How can children with mild literacy difficulties be supported at the transition to secondary school? A small-scale quasi-experimental study

There is evidence that pupils with weak literacy skills struggle on transition to secondary school. Many experience a drop in attainment in the summer break between the two. A British government-funded programme of rigorously designed research on boosting literacy at transition had ( by 2015) found only four of 15 interventions evaluated had positive effects. This small-scale quasi-experimental study investigated the effectiveness of support for pupils with mild literacy difficulties on transition to secondary school. Thirty-two pupils in three schools were involved; half received the programme. Pairs were matched on reading, spelling, age and gender. Intervention was designed around the individual needs of each pupil, focusing variously on language skills, writing, reading and spelling. The group receiving the programme made modest gains in spelling, reading efficiency and single word reading. The comparison group lost ground, relatively, in all three areas. The results suggest a promising line for more rigorous investigation.