The early intervention programme introduced in 1997 was intended to raise children's standards in literacy and numeracy in the first two years of primary school. It received 7m government funding in the first year, which was then doubled to 14m annually.
In 1998 the then Scottish Office commissioned a three-year evaluation of the programme and the findings, published last week by the Scottish Executive in summary form, show that it has significantly improved standards of reading, though it has had less impact on attainment in mathematics.
The report, Early Intervention in Literacy and Numeracy: Key Issues from the National Evaluation of the Programme, says, 'Numeracy intervention took much longer to become established over the three-year period than literacy. The evaluation could therefore capture only the early effects of change.' Early intervention appears to have boosted morale both for teachers and pupils. Three-quarters of teachers in primary 1 and 2 said they felt more confident about their work, with most identifying pupils' enthusiasm and progress as the most satisfactory aspect of the programme. The impact on children's attitudes was also found to be beneficial. Children in primary 3 were more likely to feel positive about school if they had had contact with a nursery nurse or classroom assistant in primary 1.
Most Scottish local authorities employed nursery nurses and classroom assistants as part of the programme, and teachers rated their contribution very highly and wanted to keep them. Nursery nurses and classroom assistants reported very high levels of job satisfaction and around three-quarters of teachers and nursery nurses found it easy to collaborate and work together, even though only a third of them had received training on this.
The research report says, 'The perceived success of the introduction of nursery nurses, classroom assistants, learning support or additional teachers is universal in schools. Our evidence is that retaining this resource is justified both in terms of attainment gains and sustaining teachers' commitment.'
But the evaluation of the programme also brought some areas of concern to light. Most teachers reported spending more time overall on literacy, and a third said the same of numeracy.
However, they felt that the place of play and self-directed activity in primary 1 and 2 was now under-valued. One third of teachers were worried that there was now too much pressure on pupils.
A small sample survey of parents found the majority felt their children were making good progress in reading. However, almost a third also reported that their children were anxious about reading, and this was more often the case with boys and the younger children. A quarter were not confident that their children could cope with the work expected of them at school.
By June 2000, 67 per cent of Scottish primary schools were involved in the programme.
Early Intervention in Literacy and Numeracy: Key Issues from the National Evaluation of the Programme is available on www.scotland.gov.uk.
