The Independent Reading Mentor Project (IRMP), in Norwood
Education Action Zone, involved students in Year 10 being
supported to read with a sibling, relative or friend under
the age of seven. The IRMP took place over four months and
was designed as an independent programme of support, following
an earlier programme when the students were in Year 9.
A group of 30 Year 9 students had been identified who had
a reading age of below eight or nine (the average was seven
years seven months), and who had made only one month's progress
in their reading age for every year in secondary school.
The programme offered these students support by appointing
them as Reading Mentors to Year 1 children in a local primary
school. In this way the Year 9 students were perceived as
the 'expert' and their self-esteem grew, which in turn made
them more receptive to learning.
When these students moved into Year 10, they felt that
they needed a continuum of support. The Independent Reading
Mentor Project was developed, whereby they were supported
by a learning mentor to develop their skills for working
independently. The students were withdrawn from one lesson
per month, and training was offered that supported them
to read with their mentee.
The project was launched with a storyteller and pizza,
to which the students' families were also invited. The students
were provided with a pack for their mentees, which contained
a whiteboard, marker pen, eraser and the mentee's Reading
Record Booklet, in which the Reading Mentor recorded how
each session went and how the mentee had worked towards
their target. The Reading Mentor decided the frequency of
the sessions, and selected books from the school library
with the help of the school librarian.
"I like the feeling of being
in charge and of helping my nephew with his reading, so
that he doesn't have to struggle with reading like I have
at school. I think that this project has helped me with
my reading and my organisation skills and has brought me
closer to my nephew, and I am happy about that."
(Year 10 student)
A breakfast club gave students the chance to meet and share
strategies and information on books that their mentee had
enjoyed. There were also after-school sessions, which included
an organised visit to the local library, as well as a book
sale at which parents and carers could purchase books. The
project culminated in an award ceremony in school assembly,
when the students were presented with a certificate.
"Being an Independent Reading
Mentor has made me feel really important, which is a nice
feeling." (Year 10 student)
Effects of the project
The Year 9 project ran over five months. The students'
average progress in reading in the two years prior to starting
the project was two months; evaluation showed that the average
progress of these same students at the end of the project
was one year.
The same 30 students took part in the Year 10 project, and
the average progress in reading over this time was one year
one month. Over the total nine months as a reading mentor
or IRM, the students' average progress in reading was two
years two months.
"Since being involved in the
Independent Reading Mentor Project, I have noticed that
not only has the students' self-esteem been improved, but
also their willingness to work responsibly and independently:
skills which are valuable to them in their GCSE studies,
college and the workplace." (Year 10 tutor)
The Reading Mentor and Independent Reading Mentor Project
has since been rolled out to other schools in the Education
Action Zone and beyond.
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