Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
According to the National Curriculum Assessment (2015) about 20 percent of pupils leave primary schools without achieving the expected attainment level in reading. Read Write Inc. Phonics and Fresh Start are phonics-based comprehensive literacy programmes rooted in phonics using decodable texts to teach children learning to read and write and those who need to catch up quickly. The study aims to determine whether the programmes are effective at increasing pupil reading outcomes.
Who can participate?
Read Write Inc. Phonics: male and female children from Reception to Year 4 learning to read; however, the evaluation will focus on pupils from Reception – Year 2 only.
Fresh Start: male and female pupils in Years 5 – 8 below appropriate reading age; however, the evaluation will focus on eligible pupils from Years 5 and 6 only.
What does the study involve?
Participating schools are randomly allocated to the waiting list group or the intervention group. Staff in the waiting list schools continue ‘business-as-usual’ for the teaching of phonics, reading and writing for 2 years. Staff in the intervention group schools receive two days training, including knowledge of the alphabetic code and training on how to teach both programmes. The children are assessed to ensure that they are taught at the correct level and that the slowest progress children receive daily tutoring. A consultant trainer works with the leaders in school to ensure successful implementation and provide continuing professional development. Children are taught daily in homogeneous groups: phonic lessons for reading and spelling; reading activities – from decoding to comprehension; spelling and compositional writing; and children work with a partner and articulate their thinking throughout the lesson. Read Write Inc. Phonics starts with 20 minutes daily in term 1 of Reception, building to 40 minutes by the end of the year, and one hour a day for children in Year 1 and above. Many children complete the programme by the end of Year 1 or the beginning of Year 2. Fresh Start lasts for up to 33 weeks for eligible pupils in Years 5 and 6 in place of regular English lessons. Slower progress children are identified immediately and given daily one-to-to tuition to ensure they keep up with their peers.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Teachers receiving the training may benefit from becoming more capable of teaching phonics to their pupils. Pupils may benefit from improved reading outcomes. There are no notable risks involved with taking part in this study.
Where is the study run from?
The study is run from Queens University, Belfast and takes place in around 120 primary schools (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
December 2015 to September 2018
Who is funding the study?
Education Endowment Foundation (UK)
Who is the main contact?
1. Dr Pooja Nakamura
2. Dr Adria Molotsky
Trial website
Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Dr Pooja Nakamura
ORCID ID
Contact details
American Institutes for Research
1000 Thomas Jefferson St NW
Washington
DC
20007
United States of America
Type
Scientific
Additional contact
Dr Adria Molotsky
ORCID ID
Contact details
American Institutes for Research
1000 Thomas Jefferson St NW
Washington
DC
20007
United States of America
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
N/A
Study information
Scientific title
Clustered-randomized control trial of Read Write Inc. Phonics (using New Group Reading Test collected at end of second year for pupils from Reception – Year 2) and Fresh Start (using KS2 reading fine points score for eligible pupils from Years 5 and 6) Programmes
Acronym
Study hypothesis
Read Write Inc. Phonics and Fresh Start will improve pupil reading outcomes.
Ethics approval
American Institutes for Research Institutional Review Board 12/05/2016
Study design
Cluster randomised controlled trial
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Cluster randomised trial
Trial setting
Schools
Trial type
Other
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet
Condition
Reading outcomes
Intervention
Staff in treatment schools attend two days training in primary schools including knowledge of the alphabetic code and training on how to teach both programmes. Assessment processes to ensure children are taught at the correct level and that slowest progress children receive daily tutoring. Ongoing, regular development days – a consultant trainer works with the leaders in school to ensure successful implementation and provide continuing professional development.
After training, children are taught daily in homogeneous groups:
1. Phonic lessons for reading and spelling
2. Reading activities – from decoding to comprehension
3. Spelling and compositional writing
4. Children work with a partner and articulate their thinking throughout the lesson
Teachers in the two-year wait-list control will continue ‘business-as-usual’ for the teaching of phonics, reading and writing.
Intervention type
Other
Phase
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
1. Read Write Inc. Phonics: New Group Reading Test at the end of the second year (independently collected by Queens University Belfast)
2. Fresh Start: KS2 reading fine points score for Year 6 eligible students at the end of the first year of programme implementation and Year 5 eligible students at the end of the second year of programme implementation (i.e., the end of Year 6 for students who began programme in Year 5)
Secondary outcome measures
1. Read Write Inc. Phonics: teacher assessed KS1 writing at Year 2 and the teacher assessed Year 1 phonics screening check for both years of the programme aggregated
2. Fresh Start: combined KS2 writing results for Years 5 and 6
Overall trial start date
02/12/2015
Overall trial end date
30/09/2018
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
Schools: All schools are eligible, but the mean FSMEver of the sample should be greater than the national mean for England. The schools must be state funded, and a large (but no more than 50%) share of schools must come from the North East region of the UK.
Pupils: While Read Write Inc. Phonics is delivered to all children in Reception and Year 1 and those who are assessed as needing it in Years 2 – 4, the evaluation will focus on pupils from Reception – Year 2 only. While Fresh Start targets eligible pupils in Years 5 – 8 who are below appropriate reading age, the evaluation will focus on eligible pupils from Years 5 and 6 only. The eligibility criteria for the Fresh Start programme is a school progress measure, through which the children are selected according to their reading levels. Children reading below a reading age of 9.5 years are taught Fresh Start.
Participant type
Other
Age group
Child
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
Read Write Inc. Phonics: 4,400 Year 2 pupils from 120 schools; Fresh Start: 1,200 Year 5-6 pupils from 120 schools
Participant exclusion criteria
Schools: non-stated funded schools
Pupils: Fresh Start: Children reading above a reading age of 9.5 years
Recruitment start date
01/04/2016
Recruitment end date
31/08/2016
Locations
Countries of recruitment
United Kingdom
Trial participating centre
Queen's University Belfast
69/71 University Street
Belfast
BT7 1HL
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
Organisation
Education Endowment Foundation (UK)
Sponsor details
9th Floor
Millbank Tower
21-24 Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
United Kingdom
+44 (0)207 802 1676
info@eefoundation.org.uk
Sponsor type
Charity
Website
Funders
Funder type
Charity
Funder name
Education Endowment Foundation
Alternative name(s)
EEF
Funding Body Type
private sector organisation
Funding Body Subtype
foundation
Location
United Kingdom
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
The final report will be distributed by the Education Endowment Foundation and made available on their website.
IPD sharing statement
The data repository that the trialists will submit to is FFT. They will be submitting anonymized project data, a copy of the final evaluation report, do files, and a standardized dataset including pupil identifiers. They will be submitting the data within one month of completing the final report (approximately April 2019). Access to that data will be controlled by approval from the EEF and the DfE. Opt-out consent was obtained by their assessment partner, Queen's University Belfast.
Intention to publish date
31/12/2018
Participant level data
Stored in repository
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list