CHILDREN who were struggling to read made “spectacular”

improvements after a trial scheme was run for 30 minutes a day in some 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 they received one-to-one tuition for 30 minutes a day for 12 to 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 stalled badly.

Schools Minister Jim Knight 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 were eligible for free school meals compared to a national average of fewer 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.

John Wiffen, the headteacher of Whinney Banks Primary School, which took part in the programme, hailed it as a big success.

He said his school used the scheme along with a raft of other measures to aid reading improvement among youngsters.

He said: “I am a great believer in it. We used it in oneon- one situations and in small groups, and we have invested a lot of funding it in over the last 18 months and will continue to do so.

“We believe it makes a significance difference for a particular group of children. It enabled them to become competent readers, which they otherwise may not have been.”

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 literacy expert in the school.

Jean Gross, of the Every Child a Reader partnership, described the results as spectacular, and said: “This augurs well for the national rollout that has now begun.”