Evaluating the efficacy of the RILL literacy with language programme for young children in English and in Welsh
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN14821945 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN14821945 |
- Submission date
- 04/11/2024
- Registration date
- 06/11/2024
- Last edited
- 06/11/2024
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
The RILL Literacy with Language intervention programme is an evidence-based programme that has already been shown to improve children’s vocabulary, word reading skills and reading comprehension skills. A version of the programme has now been developed on the software Canvas and the duration extended to 20 weeks (40 lessons). This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the programme considering these changes.
Who can participate?
Children aged between 7 and 9 years old who have the lowest ReadingScreen scores at participating primary schools
What does the study involve?
The study will take place in Wales and will recruit both Welsh and English schools to undergo Welsh and English versions of the programme. Each language will be evaluated separately. This interventional study involves 16 children per school, who are randomly allocated to one of two groups: the intervention group or the business-as-usual group.
All children in each participating classroom will be screened using ReadingScreen to identify those eligible for the intervention. They will also be assessed with LanguageScreen. The sixteen children (eight per class) with the lowest ReadingScreen scores will be selected for the intervention. The allocation within their classrooms takes into account their age and ReadingScreen scores.
The intervention group will participate in a 20-week literacy and language program (RILL) delivered by teaching assistants in their schools. The control group will continue with their usual classroom teaching.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The researchers expect children receiving the RILL intervention to improve their language skills and possibly also improve their reading skills. They do not believe that there are any risks to children or schools from participating in the study.
Where is the study run from?
Bangor University, Wales
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
September 2024 to July 2025
Who is funding the study?
Llywodraeth Cymru (Welsh Government)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Manon Jones, manon.jones@bangor.ac.uk
Contact information
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
Brigantia Building
Penrallt Road
Bangor University
Bangor
LL572AS
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0003-3266-5472 |
|---|---|
| manon.jones@bangor.ac.uk |
Scientific
Department of Education
York
YO10 5DD
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0001-7350-4048 |
|---|---|
| cameron.downing@york.ac.uk |
Scientific
Department of Education
15 Norham Gardens
Oxford
OX2 6PY
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0001-9499-5958 |
|---|---|
| charles.hulme@education.ox.ac.uk |
Study information
| Study design | Randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | School |
| Study type | Treatment |
| Participant information sheet | 46337_PIS_v2_2024.pdf |
| Scientific title | An evaluation of the efficacy of the RILL literacy with language programme for primary-aged children: Two randomised controlled trials for RILL English and RILL Welsh |
| Study acronym | RILL-WG |
| Study objectives | The RILL programme has been the subject of three trials in the UK, which have demonstrated its efficacy. This study will provide one more test of its efficacy in both English and Welsh now that the programme duration has been increased and the contents moved to a new platform, Canvas, which should enable ease of implementation for practitioners. The RILL programme is expected to produce improvements in children’s vocabulary, word reading skills and reading comprehension when compared to a no-treatment (business as usual) control group. Two, two-arm randomized controlled trials will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the RILL programme; one in English and the other in Welsh. RILL is a 20-week evidence-based programme developed for children aged 7-9 (Years 3 and 4) in UK primary schools. The programme is designed to improve the core literacy and language skills of children with poorer literacy skills. The programme is delivered by specially trained teaching assistants working with children individually or in small groups. The version of the programme to be evaluated in the current trial will be commercialized as a product by OxEd and Assessment. Training for teaching assistants will be provided in person. Evidence from existing trials shows that the programme has positive effects on children’s language skills in both English and Welsh. The current trial will seek evidence that the programme works on its new platform and as a longer intervention. |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Approved 15/10/2024, Bangor University School of Psychology and Sport Science Research Ethics Committee (Brigantia Building, Penrallt Road, Bangor, LL57 2AS, United Kingdom; -; r.rogers@bangor.ac.uk), ref: 0439 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Children with poorer literacy skills |
| Intervention | This is an interventional study - 16 children per school randomly allocated using stratified random sampling to one of two arms (intervention/business as usual). One RCT in Welsh and one RCT in English. All children in each participating classroom will be screened with ReadingScreen to select children for the intervention. They will also receive LanguageScreen. The sixteen children (eight per class) with the lowest ReadingScreen scores will be eligible for intervention. These children will be randomized within classrooms, minimizing for age and ReadingScreen scores. The intervention arm will receive a 20-week literacy with language intervention programme (RILL) delivered by teaching assistants working in the children’s schools. The control arm will receive typical classroom teaching. Results from the primary outcome measures will be used to create two latent variables for “Reading” and for “Language”. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | The following primary outcome measures will be collected pre- and post-intervention: 1. Reading is measured using ReadingScreen (word reading and nonword reading subtests) 2. Word reading is measured using the TOWRE test 3. Oral language is measured using four LanguageScreen subtests (Expressive Vocabulary, Receptive Vocabulary, Listening Comprehension, and Sentence Repetition) 4. The knowledge of the 80 words learned during the intervention is measured using a RILL vocabulary test |
| Secondary outcome measures | The following secondary outcome measures will be collected pre- and post-intervention: 1. The ability to quickly name letters and numbers will be measured using the alphanumeric Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) test in English and Welsh 2. The use of reading comprehension strategies will be measured using a Cloze reading comprehension task in both English and Welsh |
| Overall study start date | 01/09/2024 |
| Completion date | 31/07/2025 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Learner/student |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Lower age limit | 7 Years |
| Upper age limit | 9 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 320 for the English RCT; 320 for the Welsh RCT |
| Total final enrolment | 640 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Children aged 7-9 years old in primary school in all participating classrooms 2. Eligible children are those in each participating classroom with the poorest reading skills on ReadingScreen test 3. Children in the Welsh RCT arm will be selected based on Welsh RS data 4. Children in the English RCT arm will be selected based on the English RS data |
| Key exclusion criteria | Do not meet the participant inclusion criteria |
| Date of first enrolment | 21/10/2024 |
| Date of final enrolment | 31/10/2024 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- United Kingdom
- Wales
Study participating centre
Bangor
LL57 2DG
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
University/education
Gwynedd
Bangor
LL57 2DG
Wales
United Kingdom
| seniorresearchgovofficer@bangor.ac.uk | |
| Website | https://www.bangor.ac.uk/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/006jb1a24 |
Funders
Funder type
Government
Government organisation / Local government
- Alternative name(s)
- Welsh Government, The Welsh Government
- Location
- United Kingdom
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 30/06/2026 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Stored in publicly available repository |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a peer-reviewed journal |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study will be stored in a publicly available repository (http://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk); raw, anonymised data will become available 12 months after data collection and available indefinitely (or until a date decided upon at a later date). Open data will be available to anyone via mechanisms available in reshare (the licence applied to the data will be attribution non-commercial share alike: CC BY-NCSA). Consent will be obtained from participants to share anonymised data. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participant information sheet | version 2 | 06/11/2024 | No | Yes |
Additional files
Editorial Notes
06/11/2024: Study's existence confirmed by the Bangor University School of Psychology and Sport Science Research Ethics Committee.
