UCL Institute of Education National Reading Recovery Awards

The Awards celebrated the 25 year achievement of the UCL Institute of Education's (UCL IOE) Reading Recovery Centre in helping hundreds of thousands of children with complex literacy difficulties to learn how to read.

The event in Logan Hall was attended by several hundred teachers and primary school children. Categories included School of the Year; Parental Engagement; Reading for Pleasure; Teacher of the Year and Children's Competition Winners. Two special awards recognising the work of Reading Recovery Advocates for Children's Literacy were presented to Jean Prance and Jean Gross.

Professor Michael Arthur, UCL President & Provost said: "Children who are helped through Reading Recovery have won a golden ticket to the rest of their lives. I am proud to present these awards to the children and the teachers who have helped them to learning how to read."

Reading Recovery Champion Gillian Anderson sent her "Congratulations to the winning teachers." Gillian said: "What an extraordinary gift you have bestowed upon these young people. A gift that will enrich their entire lives. The extra effort and time you have committed is rightly celebrated and stands as inspiration to us all."

Janet Street-Porter, sent a message saying: "I am so proud to be a Champion for Reading Recovery. The work they do is really valuable and gives so many young people a good start in life. Keep up the good work!"

Each year approximately 20 per cent of children leave primary school not able to read adequately. As they enter secondary school around 120,000 children struggle with their education because they are not at their expected reading age. Many of these children come from the poorest sections of our society.

Presenter, Marc Rowland, Deputy Director of the National Education Trust said: "Reading Recovery has been highly visible in many schools that are successful in raising attainment for disadvantaged learners. It's all about reading. The programme is effective because it intervenes early, with quality and precision and opens doors for children that were previously locked and bolted. The Reading Recovery Teacher community is a powerful mechanism for ensuring that talented professionals are never isolated."

From the very beginning the UCL IOE had a leading role in supporting Reading Recovery, from bringing Marie Clay to the UK in the 1980s to share her innovate work with English teachers, to hosting training for teachers and national leaders, and ultimately becoming the home for Reading Recovery in Europe.

Over 25 years, the Reading Recovery Centre has trained over 8,000 teachers to help children learn to read. This has resulted in 20 million new books being read by children who have taken part in the scheme. Research shows that a 20 week Reading Recovery course ensures that 85 per cent of six year old children will move from being the lowest achievers in their class to catching up with their peers. At 11 these children maintain their progress and achieve the expected key stage 2 reading test results for their age.