Improving literacy and closing the gap with our One-to-one Reading Programme

Findings from our ImpactEd report

Currently more than one in four children are leaving primary school behind the expected standard. This disproportionately impacts children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are leaving primary school on average 10 months behind their peers. These children are more likely to experience unemployment, poor mental health and even a shorter life expectancy. 

We’re passionate about helping children improve their reading skills and this is clear through our One-to-one Reading Programme, where volunteers provide fun, engaging and effective reading sessions to children who are falling behind with their reading. 

We’ve recently completed a one-year study with ImpactEd to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme. Here are some of the findings from the study conducted over the 2023/​24 academic year.

How the study worked

ImpactEd evaluated the reading progress of 265 pupils who participated in our programme, alongside 648 pupils who didn’t, from 18 partner schools. To measure progress, they used standardised reading scores. 

A score of 100 indicates that a child is reading in line with the national average for their age. Scores over 100 are above average, and anything below suggests a child may need more support with their reading. The scores take into account age and progress over time so when a child’s score goes up, it means they’re making faster progress than expected.

1. Pupils’ reading scores have increased more than expected

At the start of the year, pupils in the programme had an average reading score of 91.2, well below the national average of 100. But, since taking part in our programme, their average scores have jumped to 97.0, a gain of 5.8 points. 

This means that pupils in our programme are improving faster than expected and getting closer to the national average. It is reasonable to predict that, if these children continue to make progress, the attainment gap will narrow further, bringing their reading levels in line with the national average or even surpassing it.

2. The programme makes a particular impact on disadvantaged children

The study indicates children eligible for pupil premium (extra funding to help pupils from disadvantaged communities) benefitted even more than their peers. Their reading scores increased by 6.7 points, compared to 5.4 points for non-eligible pupils. The gap between the two groups’ scores had narrowed by the end of the year to only 0.8. 

We know that children from disadvantaged backgrounds often face more barriers to literacy. These findings suggest our programme helped to level the playing field.

3. Pupils with special educational needs

Another standout finding was the progress made by students with special educational needs (SEN). These children gained 6.7 points on average, compared to 5.4 points for pupils without SEN. While the programme isn’t designed specifically for SEN pupils, this highlights the impact one-to-one reading support can have on children who may need extra support.

4. Progress across all groups

Regardless of gender, year group, or whether they spoke English as a first or additional language, all pupils across the programme made progress. While data on ethnicity was harder to analyse due to small sample sizes, the study suggested improvements across all ethnic groups too. 

Children who completed our One-to-one Reading Programme showed greater improvements in their scores compared to those who didn’t complete the programmes.

While less progress (+0.2) was observed among children who did not complete the program, greater improvement was recorded for those who completed at least one programme (+4.4 or more), with the largest improvement (+12.1) seen among children who completed four programmes. 

Children who attended 6 – 12 sessions showed consistent improvements in their reading scores, while those attending only 1 – 5 sessions experienced less consistent progress. 

As such, encouraging a minimum of six sessions boosts the likelihood of improvement, so we’ve decided to revise our programme completion benchmark from eight sessions to six.

Looking ahead

Our mission is to improve children’s literacy by promoting a reading for pleasure culture in primary schools, with a focus on supporting children in the most disadvantaged communities. This study suggests our programme is doing just that, whether its helping disadvantaged pupils catch up or providing additional one-to-one support for SEN pupils. 

We’re already using these insights to make our programme even better. We’ll continue to focus on the children most at risk of falling behind, encouraging teachers to select those who stand to benefit the most, and provide additional support to schools with a higher number of children from disadvantaged communities. 

Working together with schools and volunteers, we can help more children develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed. 

Want to learn more about how you can support children’s reading? Read the full report, explore our school programmes, or become a reading volunteer with us today!