Ministry funding for Reading Recovery & Early Literacy Support will no longer be available from 2025.
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Reading Recovery is a proven early intervention for literacy learning. It is designed to help young readers and writers catch up with their classmates through intensive one-to-one support.
Early Literacy Support builds on the knowledge and expertise of Reading Recovery teachers to provide targeted and personalised support for 5 year-old children in small groups in the classroom.
Together, this collaborative approach enables schools to strengthen early literacy, and grow confident readers and writers.
Every child brings different experiences to literacy learning at school. Each child has an array of different strengths and learning needs.
Recognising this, Reading Recovery & Early Literacy Support uses a tiered support framework to address the variety of literacy capabilities in each class.
Support is provided for the whole class, a small group and/or the individual child based on their needs.
At each Tier, the teaching instruction is increasingly responsive to the child’s learning needs.
Hear first hand stories about the value of RR&ELS for families, teachers and schools.
Reading Recovery teachers are part of a school's literacy team. During the first year at school, the Early Literacy Support is collaborative, with a Reading Recovery teacher and the classroom teacher working together to co-design and co-teach the group. This builds on the existing strengths — the classroom teacher’s skills, and knowledge of their students — by supplementing them with specialist knowledge and understandings from Reading Recovery.
Children first access extra support in small groups, learning alongside their friends and helping each other progress. Some children might go on to receiving daily one on one lessons with the Reading Recovery teacher.
Students are at the heart of Reading Recovery & Early Literacy Support. Improving student learning is the collaborative effort of whānau, communities, teachers, school leaders and support networks, as well as the students’ peers.
With early attention, children's progress can be assured, before there is a problem. Reading Recovery & Early Literacy Support provides them with a launchpad, from where their education can continue to thrive.
Reading Recovery is proven to work in a one-to-one teaching situation. Utilising that same expertise with small groups helps build the literacy teaching capacity and capability of classroom teachers. This flows on to improve literacy outcomes across a whole school.
Success with Reading Recovery comes from teamwork. 6-year-olds who find reading and writing challenging engage in one-to-one learning with specially trained teachers, supported by their school and their classroom teacher.
Learn how Reading Recovery & Early Literacy Support can grow your child’s reading and writing ability.
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Find out how Reading Recovery & Early Literacy Support can improve your junior school’s literacy outcomes.
Learn moreHear what parents, teachers and school leaders are saying about successful outcomes of the refresh.
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The Reading Recovery program turned out to be a game-changer for our daughter. Her improvement was nothing short of remarkable.
Our son was behind on his reading compared to his peers, having spent a lot of his second school year sick or in lockdown. The one-on-one that Reading Recovery provided gave him an extra bit of focus that hooked him in!
Jack's reading has improved immensely and without the RR, we believe he would have struggled with reading throughout the year and this would have led to him being frustrated and distracted.
He went from level 9 (too early to assign a reading age) to level 29 (estimated reading age of 10.5).
"So from a Principal that was a non believer on arrival to now a Principal that now has a teacher in training (to ensure sustainability and continue to share the program across the school), a believer that it certainly gives our students a fighting chance, and closes the learning gaps as they move on, I definitely support it!"
"Now he is reading so well he just obtained an honour's award at his intermediate for doing so well in reading. He reads every day and still loves it. Thank you Reading Recovery!"
"I recently had the opportunity of observing our Reading Recovery teacher working with a student that I had referred. I was amazed at his progress."
"Thank you so, so much for all the help and dedication you have given to our daughter. It is truly appreciated. She’s doing incredibly well with her reading, and she continues to surprise us!"
Our school and staff have really taken the Early Literacy Support to the next level.
"She just purchased a reading book with her birthday money, she has become a very keen reader! Thank you."
The Reading Recovery program turned out to be a game-changer for our daughter. Her improvement was nothing short of remarkable.
Our son was behind on his reading compared to his peers, having spent a lot of his second school year sick or in lockdown. The one-on-one that Reading Recovery provided gave him an extra bit of focus that hooked him in!
Jack's reading has improved immensely and without the RR, we believe he would have struggled with reading throughout the year and this would have led to him being frustrated and distracted.
He went from level 9 (too early to assign a reading age) to level 29 (estimated reading age of 10.5).
"So from a Principal that was a non believer on arrival to now a Principal that now has a teacher in training (to ensure sustainability and continue to share the program across the school), a believer that it certainly gives our students a fighting chance, and closes the learning gaps as they move on, I definitely support it!"
"Now he is reading so well he just obtained an honour's award at his intermediate for doing so well in reading. He reads every day and still loves it. Thank you Reading Recovery!"
"I recently had the opportunity of observing our Reading Recovery teacher working with a student that I had referred. I was amazed at his progress."
"Thank you so, so much for all the help and dedication you have given to our daughter. It is truly appreciated. She’s doing incredibly well with her reading, and she continues to surprise us!"
Our school and staff have really taken the Early Literacy Support to the next level.
"She just purchased a reading book with her birthday money, she has become a very keen reader! Thank you."
