News / Education
On the road to reading recovery
“Jamie was struggling at school,” says his grandfather Morgan Tande, “he wasn’t interested in going and had so many excuses every morning; everyday it was a struggle to get him to school.”
At just five-years-old Jamie was struggling to learn to read. He was falling behind in lessons and was feeling isolated amongst his friends.
Jamie’s not alone; approximately 20% of children in England leave primary school not able to read adequately and children from some of the most deprived backgrounds struggle the most.
is needed now More than ever
Thanks to specially trained staff at Filton Avenue Primary School Jamie’s literacy problems were quickly spotted. He was put on an intensive reading programme called Reading Recovery; 20 weeks of one-to-one, tailored lessons for 30 minutes every day with a dedicated teacher.
Lydia Trapnell, the school’s Reading Recovery teacher, says there are many reasons why children struggle to learn to read: “We see some children whose parents don’t have English, we see lots of children who don’t have any sort of reading culture at home, particularly if parents have found it difficult themselves to learn to read…because of that children never reach that enjoyment of reading that is really essential.”
These problems can be compounded by leaving children with modern day babysitters of TV and tablets: “We find if children come in with a very low level of language because they haven’t really been spoken to very much then they struggle a lot more because you’re calling on them to read something but they don’t actually know the words that they’re trying to read,” adds Lydia.
Around 2,500 Bristol primary school children went through the Reading Recovery programme in 2015 and it’s having a dramatic effect on school standards – and children’s life chances.
Eight out of ten children, who take part in Reading Recovery, catch up with their classmates within six months and the programme has also resulted in 32% of children being removed from the Special Education Needs register after completing the course.
Alison Young is a Reading Recovery teacher at Nova Primary School in Shirehampton
Alison Young is a Reading Recovery teacher at Nova Primary School in Shirehampton.
“I just think it’s a gateway for everything; if they can improve their reading skills then their whole general capacity for learning in school is higher because it affects every subject.
“If they haven’t caught on with reading in Year Three it’s just really hard for them to catch up going forward.”
Up to 120,000 11 year olds enter secondary education without having reached their expected average reading age and that can have huge implications later in life as literacy problems have been linked to social issues including crime, poverty, depression and poor health.
But for spotting literacy problems is sometimes just not that obvious.
Sadie Parsons son Cody is a pupil at Illminster Road Primary School. She had no concerns about his reading until the school’s Reading Recovery teacher approached her: “Cody is my eldest so I had nothing to judge his reading against; his reading was OK as far as I was concerned.”
Under the guidance of teacher Jillian Gorra, Cody started a 20 week Reading Recovery programme.
“He went up quite a few reading levels in a couple of weeks,” says Sadie, “it really boosted his confidence because he’s a quiet child.”
Jillian has been running Reading Recovery at the school for the past three years and says it’s been “an exceptional journey”. The school has seen results dramatically improve and Jillian says the impact of the programme has been “transformational”.
“It’s the enjoyment that the pupils have in reading and books and it’s just grown so much. We really struggled to get children to read at home and now it’s just part of everyday life for them, they’re reading all the time.”
‘Reading Recovery is the best initiative I have ever come across,” says one parent
Back at Filton Avenue Morgan Tande is listening to his grandson reading out loud; his pride in his grandson is tangible: “A difference is an understatement – this a great improvement.
“When Jamie started on the reading programme he started recognising words and within a week he was reading. He’s now unstoppable.”
Read more: Shirehampton school contacts Tim Peake
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