reading | Schools Week

Academics want reform of ‘narrow’ phonics focus

Study claims teaching reading in England has been ‘less successful’ under new approach

New Covid study finds no reading loss, but confirms maths drop

Interim findings from another study into Covid lost learning have been published today. This one, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and carried out by FFT Education, investigates whether Covid has widened the attainment gap. Here’s what it found. 1. Gap widens in maths, but not reading… The study found the attainment gap between […]

DfE eyes wider rollout of ‘glasses in classes’ and wellbeing schemes after opportunity areas success

Ministers have said they are considering rolling out schemes trialled in their 12 “opportunity areas” more widely, including a programme offering eye tests to reception pupils and a wellbeing programme. Michelle Donelan, the universities minister, who is also responsible for the opportunity areas programme, has written to education committee chair Robert Halfon with an update […]

Phonics check 2018 pass mark announced

The pass mark for the phonics screening check will remain at 32 this year, the Department for Education has announced. It is the seventh year in a row that the test’s pass mark has been set at this level. Details of the pass mark have been published today, along with test materials, scoring guidance and […]

Disadvantaged pupils’ maths attainment sees England fall behind

England needs to double the number of disadvantaged pupils who achieve the top GCSE grades in maths to catch up with the best-performing countries around the world, according to new Education Policy Institute (EPI) research. Just one in 10 disadvantaged pupils in England achieve a grade 7, 8 or 9 in GCSE maths, while nearly twice […]

PIRLS 2016: Well-stocked libraries don’t improve reading scores

A well-stocked school library has little impact on English pupils’ reading skills, according to an international literacy study. Year 5 pupils at schools with no school library achieved almost the same reading scores as those in schools with libraries containing over 5,000 books, according to the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). PIRLS […]

Pupils who record own learning make four months’ progress in maths – and two other EEF trials

A programme that develops pupils’ ability to reflect on their own learning has returned promising results for attainment in maths – but had negative impacts on reading, according to researchers. Evaluators at the University of Manchester found that 10-year-olds who took part in the ReflectED programme, in which they took photographs, made notes and kept […]