Archives: News & Views

In this blog, our Education Lead, Julie Taylor discusses why for disadvantaged children, phonics teaching alone is not always enough to produce confident and resilient readers.

Phonics is a subject that has attracted some considerable debate over the years and since the PIRL (Progress in International Reading Literacy) Study was published a few weeks ago, there has been much comment on the effectiveness of phonics in teaching children to read.

While it is, of course, excellent news that England is number four in the world for children’s reading, the fact that the country has maintained its high PIRL score in spite of the pandemic is also a testament to the dedication and quality of teachers and schools throughout this difficult time.

Phonics teaching alone is not always enough to produce confident, resilient readers.

As a specialist children’s literacy charity we have long supported the use of phonics but in our experience of working with disadvantaged children we know that phonics teaching alone is not always enough to produce confident, resilient readers who are able to engage effectively in the classroom and across the curriculum.  We firmly believe that reading fluency, comprehension, oracy and reading for pleasure are equally important in giving disadvantaged children a vital step up.

Yet when you delve into the detail, the PIRL study showed that only 29 percent of pupils said they enjoyed reading, putting England 42^nd out of 57 countries.  It is this finding that should be a cause for concern.

In 2022 the attainment gap in education was at its widest level for a decade.

As long ago as 2002, The OCED (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) said that “reading enjoyment is more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status”.  Clark and Rumbold (2006) argue that reading for pleasure could be one important way to help combat social exclusion and raise educational standards.

However, according to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) in 2022 the attainment gap in education – that between the poorest and most advantaged – was at its widest level for a decade.

 The CSJ report, published in February this year, found that in 2022, 41% of year 6 pupils in England left primary school without meeting the expected standards in literacy and maths – 275,000 11-year-olds.  That is 50,000 more than in 2019.

The picture for disadvantaged children is even starker: the majority (57 per cent) of children from disadvantaged backgrounds left primary school without reaching the expected literacy or maths standards – a significant increase on the pre-pandemic figure of 44 percent.

So what is to be done? The importance of specialist intervention.

Fostering a love of reading is essential for all children but particularly for disadvantaged children as this will help to embed reading for life and support children in accessing the wider curriculum – poor numeracy can often be a function of poor literacy.

Given the Government goal of improving literacy (and numeracy) to narrow the attainment gap and improve outcomes for the most disadvantaged in society, we believe specialist literacy tutoring to be a powerful solution for closing the literacy gap in primary school children.

All the evidence shows that early, tailored, one-to-one or small group intervention is highly effective, particularly at primary level and especially when supported by work to engage parents in their child’s acquisition of literacy skills.

Our skilled tutors foster a love of reading and use their adaptive teaching knowledge to meet the need of the child.

We have long argued that even in the best schools, with great teachers, some disadvantaged children struggle to make progress in the mainstream classroom.  For these children, time with a specialist tutor such as those employed by us in our Literacy and Reading Labs can make a real difference. 

Our skilled tutors foster a love of reading and use their adaptive teaching knowledge to meet the need of the child, recognising that for some children phonics can only achieve so much.

In our Labs children benefit from the consistent, nurturing support of a highly trained, employed tutor.  Pupils ‘graduate’ having grown in confidence, self-esteem and resilience.  Schools often comment that it is this feature of our work that adds the greatest value.

In one month of our Literacy Lab tuition, children make 4.9 months of progress.

In 2021/22 our Literacy Labs worked with disadvantaged children who were on average 15 months behind where they should be with their reading.  We are, therefore, supporting the children who are the most behind and are at greatest risk of being left behind. 

In one month of our Literacy Lab tuition – where we build on phonics to develop comprehension, writing, listening and speaking skills – children make 4.9 months of progress.

We also work closely with schools to engage parents in our work.  The PIRL researchers found that parents and families make an important contribution to a child’s literacy journey – a view strongly supported by the CSJ report too.

Our fear though is that with ever increasing pressure on budgets, schools will be unable to access specialist literacy tuition work at a time when the catch-up needs of the most disadvantaged are still great.

The recent DfE announcement that the National Tutoring Programme subsidy will be 50% for the final year of operation is welcome news indeed but as the even more recent Education Recovery in School Report (June 23) highlights: “The growing attainment gap with all its implications for children’s life chances can’t be allowed to continue.   It is alarming that it may take a decade for the gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and others to return to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.”

We therefore hope that schools are able to continue to access tuition funding and that it is channelled into those programmes which will have the most impact on the children who need the most help.

Help to close the literacy gap.

We are incredible grateful to all our current supporters who help to fund our vital literacy programmes in schools. If you would like to help close the literacy gap for more disadvantaged children, please get in touch: fundraising@theclc.org.uk

Read more about our expert literacy programmes.

“While there is often and rightly a focus on the mechanics of learning to read, talking is a vital part of literacy and the reading process.” In this blog, our Education Lead, Julie Taylor discusses why ‘book talk’ is so critical to the development of vocabulary, early comprehension and above all pure enjoyment of reading.

“Research has been published revealing that a fifth of our children are leaving school without passing English Language and Maths at GCSE. Of these students who were tracked from the age of three, just under half did not reach the expected levels of literacy and numeracy at the age of five. There must be some correlation here.

Children who are disadvantaged in those crucial early years are undoubtedly suffering the consequences as they hurtle through the education system towards public examinations. Other recent research from Speech and Language UK states that 1.7 million children are at risk of not being able to talk or understand. This alarming statistic adds to the deepening crisis around literacy and the development of talk not only in the Early Years but from birth.

Through our work in schools, we know that the development of literacy skills starts with talking about books.

While there is often and rightly a focus on the mechanics of learning to read, talking is a vital part of literacy and the reading process.  Through our work in schools, we know that the development of literacy skills starts with talking about books, from board books for babies, to picture books, leading to more complex chapter books. But you cannot talk about a book if you don’t have access to one.

One in five children in England do not own a book of their own.

One in five children in England do not own a book of their own. Covid has undoubtedly compounded the problem but this sad statistic highlights the ever-growing chasm between advantage and disadvantage. If owning books is ‘integral to encouraging children to develop good reading habits and increasing literacy levels,’ as stated by Jonathan Douglas, Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust, then as educators, we have a deepening crisis on our hands.  Even for someone who has worked in Education for my entire career,  I find it startling to learn that children who own a book of their own are six times more likely to read above their expected level for their age. As a charity, working with some of the most disadvantaged children, our fears lie with those children who are not accessing any reading materials at home.

As much as schools work hard to try to compensate for the lack of exposure to quality books in those formative years, it is a challenging task to overcome those lost years where children have lacked that immersion in all of the ‘book talk’ that is so critical to the development of vocabulary, early comprehension and above all pure enjoyment of reading.

In partnership with our schools, we are starting to run sessions for parents and carers all about how ‘Book Talk’ is fun and engaging for young children and provides every opportunity for developing those crucial language and communication skills. It provides an opportunity to use the language of prediction: What do you think this book is going to be about? What do you think will happen next? Children can talk about the pictures, explain what is happen in the story, retell the story themselves using the pictures, give their opinion about a book: who was your favourite character? What was your favourite part of the story? Both children and adults can act out the speech together, children can join in with rhymes and enjoy a valuable daily routine which will develop many of the building blocks to literacy.

School libraries have become a more important resource than ever yet one in four schools in disadvantaged area still do not have a library.

School libraries have become a more important resource than ever yet one in four schools in disadvantaged areas still do not have a library. Thanks to a campaign led by the author Cressida Cowell and Booktrust, “Life-changing libraries” funding has been secured to create six life-changing libraries and to support other schools to develop gold standard library provision. Studies have shown that vulnerable children benefit from library facilities the most and that reading for pleasure is more important for success than parents’ socio-economic status.

Learning how to enjoy a book really can help develop skills for life.

While our specialist tutors work hard to close the literacy gap for the most disadvantaged children, our schools tell us that of equal importance, or perhaps even greater value, is the way in which a child who begins to engage with reading and starts to enjoy books, becomes more confident and ultimately is more resilient. Learning how to enjoy a book really can help develop skills for life.”

As we know, reading takes many forms and the internet is overflowing with wonderful resources that parents can access for free to promote a love of reading. For more information about ‘Book Talk’ and websites providing free access to books, please follow the links below:

Storyline Online is an excellent resource with hundreds of stories to read aloud.

CBeebies Bedtime Stories for Kids

Oxford Owl

Learn English Kids (British Council)

Authorfy provides an opportunity for pupils to listen to authors and to engage in fun activities based upon their books.

Borrowbox is also a great way to access free audio books. You just need to be a member of a library.

Find out about our Literacy and Reading Labs in primary schools.

“Without specialist support the most disadvantaged pupils will never catch up”

Reema Reid, Head Teacher at Hollydale School, and also Head Teacher of the Year 2021, was the keynote speaker at our 30^th anniversary event this year.  In a moving and powerful speech, Reema shared her thoughts on the importance of literacy, the challenge of getting catch up provision to work well and her experience of partnering successfully with the charity to close the literacy gap for children who need the most help.

Reema Reid has been the Head Teacher of Hollydale Primary School, in the London Borough of Southwark, since 2013.

Hollydale is a school which serves an area which is socially, economically and educationally deprived and where nearly 40% of pupils receive free school meals. It is also a school which focuses on opportunity, with the ambition for all pupils to be the best that they can be and to reach their full potential.

But there are many challenges.

On average, children from a poor background start school 19 months behind those from wealthier backgrounds and sadly, for some, the gap in reading and writing skills widens as they get older.

This literacy gap is linked to complex factors such as parental economic circumstances and challenging home lives and in spite of high quality teaching in England, one in five children leave primary school without reaching expected levels in reading and writing.

Hollydale School works hard to help close the literacy gap for those children who need the most help and since 2015 The Children’s Literacy Charity has worked in partnership with the school.

As the keynote speaker for the charity’s 30^th anniversary event, Reema spoke powerfully and movingly about her experience as a Head Teacher:

“They say the world belongs to those that read. A child who reads will be an adult that thinks.”

“In 2010, when I was dropping my youngest daughter off to a school in Lambeth I noticed a brightly lit room with attractive reading displays, with common words displayed and a rich literacy environment. I knocked on the door and asked what was the focus of this classroom. The tutors said that this was a dedicated Literacy Lab space run by a charity where they supported children to close their literacy gap and become confident with their reading skills. I observed expert tutors who were passionate and committed to helping children become readers.”

“I have seen the impact of The Children’s Literacy Charity on children at Hollydale School”

 “I vowed that when I became a substantive Head Teacher, I would work with such an intervention which could so effectively change children’s lives.  I have been true to my word and I have seen the impact of The Children’s Literacy Charity on children at Hollydale School.  Here is just one example:

Alex* was seven years old and still not reading even though teaching at Hollydale School is robust and focused with a strong emphasis on the reading curriculum. We referred Alex to the charity’s Literacy Lab where children who need extra help attend 45-minute one-to-one or small group tutor sessions twice a week.

Within two terms, Alex was not only reading but had increased his phonics knowledge and showed accelerated progress.  As importantly, he began to read for pleasure and grow in confidence. 

He became not only a reader but a leader too and is now one of the Reading Buddies in my school who read with younger children.”

“This is a great example of the power of intervention”

“Alex passed his Y6 end of stage reading SATs and was at the expected level for reading by the time he left primary school, ready for that important transition to secondary school. This is a great example of the power of intervention.  I’ve seen many children at Hollydale School make rapid progress with the support given by The Children’s Literacy Charity tutors.

I have always been an educator who has been passionate about literacy and I have explored and implemented many interventions designed to support children’s reading.

However, The Children’s Literacy Charity has proven that the impact of their one-to-one and small group teaching offers significant progress in developing reading skills and closing the literacy gap.”

And the need for specialist support has never been greater. 

“The pandemic has caused a widening gap for children who are not readers and a report in July 2021 showed that primary pupils were further behind expectations than those at secondary school.

As a Head Teacher I have found that not only am I trying to meet the needs of more pupils who are further behind than ever but increased pressure on budgets mean I have less to spend on much needed intervention. 

Without specialist support the most disadvantaged pupils will never catch up. Catch up is easy to say but difficult to get right. Not all interventions are effective in boosting attainment and no single programme is enough. However, working with The Children’s Literacy Charity for over five years, I have seen the impact that it has had on my pupils reading, comprehension, confidence, resilience and reading for pleasure.   So many are now readers and they can grasp all the opportunities available to become leaders. 

Nelson Mandela said famously that ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’.   He also said: “A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”  As I say to my children: if you read for just 15 minutes a day in one year, you will have read 1,000,000 words!

Thank you, The Children’s Literacy Charity for all your support and for being such an integral part of my team.”

“Together, I hope we will close the literacy gap and broaden horizons for many more children.”

Photographs of children who attend the Literacy Lab at Hollydale Primary School.

Read more about our Literacy and Reading Labs in primary schools.