteers began in April 2019.

Initial Pilot:

10 initial volunteers, from Deloitte, were trained in the activities and safe practices when working in school. The counting activities developed are games using playing cards that the pupils could then practice in school or at home. They follow the Year One progression in counting strategies and encourage a mastery approach to learning, in that the volunteer, through discussion while playing the game, questions the child's reasoning of an answer. The volunteers also had the opportunity to

practice the games before starting the pilot in school.

The pilot ran for six weeks during June/July 2019. 15  pupils were identified by the school (7 Reception and 8  Year 1) as possibly benefitting from the programme. The  10 volunteers were divided into two groups of 5. The  teams worked in alternate weeks with each volunteer  seeing the same 3 pupils for about 20 minutes on each  visit. This enabled the volunteers to build up a rapport with  pupils. This was perfectly exemplified at the end of the six  weeks  when  the  volunteers  came  into  school  with  a  certificate and goody' bag for each pupil as a thank you  for their participation.  

At the end of each session the volunteers filled in a  feedback form on how well the pupils had been able to do  each  activity.  The  Mathematics  Adviser  was  able  to  observe some of the sessions in addition to one of the  ECOF administrators and was confident that the materials  were being used as intended.  

A  feedback  session  with  the  volunteers  was  very  constructive and demonstrated their willingness to help  develop the programme.  

In September 2019, a further 8 volunteers have been trained with the aim to extend the pilot in the Autumn term at the pilot school, with some of the same pupils. The initial six-week trial was too short to complete the programme.

On completion of the pilot it is hoped to extend the programme into other schools.

The highly valued partnership between ECOF, CYPES and our schools continues to ensure that more pupils who are experiencing some difficulties with learning have the opportunity to overcome this at an earlier stage. The  evidence  of  the  power  and  effectiveness  of  early  intervention  is  very  well  documented  and  this collaborative project is testament to that premise in our Jersey schools.

Impact of ECOF - 2018/2019

Numbers of volunteers and pupils involved in reading support

• The majority of pupils supported were in Year groups 1-3.

• The volunteers consisted of corporate groups, community volunteers and 6th form students.

• Schools organised their volunteers in a range of ways: rotating support on a termly basis, providing long-term support for pupils with the greatest need and when volunteer numbers were high, arranging support for older pupils.

Qualitative Data

Feedback was collected by schools from a range of stakeholders.

Pupils:

"It was good; I got to choose what I read. It was fun"

"The reading volunteers are great. I love it when it is my turn"

 "In our class we argue about who gets to read first"

"They help us to get better at reading"

"We really enjoy reading with an adult and would be sad if they didn't come"

"It's good because they help me and give me time so I don't have to rush. I have lots of time to think" "My grown up makes me feel confident when I am reading"

"I like reading with the volunteers, they help with the words and are friendly"

"I have felt excited because it was a good opportunity to improve my reading" (Sic)

"My confidence has gone up since reading with them" (Sic)

"They were very kind and when I got stuck they helped me" (Sic)

Volunteers:

"For me it's all about giving them the self-confidence and self-assurance that they can do it and enjoy it at the same time"

"Good to know we are making a difference" "Highlight of my week"

"Feel like part of the team"

"It has been a delight reading with the childrenhopefully they can carry on with their fantastic reading improvements"

"a pleasure to help and meeting the young studentsall lovely kids and I hope they all do well in the future" "thank you for the opportunity which has been a rewarding experience"

"As a reading volunteer, I find that it is a very well organized and positive experience for all involved. In the school I volunteer in we get a few minutes to observe which topics the children are doing in class that day, such as sounds, letters, story themes and projects and these can be expanded upon during conversation and with regards to the books that the children are reading"  

"The children seem pleased and enthusiastic to read each week and their confidence improves both in terms of reading and general conversation with their grown up'"

"It is great being a part of the children's learning, setting them up for life"

"My pupil (Year 6) has come on really well with his reading - he now chooses more difficult books to read and if he can't read a particular word, he tries his hardest to work it out"

"The 3 boys have improved so much but importantly they enjoy reading. It is a pleasure coming in each Monday - they are so much fun"

Teachers

"It's been lovely to see the children's confidence grow in reading"

"The reading volunteers have been really beneficial this year. My children really enjoy going with them and their confidence and love of reading has increased" Year 5 Teacher

"It is lovely to see the children build a relationship with their ECOF volunteer; they look forward to seeing them every week. The children in my class have really benefited from this additional exposure to stories and new reading experiences and the ECOF volunteers are always great with them" Year 4 Teacher

"These volunteers are a real asset to our school. Reading to children, regularly, on a one-to-one basis, can be tricky to maintain in an already packed timetable, so the work these volunteers do is really supportive"

"Our volunteers feel like part of the team, they know the children so well and the kids are always so excited to read with them"

 "Good opportunity for pupils to get extra time to read with an adult" "It's such a great initiative, the children have really grown in confidence"

Headteachers/Senior Managers:

"The children in Key Stage One have made great progress in reading over the year and while this is partly down to the hard work and dedication of our teachers it is also down to the concentrated, regular opportunities for reading that our ECOF volunteers provide"

"Everyone is conscientious and reliable. Teachers note how the children make super progress and await ECOF eagerly. All the teachers are grateful for the additional support the programme gives to those children"

"Our volunteers have been a great addition. The pupils that have been carefully selected to read with them love this one-to-one time"

"The ECOF volunteers have ensured our children have had many opportunities to spend some quality time reading with an adult. As a result, they have made good progress not only with their reading but also with their confidence when talking about books and taking part in Guided Reading sessions when back in the classroom"

"The three ladies are all very calm, supportive and encouraging of the children. The children look forward to their Monday afternoons and our volunteers' time is very much appreciated"

"We  have  some  individuals  who  were  not  confident to read aloud (reading voice to be  even  heard)  who  are  now  reading  with  enjoyment  on  a  one-to-one  with  ECOF  volunteers"  

"Pupils are excited to join their volunteer each  week and look forward to these sessions"  

"Our  ECOF  volunteers  brighten  everyone's  day as they always come in with a friendly  smile.  These  wonderful  people  make  a  significant impact on the lives of our pupils.  The children really look forward to having their  individual reading time with an adult giving  them their  undivided  attention,  which sadly  many of them don't always get at home. Thank you so much to all concerned and we hope the programme will continue for many years to come"

Areas for Development

Schools were asked to identify areas for development and the following were common themes:

• Ensuring good communication with volunteers when pupils will be unavailable e.g. notice of trips. Summer term can be particularly problematic.

• Pupils can sometimes miss key parts of the lesson and/or the same key subject area each time they read.

• It would be beneficial to have more volunteers that could offer support in reading in first language (Polish or Portuguese).

• Providing a school Meet and Greet' for community volunteers works well – this would be valuable to arrange for corporate volunteers also.

• It is important to remind volunteers about the school's organisation of the process e.g. book selection and to be aware of expectations of behaviour.

• Although volunteers do receive training in reading and phonics prior to starting it is useful to have a prompt sheet specific to the schools' own phonics programme if appropriate.

• Further opportunities to support pupils in Key Stage Two.

• Although the volunteer support is considered to be very beneficial, there are times when dealing with issues become time-consuming – especially when the ECOF manager is also a class teacher.

Reading Recovery

Quantitative Data

Reading Recovery Data – 2018/19

Progress of pupils who completed the programme, were successfully discontinued and are working within the Age-Related Expectations for Year 2

Table 1

1. These pupils reached the age-related expectations for Year 2 by the end of the programme.
2. On average, pupils who are making expected progress and therefore not receiving extra support will normally make approximately 2.5 Benchmark levels of progress in a term, equating to 7.5 levels a year.  However,  pupils  selected  for  Reading  Recovery  support  are  more  likely  to  have previously been making approximately 1 Benchmark level of progress a term, equating to 3 levels a year.
3. For Reading Recovery purposes significant gains are measured by the number of pupils who have achieved more than 12 Benchmark levels or made 12+ months progress in the BAS word reading test. In the top up programme this is measured by pupils who have made more than 6 levels or 6+ months' progress on the word test. All pupils on the programme have been successfully discontinued from Reading Recovery and are working within the age-related standard.
4. These pupils were taken onto the programme in the last half term for a short time, as the teachers did not have a full 12-20 weeks available before the end of term. As a result, the figures are not representative of the usual Reading Recovery data so have been presented separately.

• Discontinued pupils made highly significant gains in Benchmark reading levels. On average this was 6 times the normal rate of progress for pupils with significant difficulties.

• On average, pupils made 11.22 months of progress in Word Reading Age which again is highly significant for pupils who have the lowest attainment in literacy.

• 74% of pupils had English as an additional language (EAL).

• The follow-up information at 3 and 6 months after the programme shows that pupils who were successfully discontinued have continued to make progress without the need for further intervention.

Pupils who made progress but had not reached the Age-Related Expectation for reading at the end of the programme

Table 2

• These pupils often made good progress from very low starting points and generally were recognised as having significant SEN. However, they did not reach ARE.

• Although these pupils did not reach the age-related expectations for Year 2 the data demonstrates that good progress was made. One pupil made 12 months progress from a very low starting point.

• The 7 pupils that had an incomplete programme either left the school to attend another (without a Reading Recovery teacher) or had insufficient time to complete the programme.

• All pupils made some progress, with 2 making significant gains but not quite reaching the average range for their class.

• Most pupils who did not reach the age-related standard for reading at the end of the programme had varied, complex needs and began the programme with very limited literacy and communication skills.

• As a result of working closely with these pupils the Reading Recovery teachers were able to advise the class teachers, provide recommendations and detailed notes and observations to ensure that ongoing support or referral to other agencies was undertaken.

Qualitative Data

The following case studies and comments represents a small sample of the feedback received from different schools.

Parental response:

"I just wanted to thank you for all the work you are doing with________, we have seen a huge difference in her attitude to reading and also her writing!!"

"Tonight, she wanted to read the last page of the book and she did it very, very well! Normally I think pictures help her guess her way through books but this was wonderful to watch her read Letter to Nana. She struggled with a couple of words but she did so, so well."

"We are so delighted that _______ has successfully completed her Reading Recovery programme - thank you so, so, so much for all of your wonderful work with her - it is absolutely amazing to see how far she has come!!!!"

Case study – Pupil A

Pupil A started Reading Recovery in Year 2 having spent time being educated in different countries due to her father's work. She was reading at Level 4 and found the actual decoding of the text very difficult. She clearly enjoyed the idea of reading' a story and making predictions of what would happen whilst discussing the pictures. Pupil A found it difficult to automatically apply letter/sound knowledge to words she was reading as she had had no formal phonics teaching and relied on picture cues or her imagination to determine what the text said. When writing, her letter formation was clear, she could make a good sound analysis and often had many exciting ideas she wished to write about.

By  the  end  of  an  eleven-week  programme, Pupil A is reading at a Level  17. She is delighted to see herself as both  a reader and a writer. She reads fluently  and with expression, especially around  the use of speech marks. Her enthusiasm  for  reading  has  led  to  many  dramatic  renditions of stories she can now access  and  enjoy.  Whilst  reading,  she  listens  carefully to how her reading sounds and  corrects  herself  when  she  realises  it  doesn't make sense.  

As  a  writer,  Pupil  A's  confidence  has  grown. When transcribing her ideas, she  never shies away from using the rich and exciting vocabulary she has had access to via her reading or her well rounded spoken language. The success that Pupil A has experienced has allowed her access to avenues in which she can demonstrate her ever-evolving skills. Her parents were delighted with her progress.

Case study - Pupil B

Pupil B came to Jersey from Madeira half way through the Reception year. He had no English. I first assessed him in September of the following year. He had been in school in Jersey for 18 months and his English was still not clear and was difficult to understand. He was barely writing. In consultation with the class teacher I decided to give him a few weeks to settle back into school and consolidate his English language skills. I re- assessed him in November and took him onto the Reading Recovery programme. He made excellent improvement whilst on the programme. In the 17 weeks he progressed from reading Level 6 to Level 18. His reading age went from 6.01 to 6.07. There was also a dramatic improvement in his speech and attitude to learning. At the end of the programme his reading showed an understanding of punctuation, he had a good bank of high frequency sight words and hence a good degree of fluency. He was able to regularly add expression (using speech marks, bold print, question marks and exclamation marks.) He could answer literal questions and was beginning to discuss inference and make comparisons between texts. Pupil B now has a good grasp of phonics and uses them confidently to spell. He has also learned to access spellings through analogy and will do this with encouragement. He has good visual memory for sight words in reading. Pupil B responded well to both fiction and non-fiction texts. He was always happy to discuss his reading and relate it to the wider world. He has also developed good general knowledge. The Reading Recovery programme enhanced his speech, reading, confidence and ability to access other curriculum areas.

Overall Summary

• A total of 980 volunteers have been trained over the last 3 years.

• 19 schools have now accessed the volunteer programme with 881 pupils receiving support this year.

• 50 pupils in 6 schools have been supported on the Reading Recovery programme.

• The feedback from headteachers, parents, pupils and volunteers remains very positive and includes references to pupils' self-confidence, communication skills as well as enjoyment and progress in reading.

• The numeracy pilot project has had a very positive impact.

Next Steps

• Dependent on the successful allocation of funds three Reading Recovery teachers will be in post from Spring 2020 to December 2023. This enables further matched funding and appointments, potentially increasing overall staffing to support the learning of an increasing number of children in need of early intervention.

• There will be continued opportunities to recruit and train more reading volunteers in the next academic year to eventually extend support to all primary schools.

• The Numeracy pilot will be extended and a further group of volunteers will be trained.

• ECOF and CYPES will investigate effective approaches to support storytelling in the early years.

Caroline Whitehead English Adviser - CYPES September 2019