Evaluation of the Integrated Group Reading (IGR) early intervention.
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN38427991 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN38427991 |
| Protocol serial number | N/A |
| Sponsor | Nuffield Foundation |
| Funder | Nuffield Foundation |
- Submission date
- 01/06/2015
- Registration date
- 14/07/2015
- Last edited
- 26/09/2018
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Plain English summary as of 26/09/2018:
Background and study aims
This project aims to test on a national scale the novel classroom reading intervention called the Integrated Group Reading (IGR) programme for children that are experiencing problems with learning to read. Despite continued efforts to ensure that all children benefit from Key Stage 1 (KS1) teaching, 7-18% of pupils in English primary schools are still slow to start reading, or cannot read at all on entry to Key Stage 2 (KS2). IGR is a novel programme that is combined with existing Guided Reading teaching for those children requiring a more focused approach. IGR integrates several discrete professional and research-based aspects of early literacy education, highlighting the connection between the teaching of phonics-for-reading and the importance for children of story and meaning-making. It also provides teachers with carefully designed and systematic materials (short books and accompanying story-specific games) to underpin this. At the level of children’s learning, the methodology is fun, simple and thorough, with lively, story-focused teacher-led small group work combining with Teaching Assistant one-to-one consolidation in-between twice-weekly lessons. This study will examine whether children’s reading accuracy, comprehension and reading attitudes will be improved by IGR compared to usual teaching approaches, how the programme is taught in practice, and teachers’ experience of the approach.
Who can participate?
Year 2 and 3 children identified as being the slowest to read compared to their classroom peers, and their teachers.
What does the study involve?
Schools that have enrolled to take part are randomly allocated to teach the IGR programme (intervention group) or not (the control group). Participating teachers attend a one-day introductory training and will thereafter be supported by their local Literacy Advisers and the Programme team. Children is classes run by the intervention schools are taught using the IGR programme for 30-35 minutes twice a week for a period of 2.5 school terms. They also participate in daily reading, word memory and phonic game-playing in between lessons. Children in classes run by control schools continue to have their usual lessons. Each child’s reading accuracy, comprehension and attitude towards reading is then assessed individually and as a group.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Not provided at time of registration
Where is the study run from?
40 schools in 4 separate areas of the country.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
June 2015 to August 2017 (in two phases – phase 1: 2015-16; phase 2: 2016-17)
Who is funding the study?
Nuffield Foundation (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Professor Brahm Norwich
Previous plain English summary:
Background and study aims
This project aims to test on a national scale the novel classroom reading intervention called the Integrated Group Reading (IGR) programme for children that are experiencing problems with learning to read. Despite continued efforts to ensure that all children benefit from Key Stage 1 (KS1) teaching, 7-18% of pupils in English primary schools are still slow to start reading, or cannot read at all on entry to Key Stage 2 (KS2). IGR is a novel programme that is combined with existing Guided Reading teaching for those children requiring a more focused approach. IGR integrates several discrete professional and research-based aspects of early literacy education, highlighting the connection between the teaching of phonics-for-reading and the importance for children of story and meaning-making. It also provides teachers with carefully designed and systematic materials (short books and accompanying story-specific games) to underpin this. At the level of children’s learning, the methodology is fun, simple and thorough, with lively, story-focused teacher-led small group work combining with Teaching Assistant one-to-one consolidation in-between twice-weekly lessons. This study will examine whether children’s reading accuracy, comprehension and reading attitudes will be improved by IGR compared to usual teaching approaches, how the programme is taught in practice, and teachers’ experience of the approach.
Who can participate?
Year 2 and 3 children identified as being the slowest to read compared to their classroom peers, and their teachers.
What does the study involve?
Schools that have enrolled to take part are randomly allocated to teach the IGR programme (intervention group) or not (the control group). Participating teachers attend a one-day introductory training and will thereafter be supported by their local Literacy Advisers and the Programme team. Children is classes run by the intervention schools are taught using the IGR programme for 30-35 minutes twice a week for a period of 2.5 school terms. They also participate in daily reading, word memory and phonic game-playing in between lessons. Children in classes run by control schools continue to have their usual lessons. Each child’s reading accuracy, comprehension and attitude towards reading is then assessed individually and as a group.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Not provided at time of registration
Where is the study run from?
40 schools in 4 separate areas of the country.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
June 2015 to August 2017
Who is funding the study?
Nuffield Foundation (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Professor Brahm Norwich
Contact information
Scientific
Graduate School of Education
St Lukes Campus
Heavitree Road
Exeter
EX12LU
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0002-1852-8829 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 01392 724805 |
| b.norwich@ex.ac.uk |
Study information
| Primary study design | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Study design | Cluster randomised controlled trial and process evaluation |
| Secondary study design | Cluster randomised trial |
| Study type | Participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | An innovative classroom reading intervention for Year 2 and 3 pupils who are struggling to learn to read: evaluating the Integrated Group Reading (IGR) programme |
| Study acronym | IGR |
| Study objectives | The IGR teaching method for year 2 and 3 children who most struggle with reading will result in improved reading outcomes (reading accuracy, comprehension and attitudes) compared to the progress of similar children experiencing the usual approaches to teaching reading. |
| Ethics approval(s) | Graduate School of Education Ethics Committee - University of Exeter, 08/07/2015, ref: STF/14/15/11 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Early stages of literacy difficulties |
| Intervention | Schools are randomly allocated to control or intervention groups. 1. The control classes will have the 4 pupils in need of targeted teaching identified but they will have typical teaching during the phase 1. What this typical teaching will involve will be monitored during the two and a half terms of the IGR intervention. 2. The IGR intervention is designed for use with groups of 4 children identified in Years 2 and 3 as the most struggling in learning to read. It is taught for 30-35 minutes twice a week by the class teacher over a period of 2.5 school terms, with daily follow-up individual reading and word memory or phonic game-playing in between lessons. The programme involves a set of original materials developed with children to meet the very specific needs of this group. The core IGR programme has been designed to take the children in a systematic and language-rich way through the orthographic progression of written language by ease of acquisition with reference at the same time to aspects of early spoken and literary language experience known to be especially important for children still needing to develop strong phonological representations as a basis for literacy acquisition and the learning of reading. A key feature of the programme, therefore, is that every book is the hub of a learning cycle. Every lesson takes the children in a methodical and predictable way through this cycle, from preparation/familiarisation to reading to remembering/consolidation, so that a fundamental characteristic of the approach is learning-in-depth in an enjoyable way. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure(s) |
Primary outcome measures as of 26/09/2018 |
| Key secondary outcome measure(s) |
Secondary outcome measures as of 26/09/2018: |
| Completion date | 31/08/2017 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Other |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Sex | All |
| Target sample size at registration | 320 |
| Key inclusion criteria | Between 3-5 (on average 4) children will be identified as the most reading delayed in the Year 2 and 3 classes in the 40 IGR intervention and control schools. Teachers will identify these pupils by using a Reading Rating form (5 point scale going from well below to well above expected level and identify specific literacy problems from a list. |
| Key exclusion criteria | Those children not identified by the Reading Rating Form. |
| Date of first enrolment | 01/06/2015 |
| Date of final enrolment | 30/07/2015 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- United Kingdom
- England
Study participating centre
Heavitree Road
Exeter
EX12LU
United Kingdom
Results and Publications
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
|---|---|
| IPD sharing plan summary | |
| IPD sharing plan |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results article | results | 01/03/2018 | Yes | No | |
| Participant information sheet | Participant information sheet | 11/11/2025 | 11/11/2025 | No | Yes |
| Study website | Study website | 11/11/2025 | 11/11/2025 | No | Yes |
Editorial Notes
24/09/2018: Publication reference added.
30/05/2018: Online report added to publication and dissemination plan.
24/03/2016: Ethics approval information added participant level data availability added.
