Focus on Practice: Raising reading standards — the Reading Partners approach: cross‐age peer tutoring in a special school

Abstract

This article, written by Mary Nugent, an educational psychologist working with the National Educational Psychology Service in Dublin, reviews the work done in a special school, in the Dublin area, to develop a Reading Partners Scheme. The school involved in the project, which will be referred to as St Mark's, is a special school for children with moderate learning difficulties (in Ireland described as mild learning difficulties). The Reading Partner's Scheme involved cross‐age peer tutoring in reading, working with students in the 8 to 18 age range. The training, organisation and management of the scheme are outlined here. Evaluation studies indicate multiple benefits of the scheme, accruing to both the learners and the helpers. These benefits include progress in reading, enhanced feelings of self‐worth and more positive attitudes to school. Ideas for further development of the scheme are described, as well as future research opportunities.