What’s involved?

Reading Plus is an online adaptive EdTech programme. It can be used by individual pupils, as a small group intervention, or by a whole class – in this trial, it will be used by a whole class. Reading Plus aims to improve pupils’ reading comprehension, silent reading fluency and overall reading attainment.

On the online platform, pupils undertake a diagnostic assessment to identify their current level of reading proficiency and practice their understanding of the weekly texts that they are assigned via comprehension questions, with additional tasks assigned by the adaptive programme. Pupils work independently: the programme automatically marks answers, providing feedback to pupils and reports for teachers on pupil progress. Teachers can administer summative assessments to evidence progression and see which pupils need challenge or additional support.

This project will be delivered to Year 5 pupils (age 9 – 10) over 28 weeks. Schools are expected to deliver the programme for 90 minutes a week, broken down into at least 2 weekly sessions (45 minutes) or delivered as 3 x 30-minute sessions, or shorter daily sessions. Teachers and Teaching Assistants supervise pupils to use their individual log-ins to the online platform during lesson time.

This project is led by Ian Fitzpatrick and Briony Cragg of Reading Solutions UK. Schools are appointed a dedicated Reading Development Consultant who works with the school to provide an implementation plan and deliver two staff training sessions. The first session (before delivery) explains programme pedagogy, an overview of how to get started, and data interpretation. The second (in early delivery) covers usage, formative progress and support based on pupil data. Support is provided as required on an ongoing basis via the Partner Plus customer care team.

Who can take part?

Any school that:

• Is a state-maintained primary school;
• Is not simultaneously participating in another EEF Year 5 literacy trial;
• Has devices available to each pupil in the class, to support intervention delivery;
• Has not held a KS2 Reading Plus programme licence in the 12 months prior to delivery.

In addition, we prefer that schools not participate in any other EEF trial in 2024/25 as this may affect their ability to engage with this project. If you are participating in another EEF trial and are interested in this project, please let us know which trial this is at ian@​readingsolutionsuk.​com. You may be added to a recruitment waitlist.

We prefer that schools do not have mixed age group classes for literacy instruction. If your school does and you are interested in this project, let us know, and you may be added to a recruitment waitlist.

Register your interest here: Expression of Interest Form (monday.com)

Reading Plus aims to improve pupils’ silent reading fluency, comprehension and vocabulary.

Features of the software are based on supporting reading with automaticity so that readers can devote more of their cognitive resources to information processing and the construction of meaning. Disadvantaged pupils could particularly be supported by computer adaptive learning, which identifies gaps in learning via diagnostic assessment and provides personalised follow up activities, also supporting the teacher to see which pupils may need additional support.

Reading Plus has been extensively implemented in England. A number of studies have reported positive impacts on pupil outcomes. However most experimental research of Reading Plus has been small-scale and developer-led. This large randomised controlled trial aims to provide a robust estimate of the impact of Reading Plus on pupils’ reading outcomes.

This project will be evaluated by Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) through a randomised controlled trial, randomised at school level. This means that your school will either be assigned to deliver the programme, or to the control group.

The control group does not implement the programme but involves their pupils in the same testing to provide a comparison group essential for the evaluation. As they do not receive the intervention, the control group receives a payment for taking part in testing.

The evaluation will be an efficacy trial, meaning it will assess the impact of Reading Plus on pupils’ reading attainment. It will also evaluate the impact of Reading Plus on pupils’ silent reading fluency, reading comprehension and vocabulary and feelings of confidence and enjoyment.

An Implementation and Process evaluation will be conducted alongside the Impact evaluation to explore how schools implement the programme and perceptions of Reading Plus.