Effectiveness study of Read Write Inc. Phonics and Fresh Start programmes

ISRCTN ISRCTN97725862
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN97725862
Secondary identifying numbers N/A
Submission date
17/06/2016
Registration date
17/06/2016
Last edited
05/01/2023
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Other
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

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

Contact information

Dr Pooja Nakamura
Scientific

American Institutes for Research
1000 Thomas Jefferson St NW
Washington, DC
20007
United States of America

Dr Adria Molotsky
Scientific

American Institutes for Research
1000 Thomas Jefferson St NW
Washington, DC
20007
United States of America

Study information

Study designCluster randomised controlled trial
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designCluster randomised trial
Study setting(s)School
Study typeOther
Participant information sheet Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet
Scientific titleClustered-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
Study objectivesRead Write Inc. Phonics and Fresh Start will improve pupil reading outcomes.
Ethics approval(s)American Institutes for Research Institutional Review Board 12/05/2016
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedReading outcomes
InterventionStaff 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 typeOther
Primary outcome measure1. 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 measures1. 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 study start date02/12/2015
Completion date31/10/2019

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Other
Age groupChild
SexBoth
Target number of participantsRead Write Inc. Phonics: 4,400 Year 2 pupils from 120 schools; Fresh Start: 1,200 Year 5-6 pupils from 120 schools
Key inclusion criteriaSchools: 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.
Key exclusion criteriaSchools: non-stated funded schools

Pupils: Fresh Start: Children reading above a reading age of 9.5 years
Date of first enrolment01/04/2016
Date of final enrolment31/08/2016

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • Northern Ireland
  • United Kingdom

Study participating centre

Queen's University Belfast
69/71 University Street
Belfast
BT7 1HL
United Kingdom

Sponsor information

Education Endowment Foundation (UK)
Charity

9th Floor
Millbank Tower
21-24 Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
United Kingdom

Phone +44 (0)207 802 1676
Email info@eefoundation.org.uk
Website https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/03bhd6288

Funders

Funder type

Charity

Education Endowment Foundation
Private sector organisation / Trusts, charities, foundations (both public and private)
Alternative name(s)
EducEndowFoundn, Education Endowment Foundation | London, EEF
Location
United Kingdom

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date31/05/2021
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryStored in repository
Publication and dissemination planThe final report will be distributed by the Education Endowment Foundation and made available on their website.
IPD sharing planThe 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.

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Protocol file 26/08/2022 No No
Statistical Analysis Plan 17/01/2018 26/08/2022 No No
Basic results 05/01/2023 No No

Additional files

32235 EEF_Project_Protocol_AIR_Fresh_Start_and_RWI.pdf
32235 Fresh_Start_SAP_17Jan2018.pdf
ISRCTN97725862_BasicResults.pdf

Editorial Notes

05/01/2023: Basic results uploaded.
26/08/2022: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. Uploaded protocol (not peer-reviewed) as an additional file.
2. The statistical analysis plan was uploaded as an additional file.
04/11/2020: The intention to publish date was changed from 01/05/2020 to 31/05/2021.
14/06/2019: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The overall end date was changed from 30/09/2018 to 31/10/2019.
2. The intention to publish date was changed from 31/12/2018 to 01/05/2020.
02/05/2018: IPD sharing statement added.
23/04/2018: Contact details updated.