Raising Early Achievement in Literacy (REAL) is a home-based intervention for families living in disadvantaged areas with a 3-year-old child. Early Years teachers deliver 10 sessions to families in their home over a period of 18 months. These sessions are complemented by five group sessions involving up to eight families. During each session, parents learn strategies for enhancing the home learning environment and promoting early literacy.
The information above is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
3 years old
Home visiting
Raising Early Achievement in Literacy (REAL) is a home visiting intervention for families living in disadvantaged areas with a 3-year-old child.
Early Years teachers deliver 10 sessions to families in their home over a period of 18 months. These sessions are complemented by five group sessions involving up to eight families. During these sessions, parents learn strategies for supporting their child’s early literacy development, as well as other important school readiness skills.
The sessions incorporate six strands:
REAL is based on the ORIM Framework of four factors which help learners:
Teachers aim to facilitate parents’ learning in a respectful and tailored way, rather than giving instructional teaching, and draw on their expertise to suggest strategies and ideas to parents to help them teach emergent literacy to their child.
3 to 5 years old
Preschool children living in disadvantaged communities
Disclaimer: The information in this section is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
Science-based assumption
Preliteracy skills are critical for school readiness and are predictive of children’s success in primary school.
Science-based assumption
The quality of the home learning environment, including parents’ ability to scaffold early literacy, consistently predicts children’s early literacy by the time they enter school.
Science-based assumption
Low family income negatively impacts parents’ ability to provide an enriching home learning environment.
Intervention
Parents learn strategies for promoting early literacy through common, daily activities
Parents are provided with books and other materials to further promote literacy in the home
Parents and children attend special events and group activities aimed at promoting vocabulary development and letter recognition.
Short-term
Parents are better able to support their children’s early literacy
Parents are better able to support their children’s early school readiness.
Medium-term
Improved child literacy skills at school.
Long-term
Improved child academic achievement.
Families with a child aged approximately 3 to 5 years old in their pre-school year, living in a disadvantaged community.
REAL is delivered over 12 to 18 months in five group sessions of 45 minutes’ duration each by a practitioner, to groups of approximately eight families; in 10 home visits by a practitioner to individual families; and in optional centre-based groups and special events.
The intervention is delivered over 12 or 18 months and is designed for families with children aged between 3 and 5 years living in disadvantaged communities.
REAL has six main components: home visits by intervention teachers; provision of literacy resources (particularly books); centre-based group activities; special events (e.g. group library visits); postal communication between the teacher and child; and appropriate adult education opportunities for parents.
The intervention is based on the ORIM concepts: Opportunities, Recognition, Interaction, and Models of literacy.
Operating within this framework, the intervention aims to support parents’ contribution to their children’s literacy learning through: i) providing opportunities to learn; ii) recognising and valuing early achievements; iii) interacting in learning situations; and iv) modelling literacy behaviours.
The practitioner who delivers this intervention is an Early Years practitioner (e.g. nursery or reception teacher) with the equivalent of a bachelor’s qualification in teaching.
The practitioners have 64 hours of intervention training. Booster training of practitioners is not required.
In the evaluated REAL project, supervision was provided by two intervention developer supervisors.
Intervention fidelity is maintained through the following processes:
Contact person: Professor Cathy Nutbrown
Organisation: The Sheffield REAL project
Email address: c.e.nutbrown@sheffield.ac.uk
Website/s: https://sheffield-real-project.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/
*Please note that this information may not be up to date. In this case, please visit the listed intervention website for up to date contact details.
REAL’s most rigorous evidence comes from a single RCT which was conducted in the UK that is consistent with Foundations’ Level 3 evidence strength criteria.
This study identified statistically significant improvements in REAL children’s early literacy compared to children who did not receive the intervention.
REAL can be described as evidence-based: it has evidence from at least one rigorously conducted RCT or QED demonstrating a statistically significant positive impact on at least one child outcome.
Improved early literacy
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
Improved early literacy (letter recognition)
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
| Identified in search | 7 |
| Studies reviewed | 2 |
| Meeting the L2 threshold | 0 |
| Meeting the L3 threshold | 1 |
| Contributing to the L4 threshold | 0 |
| Ineligible | 1 |
| Study design | RCT |
| Country | UK |
| Sample characteristics | 176 children |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities |
|
| Population risk factors | Children were on waitlists for schools in disadvantaged areas |
| Timing |
|
| Child outcomes | Improved child early literacy |
| Other outcomes | None |
| Study rating | 3 |
| Citations | Study 1a: Hannon, P., Nutbrown, C. & Morgan, A. (2020) Effects of extending disadvantaged families’ teaching of emergent literacy. Research Papers in Education. 35 (3), 310–336. Study 1b: Nutbrown, C., Hannon, P. & Morgan, A. (2005) Early literacy work with families. SAGE Publications. |
The following studies were identified for this intervention but did not count towards the intervention’s overall evidence rating. An intervention receives the same rating as its most robust study or studies.
Hirst, K., Hannon, P. & Nutbrown, C. (2010) Effects of a preschool bilingual family literacy programme. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. 10 (2), 183–208.
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Note on provider involvement: This provider has agreed to Foundations’ terms of reference (or the Early Intervention Foundation’s terms of reference), and the assessment has been conducted and published with the full cooperation of the intervention provider.
Note on provider involvement: This provider has agreed to Foundations’ terms of reference (or the Early Intervention Foundation's terms of reference), and the assessment has been conducted and published with the full cooperation of the intervention provider.
Rated 1: Set up and delivery is low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of less than £100.
Rated 2: Set up and delivery is medium-low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £100–£499.
Rated 3: Set up and delivery is medium cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £500–£999.
Rated 4: Set up and delivery is medium-high cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £1,000–£2,000.
Rating 5: Set up and delivery is high cost. Equivalent to an estimated unit cost of more than £2,000.
Set up and delivery cost is not applicable, not available, or has not been calculated.
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Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing child maltreatment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Enhancing school achievement & employment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing substance abuse: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing risky sexual behaviour & teen pregnancy: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
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Rated 2: Has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome from a quantitative impact study, but there is not yet evidence of causal impact.
Rated 2+: Meets the level 2 rating and the best available evidence is based on a study which is more rigorous than a level 2 standard but does not meet the level 3 standard.
Rated 3: Has evidence of a short-term positive impact from at least one rigorous study.
Rated 3+: Meets the level 3 rating and has evidence from other studies with a comparison group at level 2 or higher.
Rated 4: Has evidence of a long-term positive impact through at least two rigorous studies.
Rated 4+: Meets the level 4 rating and has at least a third study contributing to the Level 4 rating, with at least one of the studies conducted independently of the intervention provider.
Rating has a *: The evidence base includes mixed findings i.e., studies suggesting positive impact alongside studies, which on balance, indicate no effect or negative impact.
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