Why Reading Recovery is worth funding

Abstract

Reading Recovery, the much lauded early intervention programme aimed at providing tutoring for the lowest achieving readers in the six and seven-year-old age range, looks as though it could gradually slip away from us, if we are not careful. The reason behind many schools pulling out of the programme is not dwindling interest – far from it – but simply the removal of government funding. Previously, schools that had been identified as having a high level of need were awarded a grant to use for training a Reading Recovery teacher. This enabled that teacher to work with individual children, supporting wider interventions through the Every Child a Reader initiative. But with the removal of ring-fencing, targeted funding is now being freely distributed among all schools. Although this may suit some, it is leaving others with a cash shortfall. How it works Reading Recovery is an early intervention tutoring programme for pupils aged between six and seven who are falling behind in their reading. The programme provides the lowest achieving readers (lowest 20 per cent) with specially tailored tutoring, in addition to their regular reading classes. The programme consists of daily 30 minute one-toone lessons over a 12-20 week period, delivered by a specially trained teacher. The lessons include assessment, reading familiar stories, reading a story that was previously read the day before, writing a story, working with broken down words and sentences and reading a new book.