Evidence of Impact
To what extent and how has the use of the Essential Letters and Sounds teaching program enabled teachers to deliver consistent and structured phonics teaching?
Background
Essential Letters and Sounds Australia has been adapted for Australian educators and learners from a very successful structured synthetic phonics program, Essential Letters and Sounds, developed by Oxford University Press (OUP) in the United Kingdom (UK), which has been validated by the UK Department for Education (DfE), and which is currently being used by more than 1000 UK schools.
In 2023, Oxford University Press (OUP) undertook an impact study with schools in the UK to gain an in-depth understanding of the extent to which and how the Essential Letters and Sounds teaching program enables teachers to deliver consistent and structured phonics teaching.
“The
repetitive nature of the program allows students
to
know what is expected in every part of the lesson.” — Classroom Teacher
Methodology
Oxford Impact is OUP’s approach to evaluating the impact that our educational products and services have on teaching and learning. At the heart of Oxford Impact is the Oxford Impact Framework: a rigorous process for evaluating impact, developed with the National Foundation for Research (NFER) and supported by Oxford University Department of Education. An impact study is research that investigates a particular change a product or service has on a group of people it intended to help or benefit.
For this impact study, OUP surveyed 163 teachers, including head teachers, literacy coordinators, and classroom teachers, who have been using Essential Letters and Sounds in their schools for a minimum of 6 months, with most respondents having used the program for between 6 and 12 months prior to responding to the survey.
The results of this impact study are currently being tested for Essential Letters and Sounds Australia, which is developed specifically for the Australian classroom context. The UK findings provide important evidence of impact for Australian educators because:
c The UK have made significant reforms to the teaching of reading over the past decade, aligned with the recommendations of the Rose Report (2006), including embedding evidence-informed reading instruction in schools (UK Department for Education, 2013). These reforms ‘…included boosts to professional learning, improved curriculum, mandated reading assessments, and requirements to ensure struggling students are identified and helped’ (Grattan Institute, 2024).
c Teaching reading (and writing) using a systematic synthetic phonics approach was supported with funding for validated reading programs that were required to meet 16 core criteria. Essential Letters and Sounds met all criteria and was validated by the DfE.
c By 2021, England was ranked one of the top performers in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) – ranked fourth compared to Australia which ranked eighth – and with English performance stable and Australian performance in decline compared to 2016.
c Essential Letters and Sounds is now being used by more than 1000 UK schools.
Key evaluation findings
99% (161) of teachers reported that Essential Letters and Sounds supported them to deliver consistent and structured phonics teaching to a moderate or significant extent. The evidence indicates that the perceived impact may be greater for those teachers who have been using Essential Letters and Sounds for longer.
extent
extent
%
“The training videos are fantastic, and I loved the structure of the lessons. EssentialLettersandSoundshas taken all the stress out of planning phonics, all the hard work has been done, and I’m ready to teach!”
— Classroom Teacher
What works well?
We asked teachers to describe in their own words how Essential Letters and Sounds has helped them deliver phonics teaching. Many teachers praised the program for its:
Consistent lesson structure
Daily interactive front-of-class presentations
Consistent teaching approach
Structure and approach
95% (155) of teachers agreed that the lesson structure and approach has helped them to quickly become familiar with Essential Letters and Sounds.
97% (158) of teachers agreed that the consistent terminology used throughout Essential Letters and Sounds supports consistent and structured phonics teaching across the whole school.
How does the program support consistent and structured phonics teaching?
There is a breadth of resources available to support implementation of Essential Letters and Sounds the classroom, including decodable readers, activity books, grapheme cards, posters and more. Teachers are also supported with an online teaching subscription, including professional learning videos and an eBook library.
92% (150) of teachers agreed that the daily interactive front-of-class presentations help to deliver consistent and structured phonics teaching.
88% (143) of teachers agreed that the classroom resources help them to deliver Essential Letters and Sounds with consistency.
When we asked teachers about the resources, almost all teachers agreed that the classroom resources and interactive front-of-class presentations support the consistent delivery of the program.
Conclusion
This impact study found strong evidence that Essential Letters and Sounds helps teachers to deliver consistent and structured phonics teaching. Most frequently, the following aspects of the program were praised by teachers:
c Consistency in lesson structure and teaching approach
c Daily interactive front-of-class presentations
c Classroom resources
About Essential Letters and Sounds Australia
Essential Letters and Sounds Australia has been developed for Australian teachers and students. Adapted from a program developed by the Knowledge Schools Trust and OUP in the UK, this Australian evidence-based teaching program is designed to ensure all Australian students learn to read well and make rapid progress, and that they keep up with their learning of reading, rather than having to catch up.
Proven impact – 98% of teachers tell us that the program enables them to deliver consistent and structured phonics teaching.
Affordable – The program includes everything needed to deliver consistent and structured phonics teaching and at an affordable cost.
Easy to use – A daily same structured approach to teaching phonics gives students and teachers consistency and security.
High-quality professional learning for Australian educators – All training is online and can be accessed any time as part of the subscription.
“The whole-class structure and intervention strategies mean that students feel valued and confident in their own abilities, and teachers have a deep understanding of every student’s journey.”
— Classroom Teacher
“The cost effectiveness of the program allowed us to implement the whole program immediately.”
— Classroom Teacher
References
Hunter, J., Stobart, A. & Haywood, A., 2024, The Reading Guarantee: How to give every child the best chance of success, Grattan Institute, February.
Rose, J., 2006, Independent review of the teaching of early reading, UK Department for Education and Skills, https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/5551/2/report.pdf.
UK Department for Education, 2013, The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document, UK Government.
“The simplicity and flexibility of the online training enabled us to implement a consistent approach to teaching children to read (and write).” — Classroom Teacher
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