Stephen Twigg MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary said: “These figures reveal the truth behind David Cameron’s warm words: this Government’s decisions have led to a near-halving of the number of vulnerable 5- and 6-year-olds receiving one-to-one reading support. Michael Gove removed the funding ring fence for Reading Recovery despite the fact it was shown in an independent evaluation, commissioned by the DfE, to support some of the most vulnerable children in England to read and write.
“The Department of Education’s own analysis from May this year, said the scheme ‘had a positive impact on reading’.”
Jayne Kennedy, Head Teacher of Barlow Hall Primary School in Manchester, which has benefited from the scheme said: “This programme made a real difference to vulnerable pupils who left with much higher reading and writing skills than they might otherwise have had. In today’s competitive world of work, these skills can be the difference between success and failure. We need to make sure that such successful schemes continue to provide high quality one-to-one reading support to pupils who need it most. We are worried that as budgets tighten, funding for this kind of critical specialist support will dry up.
“We have seen this beginning to happen as a result of uncertainty of the Government’s commitment to the scheme and the removal of ring fenced funding for Reading Recovery. The reduction in the number of teachers undertaking Reading Recovery nationally is of real concern.”
Stephen Twigg MP continued: “Under Labour, more than 21,000 children aged five to six who were most at risk of falling behind got an intensive 20 weeks of support to help with reading and writing. This year, figures from the Institute of Education show the numbers dropping to 12,000 or fewer.
“The numbers of teachers training to deliver the programme has collapsed from just over 1,000 last year, to only 88 this year. It is no wonder given the uncertainty over funding facing schools.
“This Tory-led Government must protect funding for one-to-one reading support. It’s all very well David Cameron giving speeches on poor literacy, but the reality is the decisions of his government have caused a massive drop-off in the number of children getting the help they need to overcome this.
“The Government says this scheme works, and yet ministers are unwilling to commit to it, showing just how out of touch they are with what happens in the classroom. Instead of pursuing pet projects, Michael Gove should support an evidence-based approach to education.”
