Evaluation of Booktrust: Summer Active Reading Programme
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN68106422 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN68106422 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | N/A |
- Submission date
- 07/05/2013
- Registration date
- 31/05/2013
- Last edited
- 18/03/2019
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Generally, there is significant international activity in relation to reading for pleasure support and book gifting programmes, utilising substantial amounts of financial and human resources. However, there are limited rigorous evaluations of these programmes. Although, some programmes have been subjected to a high standard of evaluation including: The Reach out and Read programme which provides a suite of reading support and education services, and includes the provision of free age-appropriate books; the Little Books programme which combines book gifting and literacy support between home and school; as well as several Booktrust book gifting interventions (Bookstart, Bookstart+, Booktime, and the Letterbox Club). This proposed study will use rigorous evaluation to investigate the Booktrust: Summer Active Reading Programme which combines book gifting and reading support for children in their transitional summer of moving between primary and secondary schools.
Who can participate?
15 secondary schools from across England and their feeder primary schools will take part in the evaluation. For each secondary school, 60 children (aged 10-11 years) currently in Year 6 in feeder primary schools who will be moving to the secondary school in September 2013 will be invited to take part. Participants parents will have to give their informed consent. Parents will also be prompted to discuss the research with their child before they provide consent. A total of 900 children will be recruited.
What does the study involve?
Booktrust will deliver their Summer Active Reading Programme to 300 of the 900 Year 6 children between July and September 2013 (the 1st intervention group). A further 300 children will receive the free books only from the programme (the 2nd intervention group). Finally, the remaining 300 children will receive no intervention during the evaluation time period (the control group).
Children in the 1st intervention group will receive the Booktrust: Summer Active Reading Programme, which includes four deliveries of packs containing materials from the Booktrust Programme called Letterbox club. The first delivery will be at an event at the child's primary school and will include parents and volunteers. The second and third deliveries will take place at two full day events during the summer holidays, which will involve one to one and group work with volunteers. The final pack will be given to the child by a volunteer at their secondary school.
Children in the 2nd intervention group will receive the Booktrust: Summer Active Reading Programme materials only, which includes the four packs described above. There will be no volunteer involvement or events. Children will be given their first pack at their primary school, the second and third packs will be sent by post and the final pack will be given to them at secondary school.
Children in the control group will receive no intervention during the summer period but will receive the materials from the programme on completion of the evaluation.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are potential benefits on literacy outcomes for intervention group. All participants (control and intervention) will receive free books.There are no anticipated risks of participating in the study.
Where is the study run from?
The study will take place in 15 secondary schools and their feeder primary schools across Yorkshire in England and will be coordinated by the partners in the research team who are based at the Centre for Effective Education in Queens University Belfast and the Centre for Education and Inclusion Research in Sheffield Hallam University.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
The study will start in May 2013 and will be finished in December 2013.
Who is funding the study?
The Educational Endowment Foundationis funding the cost of programme delivery and evaluation.
Who is the main contact?
Dr Liam OHare (Trial Manager)
l.ohare@qub.ac.uk
Contact information
Scientific
69-71 University Street
Queen's University Belfast
Belfast
BT7 1HL
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 28 9097 3991 |
|---|---|
| paul.connolly@qub.ac.uk |
Study information
| Study design | Randomised controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Other |
| Study type | Quality of life |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | A randomised controlled trial evaluation of the Booktrust: Summer Active Reading Programme for improving reading outcomes among children in transition between primary and secondary school |
| Study acronym | BSARP |
| Study objectives | 1. What is the impact of the programme, at post-test, and following the delivery of the programme, on a number of specific reading outcomes for participating children? 2. Is the programme having a differential impact on children depending on: 2.1. Their gender? 2.2. Their socio-economic status? 3. Does the impact of the programme vary significantly with any variations in implementation found? |
| Ethics approval(s) | Sheffield Hallam University Ethics Committee, 25/03/2013, ref. AM/SW/13 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Improving reading outcomes |
| Intervention | Children in the 1st intervention group will receive the Booktrust: Summer Active Reading Programme, which includes four deliveries of packs containing materials from the Booktrust Programme called Letterbox club. The first delivery will be at an event at the child's primary school and will include parents and volunteers. The second and third deliveries will take place at two full day events during the summer holidays, which will involve one to one and group work with volunteers. The final pack will be given to the child by a volunteer at their secondary school. Children in the 2nd intervention group will receive the Booktrust: Summer Active Reading Programme materials only, which includes the four packs described above. There will be no volunteer involvement or events. Children will be given their first pack at their primary school, the second and third packs will be sent by post and the final pack will be given to them at secondary school. Children in the control group will receive no intervention during the summer period but will receive the materials from the programme on completion of the evaluation. |
| Intervention type | Other |
| Primary outcome measure | Increases in assessed literacy ability. The New Group reading test will be used as a post-test reading ability measure. http://www.gl-assessment.co.uk/products/new-group-reading-test KS2 results (standardised national school literacy assessment) will act as a pre-test measure. |
| Secondary outcome measures | Improvement in reading attitudes. The Reading Enjoyment and Confidence scale from a measure used in Progress in International Reading Literacy Study will be used as a post-test reading attitudes measure (measure defined as reading for pleasure). KS2 results (standardised national school literacy assessment) will act as a pre-test measure. |
| Overall study start date | 15/05/2013 |
| Completion date | 30/04/2014 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Patient |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 900 Year 6 pupils |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Year 6 primary pupils making the transition to the 15 secondary schools 2. Only pupils identified not likely to achieve level 4, or likely to achieve a fragile level (4b or 4c), in English by the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2) (by teacher assessment), as KS2 data will not be available before the project is implemented. |
| Key exclusion criteria | Pupils with assessed difficulty likely to achieve at or lower than level 2 |
| Date of first enrolment | 15/05/2013 |
| Date of final enrolment | 30/04/2014 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Northern Ireland
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
BT7 1HL
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
University/education
University Road
Belfast
BT7 1NN
Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 28 9097 5973 |
|---|---|
| l.ohare@qub.ac.uk | |
| Website | http://www.qub.ac.uk/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/00hswnk62 |
Funders
Funder type
Charity
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Not provided at time of registration |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Not provided at time of registration |
| IPD sharing plan |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funder report results | results | 01/10/2014 | No | No |
Editorial Notes
18/03/2019: Publication reference added.
06/01/2017: No publications found in PubMed, verifying study status with principal investigator.
