Supporting intervention and EAL needs in Bolton primary
After noticing a decline in reading data, Haslam Park Primary School sought out additional support.
Needing to improve reading levels, spark enjoyment amid growing disengagement, and support the arrival of new EAL pupils with limited intervention resources, they discovered Reading Plus.
Before deciding to implement the programme, they took part in a free pilot, using Reading Plus in class to see the impact firsthand. The success they experienced led to the programme’s official introduction, and they have continued progressing ever since.
“I love the fact that each pupil gets personalised reading pitched exactly where they need it. I can now say that every child in Key Stage 2 gets 3 sessions a week of personalised reading intervention.”
Read on as Gabrielle Harding-Yung, Year 5 Teacher and English Lead at Haslam Park, shares more about the impact of Reading Plus on reading levels, intervention and home-reading needs:
Accelerating reading progress ahead of SATs
Reading Plus is so worth it. We have seen excellent results from the programme and the progress pupils have made is astounding.
In just 5 weeks with Reading Plus, class data went from 30% EXS to 44% EXS.
The impact is undeniable. Fluency, confidence reading aloud in front of the class and stamina have improved hugely.
For those who are borderline, Reading Plus has helped them make considerable gains in their comprehension, and most made the progress they needed to get a good expected score.
Supporting intervention needs
It has given my less able readers the intervention they desperately needed while also freeing up extra staff to work with those who can't access Reading Plus yet, enabling all to make accelerated progress.
One international new arrival has started to feel confident enough to read in front of the class for the first time since using Reading Plus.
We also use Reading Plus to help with the pupils' reading speed, which has supported extra-time considerations during assessments.
From borderline to GD: +20 standardised score in 5 weeks
One pupil who joined us in Year 3 as an international new arrival was borderline at the start of the year, often scoring a standardised score between 92-97 on assessments.
She always worked hard and wanted to do well. However, without the capacity to complete extra reading and intervention, or receive reading support in English at home, she couldn’t make accelerated progress.
She immediately loved Reading Plus, using it regularly at home and at school. After 5 weeks on the programme, she scored a greater depth score of 112 in midterm assessments.
Encouraging engagement and home reading
We struggle across the school with reading at home. As a result, many became disengaged and began to lose their enjoyment and motivation. While pupils do enjoy reading lessons and reading aloud with a teacher, we unfortunately didn’t have the time or staff to do it regularly enough to make an impact.
With Reading Plus, they are excited to read independently - and it has increased motivation to read considerably. They love using the programme, selecting texts that interest them, and tracking their successes.
Less able readers are particularly more engaged, including at home, and the programme allows them to feel a real sense of achievement in the progress they have made.
It is invaluable for each pupil to access reading intervention effortlessly in school and at home.
Pilot -> implementation -> successful curriculum
Our Year 4 and 5s took part in the pilot as these groups needed the most intensive support. The implementation process was really easy. Our Reading Development Consultant was with us every step of the way, and the support was invaluable.
Email responses were quick, and no task or question was too small. We also received training on how to use the programme for the greatest impact, which was so helpful and enabled me to carefully consider how best to use it in school.
After the initial pilot period, when we used it daily, we moved to three sessions a week. This timetabling supports our wider Key Stage 2 reading offering, which now consists of:
- Daily reading.
- A reading skills session weekly using the ‘Are You Really Reading?’ approach
- Weekly written comprehension
- Three Reading Plus sessions.
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