Independent evaluation of the Discover Children’s Story Centre summer writing programme
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN45473011 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN45473011 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | Version 2.1 (23/04/13) |
- Submission date
- 25/04/2013
- Registration date
- 04/06/2013
- Last edited
- 22/01/2019
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
This study is conducted to find out if the four-week summer workshop delivered by the Discover Childrens Story Centre, helps to improve pupils writing skills during the transition from Year 6 to Year 7, especially the pupils with poor to average writing skills (between Key Stage 2 Level 3c and Level 4c). This will include a variety of workshops, including poetry and literacy sessions combined with a range of enrichment activities such as trips to performances and sporting activities.
Who can participate?
Pupils in Year 6 (2012/13 academic year), whose KS2 English is predicted to be between Level 3c and Level 4c and attending primary and secondary schools that are willing to agree to all research procedures can participate in this study.
What does the study involve?
In total, 250 pupils will take part in this study. They will be randomly allocated to one of two groups: receiving workshop in the summer holidays of 2013 or a school-based reading and writing workshop (control group). At the beginning of the autumn term 2013, all participating Year 7 pupils will complete the GL Assessment Progress in English (PiE) 11 (Long Form). Pupils in the control group will be offered the school-based workshop after this evaluation. The results of pupils who have taken part in the four-week summer workshop will then be compared with the results of pupils in the control group, in order to find out the effect the workshop has had on pupils writing skills.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Participating pupils will have the opportunity to be selected to attend the summer school, free of charge, which will provide interesting and memorable experiences and may improve their reading and writing skills. There are no known risks of participation.
Where is the study run from?
The independent evaluation is being conducted by the University of York and Durham
University. The Discover Childrens Story Centre is responsible for communication with schools and conducting the workshop.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
The study begins in January 2013 and is expected to last for one year.
Who is funding the study?
The Education Endowment Foundation, UK.
Who is the main contact?
Principle Investigator: Professor David Torgerson, david.torgerson@york.ac.uk
Trial Manager: Laura Jefferson, laura.jefferson@york.ac.uk
Contact information
Scientific
Director
York Trials Unit
Department of Health Sciences
University of York
Heslington
York
YO10 5DD
United Kingdom
Study information
| Study design | Pragmatic randomised controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Other |
| Study type | Quality of life |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a parent and pupil information letter. |
| Scientific title | A pragmatic randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of the Discover Children's Story Centre summer writing programme |
| Study hypothesis | What is the effectiveness of the Discover four-week literacy summer school, on the writing skills of participating children, when compared to business as usual? |
| Ethics approval(s) | Not provided at the time of registration |
| Condition | Education primary and secondary schools |
| Intervention | Intervention: Discover four-week literacy summer school: delivered and supported by the Discover Childrens Story Centre during the summer holidays of 2013. The intervention will include a variety of workshops including poetry and literacy sessions, trips to performances, sporting activities and drama. Control: Business as usual, following the evaluation, control group pupils will be offered a reading and writing workshop delivered in secondary schools in the autumn term 2013 |
| Intervention type | Other |
| Primary outcome measure | Childrens combined scores on the two writing tasks of the GL Assessment Progress in English 11 (Long Form) |
| Secondary outcome measures | Childrens scores on the reading, spelling and grammar components of the GL Assessment Progress in English 11 (Long Form) |
| Overall study start date | 01/01/2013 |
| Overall study end date | 31/12/2013 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Patient |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 250 |
| Participant inclusion criteria | 1. Secondary schools will be eligible to participate if they are willing to liaise with feeder primary schools to identify eligible pupils that will attend in Year 7 and if they are willing to undertake all related research procedures. 2. Primary schools will be eligible if they are willing to undertake all related research procedures and are identified as feeder schools to the participating secondary schools. 3. Eligible pupils will include: 3.1. Those in participating schools 3.2. Year 6 pupils in the 2012/13 school academic year 3.3. Those predicted to achieve between Level 3c and Level 4c in KS2 English, based on the teacher assessments |
| Participant exclusion criteria | Pupils, primary and secondary schools NOT meeting the inclusion criteria will be excluded |
| Recruitment start date | 01/01/2013 |
| Recruitment end date | 31/12/2013 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
YO10 5DD
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
Not defined
Research Innovation Office
Innovation Centre
York Science Park
York
YO10 5DG
United Kingdom
| Website | http://www.york.ac.uk |
|---|---|
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/04m01e293 |
Funders
Funder type
Charity
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Not provided at time of registration |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Not provided at time of registration |
| IPD sharing plan |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funder report results | results | 01/05/2014 | 22/01/2019 | No | No |
Editorial Notes
22/01/2019: Publication reference added
24/06/2016: No publications found, verifying study status with principal investigator.
