Education Endowment Foundation:Read Write Inc. Phonics and Fresh Start

Read Write Inc. Phonics and Fresh Start

Queen’s University Belfast, Ruth Miskin Training
Implementation costThe cost estimates in the Toolkits are based on the average cost of delivering the intervention.
Evidence strengthThis rating provides an overall estimate of the robustness of the evidence, to help support professional decision-making in schools.
Impact (months)The impact measure shows the number of additional months of progress made, on average, by children and young people who received the intervention, compared to similar children and young people who did not.
+1
months
Project info

Independent Evaluator

American Institutes for Research logo
American Institutes for Research
Testing the impact of a systematic and rigorous phonics programme on early readers and also those that have fallen behind at the end of Key Stage 2.
Schools: 131 Grant: £1,038,782
Key Stage: 1, 2 Duration: 6 year(s) 1 month(s) Type of Trial: Effectiveness Trial
Completed October 2022

Read Write Inc. Phonics and Fresh Start teach children to read and write through a systematic approach to literacy rooted in phonics. Read Write Inc. Phonics is for children in Reception – Year 4 (age 4 – 9) and begins with 20-minute daily lessons in term 1 of Reception, building up to an hour a day for children in Year 1 and above. Most children complete the programme by the first term of Year 2 while those in need of further support may continue until the end of Year 4. Fresh Start is a catch-up programme for children in Years 5 – 8 (age 9 – 13) who have been identified as below their expected reading age. Pupils in this trial were offered daily one-hour lessons for up to 33 weeks, in place of or in addition to regular English lessons.

Outcome/​Group
ImpactThe size of the difference between pupils in this trial and other pupils
SecurityHow confident are we in this result?
RWI: NGRT SAS reading score – Year 2
+1
Months' progress
(Effect size 0.05)
RWI NGRT SAS reading score – Year 2 FSM subgroup
+3
Months' progress
(Effect size 0.22)
N/A
FS: KS2 reading score – cohort 1 (Year 7 at end of trial)
-3
Months' progress
(Effect size -0.22)
FS: KS2 reading score – cohort 1 FSM subgroup (Year 7 at end of trial)
-3
Months' progress
(Effect size -0.26)
N/A
FS: KS2 reading score – cohort 2 (Year 6 at end of trial
0
Months' progress
(Effect size -0.03)
FS: KS2 reading score – cohort 2 FSM subgroup (Year 6 at end of trial
-2
Months' progress
(Effect size -0.13)
N/A
FS: KS2 reading score – combined
-2
Months' progress
(Effect size -0.13)
FS: KS2 reading score – combined FSM subgroup
-3
Months' progress
(Effect size -0.21)
N/A