Children at Ebor Gardens Primary School in Leeds teach each other to read and write using the Success For All programme, which groups pupils according to reading ability. Literacy coordinator Denise Maruszczak explains.

The question is: why did Ebor Gardens, an inner-city primary school, use the Success For All programme? The answer is simple: we had embraced the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) but with little improvement. Results are important, but we wanted more. We wanted success for all of our children and that meant successful readers, writers, speakers and listeners. No child should leave our school unprepared for what lies ahead.

In 2001 our results were not good despite our commitment to the NLS. In reading at key stage 1, compared with similar schools nationally, we were graded D; in writing, E. At key stage 2, our overall grade was D. We were unsure what to do next until we heard about the Success For All programme: this seemed to be the answer.

Success For All (SFA), an American innovation, was pioneered in this country seven years ago by Professor David Hopkins. Since then it's been radically supplemented and adapted to meet the rigorous demands of the NLS.

So, what's the big secret? The main difference between the SFA model and more traditional practices lies in the fact that for 90 minutes each day, every child across the whole school is seated according to reading ability: able Year 2 pupils read alongside poorer Year 4 pupils while other Year 4 pupils work with Years 5 and 6. Every child is presented with reading material exactly matched to their current level of accessibility and challenge; teaching and support staff lead reading groups with no more than a six-month range of reading ability.

It wasn't rocket science but it felt like it. It was a way we could reach all of our children, and it wasn't a programme that was being imposed on us.

There are several key components to the SFA programme, developed according to the age and reading ability of the participants. Curiosity Corner teaches speaking and listening skills to nursery children. Kinder Roots introduces phonics skills to Reception children and Reading Roots presents phonetically regular words in increasing difficulty through a series of coloured storybooks. The main part of the programme, Literacy Wings, is based on reading real books - picture books from the earliest stages, through to Dickens and Shakespeare at the highest - supported by detailed lesson plans that guide children's discussion about the text as well as focussing on key literary devices and reading/writing skills. In addition to these "Treasure Hunts", as the materials are called, are extended writing modules that are designed to enhance children's competency in different genres.

We began by assessing all of our children then grouping them according to ability. This meant initially we had all year groups working alongside each other with lots of our older children starting off in the fast track phonics programme alongside Year 1 and 2 children. There was no problem with the older children's self-esteem as they could now access the curriculum, read the material and understand the content. Incidents of disruptive behaviour decreased as the children's self-esteem increased. They no longer needed to self-exclude - this was inclusive education at its best.
Moreover, the older children didn't stay put for long. Assessment takes place every eight weeks and the children are regrouped. This process generated a real sense of excitement and lots of requests for information from the children about their results. They were now in charge of their progress and were eager to move forward as quickly as possible.

So where are we now? We are into our fourth year of SFA and our test results have improved. Our grading compared with similar schools nationally has risen. In KS1 we are now graded A in reading and A* in writing; in KS2 overall we have risen from a D to a B.

An observer in an SFA classroom would notice the pervading low buzz of chatter: children reading aloud to each other, helping each other with difficult words and ideas, and animatedly discussing the text they've just read. The SFA programme is based on the foundation of cooperative learning: we learn best when we teach an idea to someone else. We continue to strive and nobody rests on their laurels. SFA is an evolving programme and the team are constantly reviewing, evaluating and updating the material. At Ebor Gardens, we are confident that we have made the right choice for all our children. A comment from a Year 5 child, new to our school and at present being taught alongside Year 1 and 2 children, confirms our belief: "At my other school I couldn't learn. In SFA I'm learning." That says it all.

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