CHILDREN who were struggling to read made “spectacular” improvements after a trial scheme was run for just 30 minutes a day in some of the region’s schools.

Academics hailed the success of the ‘Every Child a Reader’ project, which was tested on six-year-olds in 15 Middlesbrough primary schools.

They said the children improved their reading age by nearly two years - at four times the normal rate - after receiving one-to-one tuition for 30 minutes a day, for between 12 and 20 weeks.

The verdict on the £10m three-year pilot programme clears the way for it to be extended to schools across the country, at a cost of £144m.

It also raises hopes of across-the-board improvements in reading skills at primary level - an early achievement for Labour, where progress has now stalled badly.

Across England, about 30,000 children - more than one in 20 - move on to secondary school every year without even the most basic skills in English.

Jim Knight, the schools minister, said: “I am delighted to see the success of this vital programme for the most disadvantaged children who deserve the best from their schooling.

"We know the importance of getting literacy right in the early years of primary schools to ensure long term educational success and so are committed to rolling out this programme out over the next three years.”

The 15 Middlesbrough primaries were among nearly 500 schools where pupils were given the extra reading time, to help them catch up with their peers.

The struggling youngsters tended to be from poorer backgrounds. Just under half eligible for free school meals compared to a national average of less than one in six. Sixty per cent were boys.

At the start of the course, the average reading age of the children was four years and ten months. At the end, it was six years and seven months.

The researchers, at London’s Institute of Education, found that children who did not receive the direct tuition also improved their reading skills - a result put down to “the presence of a skilled literacy expert in the school”.

A mixture of teaching systems - including phonics - is used to improve reading ability, with assessments carried out by specially trained teachers.

Jean Gross, of the Every Child a Reader partnership, described the results as “spectacular”, adding: “This augurs well for the national roll-out that has now begun.”

Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, has called for parents to read to children for ten minutes every night, ensuring it was “as much a part of kids’ routines as brushing their teeth and having a bath”.