KS3 students in Slough are reaching age-related reading expectations with DreamBox Reading Plus
Literacy Lead Nasar Bhunnoo introduced our online reading development programme Reading Plus in Ditton Park Academy after being impressed by the programme’s adaptive features, live-tracking and progress gains in action at a local school.
Nasar is now equally as impressed by the progress being made at Ditton since Reading Plus's implementation – and praises the programme’s ease-of-use for teachers, comprehensive reporting data and impact on fostering reading engagement.
“One of the things that sold it to me was seeing the progress a local school had made with Reading Plus. I loved the ease of use of how they could just see that progress. I saw the teachers and the librarian using it and knew this is exactly what I want.”
Read below to see what he had to say:
Improved results with Reading Plus
Before Reading Plus, reading levels were variable and engagement was pretty poor.
We wanted to introduce something to improve reading because literacy is the most important aspect of education. We needed something that would be able to diagnose issues and challenge progress as well.
With Reading Plus, our data is really impressive.
After our Key Stage 3 students completed the programme’s in-built baseline assessment in September '24:
- Only 30% were reading at or above the age-related reading expectations.
- 63% were reading two or more years below age-related reading expectations.
After the second assessment, only five months later, in January 2025:
- 43% are now reading at or above the age-related reading expectations.
- The number of students reading two or more years below the age-related reading expectations reduced to 47%.
Reading Plus is training them to be better readers and has also increased reading engagement.
Fostering a reading for pleasure culture
The previous programme we used to improve reading rates needed to be timetabled within the school day. Reading Plus now takes care of that and can be implemented as homework, so we have space in our timetable to do library lessons.
It has enabled us to focus more of our attention on the enjoyment of reading. Just by having them in the library, we've seen a huge increase in books being loaned, which we're really happy about. The quality of books being loaned has also improved - there's a better diet and that's what I wanted as well.
With our previous programme, it was very difficult to measure anything in terms of reading engagement levels. We found that students would purposefully choose the thinnest books, which was really counterproductive because those books were also boring, so our students got the impression that reading was just really uninteresting.
Student engagement and classroom management
When I saw Reading Plus being used at a local school, the teachers were able to see students’ real-time activity, which I thought was great because accountability and making sure that the students are actually engaging is so important.
I love the simple reporting and transparency regarding students' engagement and usage. Students can’t be disengaged because they know the programme tracks that, which means I can easily control the classroom without having to walk around and monitor everyone.
I loved the feature of students getting put On Hold (which alerts the teacher when a pupil is struggling and allows the teacher to offer support) as it ensures students stay focused.
“Reading Plus was the whole package with the diagnostic testing and the intervention lessons - it just looked really good.”
Simple, comprehensive data, ensuring progress for every student
Before Reading Plus, I didn’t know the reading proficiency levels through the whole cohort because my work was focused on a lot of the lower-ability readers. What I like about the programme is that I'm now able to see that data a lot easier.
The range of data Reading Plus provides has been helpful – particularly surrounding students with certain SEND needs. One of the things I found fascinating was seeing the disparity between these students who have a large vocabulary and poorer comprehension. You'll often find that they speak very well and understand things when you're talking to them, but when you give them the words written down, that changes everything.
Using the Reading Plus data, we've also identified students at the lower end and put them into a separate curriculum using Reading Plus’s pre-made Teaching Tools, such as lesson resources on the reading content domains.
Reading Plus at Ditton Park Academy
The Customer Support has been great - they've been really helpful and supportive in getting teachers trained on how to use the programme.
In Key Stage 3, everyone uses Reading Plus as homework, but because Key Stage 4 have other things to learn in terms of their core texts, they don't. However, we've identified a group of students on the cusp that the programme could really help because we've seen great results in Key Stage 3.
Therefore, in Key Stage 3 and 4, we've got select students using it for specialised homework or as an intervention.
“I tell my students: “You guys have to use Reading Plus because you all have to be amazing readers.” I feel that, and I believe in it, and I don't want them to be left behind. It makes a massive difference if you believe that something is working. Reading Plus is a good programme and it works so well.”
Uncover how Reading Plus can transform reading in your school!
Book an online meeting with one of our Reading Development Consultants to explore the advantages of Reading Plus for your students.
Call:
0191 389 6078 (option 1)
