Final instalment of the Apex Project shows that 2 in 5 Key Stage One pupils needed additional reading support

Final instalment of the Apex Project shows that 2 in 5 Key Stage One pupils needed additional reading support

By FFT Education

Today we are publishing the final instalment of the Apex Project – a study where we tracked three consecutive Key Stage One cohorts across six primary schools in areas of high deprivation, starting in academic year 2021/22.  

We provided every child identified as behind in reading with evidence-based, targeted and sustained support through small group intervention, delivered by a proven online tutoring platform, and facilitated by teaching assistants – half an hour a day, for as long as they needed it.

The report finds that this sustained support was vital in improving their outcomes – with 86 per cent of the cohort passing the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, compared to a national average of 80 per cent.

The improvements were greatest among the groups currently furthest behind:

  • Pupils with an EHCP: 32 per cent passed, against 20 per cent nationally.
  • Disadvantaged pupils: 79 per cent passed, against 67 per cent nationally.
  • Pupils on SEN support without an EHCP: 57 per cent passed, against 52 per cent nationally.

This is a particularly important contribution to the debate around reading policy against the Department for Education’s target for 90 per cent of children to meet the expected standard in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check by the end of this Parliament. And, as the Independent Inquiry into White Working-Class Educational Outcomes set out, this challenge will be greater for those currently left behind.

Mike Fischer, Managing Director of FFT Education commented:

“The final instalment of the Apex Project is a momentous moment for FFT Education but also the wider education sector amid the growing focus on reading and disadvantaged pupils.

This is one of the clearest articulations and evidence that sustained reading support in Key Stage One will prove key in improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, and pupils with SEND. The question then for policymakers and the sector is how we ensure that every child who is behind has access to sustained early reading support.”

You can read the full report here: Apex Schools Report

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