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Following the nationwide closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, schools are still in a recovery phase. This disruption has had significant effects across all areas of education, particularly literacy. Literacy allows us to communicate and is paramount for educational success. Literacy skills encompass the ability to think critically, read, write, talk, and listen effectively. The possession of strong literacy skills permeates other key areas, such as enhancing social engagement, as well as prospects of educational and employment opportunities. Schools have made significant efforts to minimise the delays in children’s progress with literacy, however, limited capacity and funding have made this challenging. This is where the RILL project comes in…
What is RILL and how did it begin?
The RILL project was created in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a short intervention programme for Key Stage 2 children and was delivered remotely to 200 children in their homes, across England and Wales. RILL was shown to be beneficial in improving children’s reading skills.
After the success of this initial project, Bangor University, including the Miles Dyslexia Centre, teamed up with literacy research experts at the University of Oxford and Leeds Trinity University and secured funding from Nuffield Foundation. The programme is now being implemented in around 50 primary schools as an in-class catch-up programme, supporting over 300 children. RILL is a high structured, 15-week programme aimed to close the reading and language gap, caused by COVID, with particular attention to children with lower reading ability.
Who can participate?
The programme is aimed at Key Stage 2 children (Years 3 and 4) who are enrolled in mainstream primary schools in the UK, and who have been identified as having literacy difficulties (through ReadingScreening).
Working with schools
I will now focus on two crucial aspects of any educational project: assessment and implementation, I believe that the insights I have gained can be applicable to other initiatives as well. Taking a holistic approach that considers the school staff, pupils, and the project itself is essential for achieving success and promoting best practices. By ensuring that everyone involved is supported and engaged, you create a conducive environment for positive outcomes. Below, I'll delve deeper into the significance of this holistic approach in both assessment and implementation:
How is the programmed delivered?
How is the programmed delivered?
RILL is delivered by teaching assistants (TAs), who will be specially trained by the RILL research team. The TAs will use ReadingScreen, Microsoft Teams, and OneNote to successfully implement this programme, which targets phonological awareness, word-level decoding and fluency, spelling, and vocabulary. The students receive instruction (either 1:1 or in groups of 3) twice a week for 15 weeks and each session will last for approximately 40-50 minutes.
What does the study involve?
All the students in the class complete two short screening tasks to assess reading ability (ReadingScreen). This identifies the 12 who struggle the most with reading and writing. Alongside their TA, these 12 students complete short test activities online (pre-activities) These measure their reading, writing, and language skills at a baseline level. The 12 students are randomly allocated into either Group 1 or Group 2. Group 1 do 15-weeks of RILL and Group 2 complete classroom activities as normal. After the 15 weeks, students complete the same short tests again (post-activities) with the TA and the groups switch. Group 1 discontinue the RILL programme and continue with teaching as normal, whilst Group 1 now complete the RILL programme. Finally, all 12 students complete the follow-up activities.
What do the lessons involve?
The lessons are divided into 4 key areas covering all the core skills that are integral to reading:
1. Words of the Day (5 minutes) and Passage of the Day (10 minutes)
2. Word Games (5 minutes)
3. Word Writing (10 minutes)
4. Story Time (5 minutes)
Then, 5 minutes will be spent at the end of each session to recap the words of the day.
What are the benefits of participating?
Pupils:
Opportunity to feel more confident whilst developing their literacy skills.
Take part in fun, interactive sessions with the support of a TA
Ultimately, it will help children with English and/or Welsh literacy difficulties to ‘catch-up’.
Schools:
Free access to pre-packaged evidence based and effective literacy and language programme.
Free access to Reading Screen for the purpose of this project
Free training and support for staff in delivering the program.
The TAs will develop skills and confidence to teach literacy using technology.
Lessons can be easily adapted to the skills and needs of each pupil and these resources can be retained and used for children who have not taken part in RILL but need extra support.
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