An analysis of attainment in Slough primary schools in 2018 identified that a key area of underperformance in an otherwise comparatively high performing borough was in reading. Following extensive discussions with the schools where reading was weaker and analysis of performance data, it was clear that there were a number of schools which had a significant achievement gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils in reading.
The barriers to learning to read for disadvantaged pupils in Slough were found to be complex and varied across the schools however there were some common factors which emerged from the initial research and data analysis including a lack of reading culture and books in the home, limited life experiences on which to draw and poor transactional language skills, either because English was not their first language or there are low standards of literacy at home, limited pupils’ capacity to articulate their thinking.
Question level analysis showed that disadvantaged pupils performed poorly in the higher order reading skills of inference and prediction and performed poorly in tests where the context of the text was unfamiliar to them.
Classroom observations revealed that while the teaching of reading was covering all the domains of reading, questioning, discussions in class and feedback to pupils on their comprehension focused on content and did not consistently drive progress towards deeper levels of understanding. This was exacerbated where guided and individual reading was supported by teaching assistants.
In response to this research the Slough commissioned a project to address they key barriers to reading and support teachers to develop their teaching of higher order reading skills. All schools with below national expectations in reading were invited to join the project and 8 schools were recruited based on their capacity to undertake a longitudinal project and commit the time and resources needed to achieve a positive outcome.