Case Study 10: Swansea
School Background
Case Study 10 is from an average sized primary school located on the outskirts of Swansea, which provides for pupils aged 3-11 years. The school has a current population of 270 pupils, the vast majority of whom come from the surrounding local area. The school has a high number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals.
How have the materials been used in school?
The materials were used by the headteacher, a year 5 class teacher and a Learning Support Assistant (LSA). The headteacher worked with a group of approximately 10 year 3 pupils. The class teacher and LSA worked with 9 year 5 pupils. The materials had been used on a 1:1 or 2:1 basis with pupils. At least one group of pupils used the materials each day during the trialling period.
What did the school think of the reading books?
The school was very impressed with the reading books. All 3 members of staff said that the books seemed to be very popular with the pupils. The class teacher commented,
'the books are great. The children really enjoy them. They are really positive about them and want to read them'. The headteacher agreed and added, 'they love the humour of them'.
The use of colour, the types of pictures (cartoons and photographs) and size of text were all felt to be positive features that appealed to the pupils they had worked with.
The jokes another aspect of the books that were popular with the pupils and were felt to help encourage an interest in reading.
The names of activities at the back of the books such as Text Detective and Super Speller, were felt to be positive names which the headteacher and pupils liked to use.
The members of staff made many positive comments about the reading books. In particular, the Before Reading page was felt to be an example of good practice - the pupils knew what the book was going to be about, and this page, along with the Quiz, often set up a lot of discussion.
The length of the books was considered a key positive feature. The class teacher commented,
'there's not a massive amount of literature to get through. They can finish a book in one session, so they feel that they are moving on and that gives them confidence'.
The headteacher agreed,
'they feel successful'.
What did the school think of the software?
With the software, pupils were able to read or be read to every day. Sometimes they read to the computer and another time to their headteacher, teacher or LSA. It was felt that some pupils may feel less self conscious reading to a computer rather than an adult, especially if they were having initial difficulties with a couple of words. After a pupil had finished on the computer, the teachers could go back into the software, identify any problems that the pupils may have had, and then go back through it with the pupils.
What did the school like most about the software?
The pupils were felt to particularly enjoy hearing themselves read. The star system was also felt to be a positive feature as the pupils liked to see how many stars they got at the end. The headteacher commented,
'one child was struggling a bit. He read it through twice and could see that he had earned more stars than last time. He could see the progress he had made which was great'.
What do the pupils think?
Pupils gave the materials a 'thumbs up'. The pupils talked about their favourite stories and showed the pictures they liked best. One of the pupils was particularly keen to use the materials and wanted to know if he could do this 'right now!'
Overall
The school was very positive about the materials. The materials were felt to have had an impact on pupils' self-esteem and to have encouraged an interest in reading.
'they love to come and read and if you can get them interested, that's half the battle'.
The headteacher explained,
'when I go into the classroom with my list of children, I've never seen children come out of a class so fast. They actually jump out the classroom. They're like 'yes!' which is great…they're really pleased to be able to do it'.
The school would 'definitely' like to use the materials in the future. They were planning to buy 2 more computers for their library and put the software on to these computers as well.
The headteacher had already recommended the materials to other teachers in their cluster of schools.
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