BRP Introduction

From Usefulwiki

This major section of usefulwiki is designed to support schools, reading partners, parents and others to share their learning, insights, questions and problems relating to the Better Reading Partners programme.

Better Reading Partners is based on a scheme which was pioneered in Bradford it the UK. The scheme was developed from Maire Clay's New Zealand Reading Recovery Programme. It has now been running in schools all over the UK for several years. Many more schools are being encouraged to use the programme and this section of usefulwiki is aimed at providing the people actually using the programme with support.

It is a ten week intervention programme to improve the reading skills of children reading just below average. It works best for children whose reading age is about a year below their chronological age. These are often children who have some grasp of the mechanics of reading but have not 'taken off' as independent readers. The programme consists of three 15 minute sessions a week which follow a specific structure. Research in schools has shown that children average a 6 month improvement in their reading age and a massive improvement in their attitudes to reading. Many children gain even more from the scheme as they start to see themselves as effective readers and learners. The child works with a trained 'partner' usually a teaching assistant or sometimes a volunteer.

Training of partners is a vital part of setting up a scheme and schools must not skip this aspect of the programme. The resources provided here are intended as a reference not a subsitute for in-depth training.

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