"I thought I knew how to teach young people how to read until I trained in Reading Recovery," Reading Recovery teacher.

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Downloadable documents on the overview of costs for 2012-13, along with details on what the Initial and Continuing Professional Development courses involve.

Overview of costs (2013-14)(0.24Kb)
The Initial Professional Development course(0.22Kb)
The Continuing Professional Development course(0.23Kb)

Becoming a Reading Recovery teacher

"Right from the start I relished the enthusiasm and pace of the Reading Recovery training and the high expectations put on us at both initial and continuing professional development. I love that I am always learning and deepening my understanding and that we have the opportunity to discuss and clarify our thoughts with our highly supportive and inspirational teacher leaders...For me it ticks all the boxes of why I went into teaching in the first place and it has allowed me to reach those children that nothing else seemed to reach," Reading Recovery teacher.

Being a teacher in Reading Recovery is demanding, challenging and enormously rewarding. It is not for the faint hearted! Your first challenge will be to take the lowest attaining children, who have made virtually no progress in literacy in their first year at school, and within 20 weeks transform them into enthusiastic, able and independent readers and writers who will continue to learn as if they never had problems. Your second challenge is to change the way people in your school think about literacy teaching and learning, especially for disadvantaged children and those who struggle.

This is a job for qualified and experienced teachers. Are you up for it?

Training
To become a Reading Recovery teacher you need to fulfil the essential requirements (see Standards & Guidelines, page 27) to enrol on the Reading Recovery Initial Professional Development (IPD) course. The course, internationally recognised and accredited by the Institute of Education, is led by a Reading Recovery teacher leader.  It is a part-time course spread across a full school year, and delivered at your local Reading Recovery Centre. Please note: The Institute of Education is running a training course from September 2013.

Most courses start in September though some teacher leaders start a second course in the Spring term. During the training year you need to be available for 0.5 FTE, spread across five days a week, because of the need to teach very low attaining children every day. In many schools this is combined with 0.5 FTE class teaching or other forms of learning support.

To find the nearest location to you offering initial teacher training in Reading Recovery go to our directory of centres. To arrange your place on the course, please contact the teacher leader at the centre you choose to attend.

The IPD course will enable you to:

  • develop your understanding of children's learning and early literacy acquisition
  • learn skills to assess and overcome children's literacy learning barriers
  • become reflective of teaching decisions and their impact on children's learning in reading and writing
  • learn how to develop and use a gradient of challenge in text reading to support progress in reading
  • achieve accelerated progress in writing 
  • be an expert for the school on diagnostic assessment of literacy
  • work with parents to understand and support their child's development
  • monitor and assess the effectiveness of intervention, and report impact in detail to support accountability processes

What the IPD course involves:

  • 20 half day professional development sessions, with live lesson observation. The sessions will cover: in-depth observation and assessment techniques; observation and discussion of live lessons; detailed analysis of teaching and learning; theoretical analysis; practical advice and guidance
  • support for developing whole school impact. This includes learning about a range of literacy interventions to meet different needs
  • four support visits to your school. These provide intensive, individual support and help the school management team to develop an effective and efficient implementation. Additional support via email or phone with the local Reading Recovery teacher leader
  • access to a secure, user friendly data system for monitoring and reporting. This enables you to track the progress of children receiving literacy support. You will also be able to generate reports to support the strategic management of intervention and to provide accountability.
  • one day professional development for the intervention manager in your school. This includes learning about the reading and writing processes, and the effective use of assessment for early literacy
  • guidance on how to support parents. This enhances your confidence to work with parents, share details of their child's learning, and to engage them with their child's literacy.

Course fee
The IPD course costs £2,772* (VAT free).

On successful completion of the IPD course, you will be registered at the Institute of Education as a qualified Reading Recovery teacher.

For more details of the specific requirements of Reading Recovery teacher qualification see Standards & Guidelines (pages 27-28).

* IPD cost correct for 2013-14