Case Study 4: Worcestershire
School Background
Case Study 4 is from a two-form entry primary school with nursery provision, providing for pupils from 3-11 years. The school is located in Worcestershire in a relatively affluent area. The school population is mostly drawn from the local area but some pupils are from less affluent surrounding areas. Very few pupils qualify for free school meals and they are largely of White British heritage. The school population is 425 pupils.
How have the materials been used in school?
The reading books were trialled by 4 teaching assistants and 8 pupils in total. One pupil was in year 6, another pupil was in year 3, 3 pupils were in year 5 and a further 3 pupils were in year 4. All pupils were boys. The duration and frequency of the reading sessions changed depending on the approach taken by the teaching assistant. However, all books were used on a 1:1 basis with pupils.
One teaching assistant had used the books for 10 minutes a day and then the pupil had taken the book home to read with a parent. The pupils chose the book they wanted to read first, t
hey chose the ghostly one'.
Another approach taken by one of the teaching assistants was to hold 20 minute reading sessions on a weekly basis.
Another teaching assistant also held 20 minute reading sessions about 3 times a week.
The software was trialled by 2 8-year-old pupils who had also used the reading books.
What did the school think of the reading books?
One teaching assistant was initially unsure about the use of cartoon people but she found she soon liked them and felt they were good for older children.
'The books fit into a book bag easily and are a nice length, not too long'.
Another teaching assistant spoke about how she liked the small blocks of text which were, 'not too scary'. She went on to say,
'as a teaching assistant it is good for a stopping point to talk about what you've read'.
What did the school like most about the reading books?
One teaching assistant said they liked the Quiz because it was sometimes difficult to think of questions yourself,
'I liked the Quiz, it was fun to do and the children liked the word detective'.
'I liked the fiction and non-fiction'.
One teaching assistant noted that the books alternated the order of the fiction and non-fiction texts and felt this was a good idea.
'Repeating characters works really well'.
It was noted by one teaching assistant that this helped with comprehension and fluency. They were also positive about the way the books were presented:
'Very attractive, particularly for boys, the use of photography and cartoons is good'.
'Arranged very well, I liked how there were different forms of presentation'.
'I like them particularly for the boys, they are very different from books in school and the colours and design are very different'.
'The size of the books is ideal, too big and they get dog-eared, too small and they get lost'.
It was also felt that this size of book helped pupils stay focused as larger books could sometimes be a distraction.
What do the pupils think?
The teaching assistants said that the pupils had enjoyed using the books and had been very excited about using them. One pupil thought the books had great comic appeal and that they looked fun.
One teaching assistant felt the books had been good for pupils' confidence and that the pupils had been showing the books to other children. Another teaching assistant said that the pupils liked looking at the pictures and liked the speech bubbles.
The joke also seems to have been a popular element with pupils. One teaching assistant commented that the pupils always asked what the joke was.
What did the school think of the software?
The software was trialled with 2 8-year-old pupils who had also used the reading books. Their initial impression was the software had many elements which the teacher felt would be useful for pupils and which they would like the opportunity to explore in more depth. The teacher thought the Quiz was a good idea and that features such as the Glossary were useful. The teacher planned to use the software with a group of older children next term.
Overall
On the whole, the school was very positive about the books. The way the books were presented was particularly well liked and pupils seemed interested in the books and motivated to use them. There were some issues about certain topic areas which were covered in the books and their suitability for younger children but most comments were positive. One teaching assistant commented,
'I think they are brilliant and would like to definitely recommend them'.
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