The Early Intervention Programme

Raising Standards in Literacy and Numeracy

The early years of school are a vital stage in children’s’ learning. Early achievement at this stage provides a positive experience of school and helps shape children’s attitudes towards later learning.

This Government believes that all children must have the right start in primary school and quickly attain the basic skills of reading, writing and numeracy which are essential if they are to access all later stages of the curriculum.

Ensuring early attainment depends on the active pursuit of excellence by authorities and schools, the commitment and enthusiasm of staff and the knowledge and involvement of parents. Over the last year all of these have worked together to implement the Government’s Early Intervention Programme which was launched in June 1997.

Purpose

This leaflet reports on progress in the first year of the Programme; it should stimulate further debate about early intervention and sets out how early intervention will be taken forward.

The comments in this leaflet draw on progress reports for 1997-98 submitted by education authorities. Space does not permit reference to the specific detail of every authority’s approach to early intervention but a fuller report from each authority can be viewed at The Scottish Office website. (www.scotland.gov.uk)

Programme

The Government has committed itself to a long term strategy of raising standards of achievement in our schools. Following its election victory in May last year one of its first steps was to announce a 3 year Ł24 million Early Intervention Programme aimed directly at raising the standards of literacy (reading and writing) and numeracy skills in primary years 1 and 2. The Government provided new money of Ł20 million over 3 years for the Programme with education authorities providing the balance. Funding was provided to authorities to help them develop a range of projects which would help demonstrate good practice for application across schools and authorities throughout Scotland.

Additional resources

The Government wishes early intervention to include many more schools and pupils. The Secretary of State therefore announced on 30 April 1998 a major expansion of the Programme with additional Government funding of Ł36 million and an extension of the Programme from 3 years to 5 years.

Response

Developments in early intervention over the last year have struck a chord throughout Scotland. Returns from education authorities at the end of the first year of the Government’s Early Intervention Programme report widespread enthusiasm and heightened interest amongst schools, parents and teachers to fresh approaches to helping pupils in the early years of primary school attain basic literacy skills.

"A new enthusiasm for learning... all pupils and staff have a sense of achievement and satisfaction." Highland Headteacher

"Children are experiencing success and self-esteem is growing." "This is a most worthwhile and exciting initiative." Inverclyde Headteachers

A Flexible Approach

The Early Intervention Programme is flexible and dynamic and local participants are able to set priorities for schemes appropriate to their area.

All education authorities were invited to submit proposals which reflected local priorities and took account of the particular circumstances of the schools in their area. Adopting this flexible approach has meant that education authorities have been able to build on work they may have already been achieving as well as to pilot and demonstrate a variety of strategies and approaches arising from their different circumstances.

A year on there are early intervention schemes operating in every education authority area in Scotland.

Overall, over 700 schools and over 44,000 children in Scotland have participated in the first year of the Programme.

Strategies

In general education authorities targeted particular schools or areas. In following this targeted strategy some authorities adopted a range of approaches utilising a mix of additional support staff. Other authorities opted for an authority wide strategy concentrating on staff development across all primary schools. Many authorities combined strategies targeted at particular schools or areas with other elements such as staff development being applied on an authority wide basis.

Many authorities have used the first year to pilot approaches which can be extended more widely – and the additional money the government have made available will make this a practical reality.

Focus on Literacy

The major focus of early intervention in the first year has been on literacy and in particular the development of pupils’ reading skills. In general, most authorities first year reports concentrate on reading and this report reflects that focus. Several authorities also report developments in writing and number skills, and authorities such as Inverclyde and Scottish Borders have numeracy projects operating in specific schools.

Flexible Approaches – Some Examples

Clackmannanshire Council adopted a focused approach of which one of the elements is a formal research programme evaluating three different structured phonics programmes in primary 1 in 8 schools. The research programme has been conducted by St Andrew’s University in collaboration with the authority and the council reports extremely positive results. Expectations of teachers and parents have been raised.

"I now know that there is no ceiling on what my pupils can achieve: throughout the year my expectations for reading and writing attainment have become higher and higher." Teacher of P1 class

The Council is looking to spread lessons from this work to other primary schools in its area in the new session.

Glasgow City Council adopted an authority-wide strategy with a specific emphasis on coaching of staff in the classroom. Early Intervention grant has allowed the education department to second staff development officers to work directly with teachers in their own classrooms. The Council report that this method of in-service staff development has proved to be highly effective in accelerating reading and numeracy programmes at school level.

Teacher Development

The quality and skills of the classroom teacher are vital elements in ensuring children quickly attain literacy skills. In the first year of the Programme most authorities devoted a substantial part of their early intervention funding to providing additional staff development and training.

In 1997-98 authorities spent Ł2.3 million or 35% of their early intervention funding on staff development and training.

Staff development and training has focused on key issues such as principles relating to early learning and teaching, raising awareness of current research findings, best classroom practice, support for children with reading difficulties and the importance of child development. Authorities have used a variety of means for delivering staff development and training including, in-school support from the authority’s own Early Intervention teams, seconded teachers with early education experience working directly with teachers in their own classrooms and out of school conferences, workshops and seminars with external contributions from colleges and researchers.

Angus Council report that team led staff development has enabled schools to take ownership of strategies for classroom practice and provision. Thirty one staff from phase one of their early intervention strategy have opted in to personal/professional development opportunities provided by their Early Intervention Team and Northern College with fourteen taking this forward to accreditation within the Early Education Post Graduate Pathway.

In 1997-98 over 4,200 teachers received staff development in early intervention.

The Early Inter~ention Programme assists the further development of approaches to staff development through an Early Reading Development Project, based at St Andrews College, Bearsden, which is liasing with authorities and education training providers on development and training opportunities and early intervention resource materials.

Additional Classroom Staff

Some education authorities have provided additional support for teachers in the classroom through the deployment of additional staff such as nursery nurses and classroom assistants.

In 1997-98 an additional 158* nursery nurses and 55* classroom assistants were involved with early intervention schemes across Scotland.

* Full time equivalent

The use of additional staff within the classroom has helped increase the quality teaching time that teachers spend with pupils as well as facilitating small group work with adult/pupil ratios that support children’s learning skills.

Key features of Highland Council’s early intervention work include the appointment in pilot schools of class assistants half-time to primary 1 and 2 classes and additional learning support teacher time. Joint staff development and training has taken place for class and support teachers and class assistants. The Council report increased expectations of teachers and significant improvement in quality of independent writing of primary 1 and 2 pupils.

"The games and fun activities teach the children without them realising they are actually working. They no longer use the word can’t" Classroom Assistant

"I now have a class of writers." Fife Primary Teacher

Some authorities report that the inclusion of childcare and education workers (traditionally but not exclusively employed in the pre-school field as nursery nurses) has helped break down barriers between sectors and has assisted the transfer of information, practice and methodology between pre-5 and primary.

In North Lanarkshire Council 16 schools are participating in a structured phonological programme involving in-class nursery nurse support to teachers and enriched reading and curricular materials. Class teachers in North Ayrshire comment very favourably on the positive effects of nursery nurse support in the development of effective teaching strategies.

"Nursery nurse in the classroom with the teacher was one of the best ways of maximising learning time" North Ayrshire Class Teacher

"The fact that training was done together (teacher and nursery nurse) was particularly welcome" North Ayrshire Primary Headteacher

A team approach to delivering early intervention has been encouraged by many authorities with other staff receiving staff development and training along with classroom teachers.

In 1997-98 over 1,400 other staff undertook development and training in early intervention.

"In our early intervention literacy project working together (parents, nursery nurses, home/school link, teachers) has brought many real benefits". Sen. Teacher

Pupil Benefits

All authorities report beneficial effects of early intervention for pupils. It is too early for most authorities to be able to quantify these, although several authorities have undertaken assessment exercises from which early results show levels of attainment ahead of what teachers might have expected. There is considerable anecdotal evidence from all authorities which shows that increased staff awareness and better staff development allied to increased support has resulted in pupil progress. Reports show greater attention, concentration and confidence, heightened self-esteem and greater enthusiasm for books amongst pupils.

In turn, this has had an effect on teachers and parents expectations of pupils.

While at this early stage we should take caution in reaching over-firm conclusions – the positive impact on expectation is of critical importance.

"I can’t believe how confident and enthusiastic the children are. They won’t need learning

support next year." Angus Class Teacher

"We are proving we can make a difference." Clackmannanshire Headteacher

Involving Parents

Parents have a vital role to play in their children’s early literacy development and the Early Intervention Programme allows authorities to allocate funding to developing home-school links. Some authorities have appointed early intervention co-ordinators to involve parents in early intervention. Workshops have been run to develop parental appreciation of children’s’ language development and to involve them in paired reading with their children. In some areas book lending schemes have been introduced and schools and education authorities have developed literacy packs and information guides for parents.

"The teachers clearly demonstrated the relevance of early home learning to the development of literacy and parents were encouraged to build on existing good practices in innovative ways" Aberdeenshire Adult Basic Education Tutor

"Very enjoyable, makes you feel part of their education – lots of fun" Inverclyde parent

"Parent workshops have been invaluable and have helped make starting school easy for parents and children". South Ayrshire parent

Resources and Materials

Over Ł900,000 in 1997-98 was spent by authorities under the Early Intervention Programme on classroom resources and materials. This has included books for home-school lending, reference material for teachers and parents, materials to support classroom assistants, CD ROMS to support reading schemes and additional reading materials.

Special Educational Needs

Earlier identification of difficulties with literacy and numeracy benefits all pupils. Early intervention is particularly important for children with special educational needs and the Programme acknowledges this. Ł1 million over 2 years has been allocated for specialist training for classroom staff working with pupils with special educational needs. From April 1999 the amount allocated for specialist staff development and training will double to Ł1 million per year.

In 1997-98 over 3,300 staff participated in over 130 special educational needs staff development and training courses, seminars, conferences or events.

1997-98 Summary

Early Intervention Programme announced in May 1997.

Ł7 million allocated in 1997-98.

Early intervention schemes are underway in all education authority areas in Scotland.

Funding focused on additional support for teachers in the classroom and staff development and training. This has involved the full time equivalent of:

158 nursery nurses;
31 classroom teachers,
69 learning support teachers;
55 classroom assistants;
10 educational psychologists;
37 home-school link personnel
5,600 staff undertook early intervention development and training, with over 3,300 staff receiving additional support in special educational needs issues.
over Ł900,000 used for purchase of additional classroom resources, books etc.

Emerging Lessons

Authorities have developed a diverse range of approaches to early intervention. They therefore identify a diverse range of lessons according to their own local schemes. Nevertheless, the experience of implementing early intervention has raised a number of issues common to authorities.

The Early Intervention Programme has stimulated in pilot areas recognition of the need to develop a team working approach. In many areas classroom teachers are working with other staff, such as learning support staff, classroom assistants and nursery nurses. In some areas there is input from educational psychology services and specialist services, such as speech and language therapy. In turn this has raised planning issues which impact on the management, deployment of resources and planning of the curriculum throughout the school.

Authorities have provided a wide range of staff development opportunities, often involving staff from different sectors. A number of authorities have stressed the links between pre-school and primary 1 and the need for primary teachers to take full account of HMI’s curriculum guidelines in forming expectations of children on their entry to formal schooling, for pre-school and in assessing prior learning. Given the Government’s commitment to extend opportunities for pre-school education to all children aged 3 by 2002, this will become increasingly important. Equally, it will be vital for pre-school staff to understand the aims and methods of early intervention, and to share with primary staff their perceptions of children who might particularly benefit from extra support with literacy and numeracy on entry to primary school. Several authorities report the development of pupil skills profiles to help the transition between pre-school and primary.

A number of authorities are considering assessment methods for identifying pupils who may have difficulties with reading with a view to implementing learning support programmes for pupils and their families. Some authorities are considering how baseline assessment can be used to track individual pupil progress. The general approach to baseline assessment is one which is being considered by The Scottish Office Education Department.

The Department has announced plans to issue national guidance on baseline assessment. A team of 4 part-time researchers and 4 part-time development officers was appointed to work closely with education authorities and develop a frame work for pre-school record keeping and baseline assessment. The framework of procedures and formats devised by this development officer team were piloted for P1 in March 1998 and for pre-school in May-June 1998. A report of these pilots will be produced in late September.

Learning and teaching issues are raised in many of the reports from authorities. The Early Intervention Programme has allowed many schools and teachers, sometimes with the help of external trainers or researchers, to take a critical look at learning and teaching strategies. There are questions raised by authorities relating to the key issue of how children learn to read.

Authorities point to the need for the identification and sharing of good practice. Authorities are developing monitoring systems and in some cases are commissioning external evaluation of their schemes from university and college research bodies. In addition, The Scottish Office has commissioned a research evaluation of the overall Early Intervention Programme which is being undertaken jointly by a team from Moray House Institute of Education and KPMG, Chartered Accountants.

National Guidance

Ministers have asked HM Inspectorate of Schools to work with education authorities to identify and share best practice in early intervention. HMI have visited 25 authorities and are undertaking a programme of visits to 41 schools involved with early intervention. They will report on best practice in early intervention as a means of supporting the raising of standards in literacy and numeracy in June 1999.

A National Seminar on Early Intervention will be held in June 1999. This seminar will discuss emerging lessons and best practice and enable representatives of authorities, schools and parents to highlight success and to share their experiences.

Early Intervention – the Future

The Government is expanding early intervention and identifying and developing best practice backed by extra resources to ensure that every child has the opportunity to develop reading, writing and number skills at the start of their school career. These are vital skills which every child will rely upon throughout their life. Expansion of early intervention is therefore a key element in the Government’s wider policies for raising standards in schools and maximising social inclusion.

As part of an integrated initiative to raise standards in schools the Government has announced the launch of an Excellence Fund which will target support on projects critical to raising attainment throughout Scotland. The Excellence Fund will cover - early intervention; a major new initiative to provide primary teachers with the support of properly trained classroom assistants; substantial support for out of school learning activities; comprehensive piloting of "New Deal" or full service schools; in-service training for teachers and headteachers; provision for special educational needs; a radical programme of alternatives to exclusion and other key measures for raising attainment and promoting excellence.

Expansion

As part of the Excellence Fund the Government is making available an additional Ł36 million for early intervention. From April 1999 the Government will double its contribution to Ł14 million per year. This additional funding will permit the expansion of the Programme from 3 years to 5 years and will give the opportunity to allow:

every P1 and P2 teacher to undertake staff development in best practice of teaching of literacy and numeracy;
the focus on literacy to be expanded to include numeracy;
more support for home/school links and initiatives such as schemes to help parents support their children’s learning;
targeting of schools under performing on reading and numeracy and in areas of deprivation;
special focus of resources on areas with social exclusion problems.

Next steps

Authorities will be asked to submit proposals to extend their early intervention schemes to take account of these priorities. Within these broad guidelines authorities will be again encouraged to develop early intervention proposals appropriate to their local needs and circumstances and to demonstrate that proposals are firmly based on an overall strategy to allow attainment throughout the school system.

Further copies of this report can be obtained from:

The Scottish Office Education Department
Area 2A (North)
Victoria Quay
EDINBURGH
EH6 6QQ

Tel: 0131 244 5144
Fax: 0131 244 0957

Further information about early intervention is available in The Scottish Office Research and Intelligence Unit publication Interchange 50: Early Intervention which can be downloaded via the Internet from the ‘Educational Research in Scotland’ server:

( http://www.hmis.scotoff.gov.uk/riu )