The question is - Why did Ebor Gardens, an inner city primary school adopt Success for All? The answer is simple, we had embraced the National Literacy Strategy with little improvement. Results of course are all important but we as a primary school wanted more, we wanted success for all our children and that meant successful readers, writers, speakers and listeners. No child should leave our school unprepared for what lies ahead.

In 2001 our SATs results were not good despite our commitment to the National Literacy Strategy. In reading at Key Stage 1 compared with similar schools nationally we were graded D and in writing E. At Key Stage 2, overall our grade was D.

We were unsure what to do next, then we heard about the Success for All programme and this seemed to be the answer. It was originally pioneered in this country seven years ago by Professor David Hopkins at the University of Nottingham (like so many other successful initiatives, it was an American innovation). Since then, the programme has been radically supplemented and adapted to meet the rigorous demands of the NLS.

So, what’s the big secret? The main difference between the Success for All model and more traditional practices lies in the fact that for ninety minutes each day, every child across the whole school (years one to six) is setted according to reading ability: able year twos read alongside poorer year fours while other year fours work with fives and sixes etc. Every child is presented with reading material exactly matched to their current level of accessibility and challenge; teaching and support staff lead reading groups with no more than a six-month range of reading ability. It wasn’t rocket science but it felt like it. It was a way we could reach all of our children.

This was not a programme that would be imposed on us. Senior members of staff went to see the programme in action, the SFA team came to talk to all the staff and lots of discussion took place. Then the all-important vote, we had to be committed and we were, the vote came back 100% for SFA. We had the commitment, we had the expertise, and I as the Facilitator had a team of people at the end of the phone to answer my myriad of questions.

There are several key components to the SFA programme, developed according to the age and reading ability of the participants. Curiosity Corner teaches speaking and listening skills to nursery children. Kinder Roots introduces phonics skills to reception children and Reading Roots presents phonetically regular words in increasing difficulty through a series of coloured storybooks which the children take home to keep. The main part of the programme, Literacy Wings, is based on reading real books – picture books at the earliest stages through to Dickens and Shakespeare at the highest – supported by detailed lesson plans that guide children’s discussion about the text as well as focusing on key literary devices and reading/writing skills. In addition to these ‘Treasure Hunts’, as the materials are called, are extended writing modules that are designed to enhance children’s competency in different genres.

When we began all our children were assessed and then grouped according to ability. This meant initially we had all year groups working alongside each other with lots of our older children starting off in the FastTrack phonics programme alongside year 1 and 2 children. The most commonly asked question about this regrouping method is what about the older children’s self esteem? The answer, there was no problem, all children could now access the curriculum, they could read the material and understand the content. Incidents of disruptive behaviour decreased as the children’s self esteem increased. They no longer needed to self exclude this was inclusive education at its best. Moreover the older children didn’t stay put for long. Assessment takes place every 8 weeks and the children are regrouped. This process generated a real sense of excitement and lots of requests for information from the children about their results. They were now in charge of their progress and were eager to move forward as quickly as possible.

So where are we now? We are into our fourth year of Success for All and yes our SATs results have improved. Our grading compared to similar schools nationally has risen dramatically. In KS1 we are now graded A in reading and A* in writing. In KS2 overall we have risen from a D to a B.

However our hope is, that someone observing in an SFA classroom would notice the pervading low buzz of chatter: children reading aloud to each other, helping each other with difficult words and ideas, and animatedly discussing the text they’ve just read. The SFA programme is based on the foundation of Co-operative Learning – we learn best when we teach an idea to someone else. This is underpinned by the research of William Glasser into teaching and learning styles:
We learn………… 
10% of what we READ
20% of what we HEAR
30% of what we SEE
50% of what we HEAR and SEE
70% of what we DISCUSS with others
80% of what we EXPERIENCE personally
95% of what we TEACH to someone else 

We continue to strive and nobody rests on their laurels, SFA is an evolving programme and the team are constantly reviewing, evaluating and updating the material in response to schools comments. At Ebor Gardens we are confident that we made the right choice for all our children. A comment from a year five child new to our school and at present being taught alongside Year one and 2 children, confirms our belief. 
“At my other school I couldn’t learn, in SFA I’m learning” That comment says it all.

Denise Maruszczak
Ebor Gardens Primary School