About West Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire is Scotland’s second most disadvantaged local authority. It is also the first local authority in the world to eradicate illiteracy in its schools. By November 2007 all of its primary school leavers will be reading to expected levels.

The background

Ten years ago the Scottish Executive decided to fund an early intervention programme in literacy and numeracy in Scottish primary schools. At the same time Educational Psychologist Tommy MacKay dared West Dunbartonshire Council to wipe out illiteracy within ten years and told them how it could be done.

The Council knew it was a massive challenge, 28% of its Primary 7 (Year 6) pupils, aged 11, were functionally illiterate. This meant they would struggle to work out timetables and understand the books they would be expected to study at secondary school.

Something had to be done.

As the West Dunbartonshire project approaches its tenth anniversary, Lynn Townsend reckons that only half a dozen out of 14,000 pupils are still struggling with their reading. And she insists that the Council and the schools will stay with those children until they can read.

"No-one gets left behind," she added.

So how did they do it?

Two key aims:

To transform the achievement of all children in the 4-7 age range through a comprehensive early intervention programme.
To eradicate illiteracy from the entire school population.

Two main elements:

A detailed programme for pupils in the pre-school year and Primaries 1 and 2 (Reception and Year 1) including teaching Synthetic Phonics.
Intensive individual intervention, using another Synthetic Phonics programme, in later years for those still having problems.

The Council employed a Head Teacher and 16 teachers to work across all Early Education and Childcare Centres, Primary and Secondary Schools to raise their literacy levels.

Starting early

Particular focus on early years as evidence indicated early achievement provides a positive experience of schools and a firm base for lifelong learning. Parents were more relaxed when they brought their children to nursery school because they had to stay longer to settle their children and got to know the nursery workers better and that meant they were more comfortable talking about problems or fears they may have about their own reading or writing.

This approach at nursery level, including providing children with a startpack with reading materials to practise at home before starting primary school, reduced the number of children with problems learning to read. Those who continued to have problems were picked up in primary school and given intensive one-on-one help using the Toe-by-Toe programme.

Support system

The Council introduced a structured programme of synthetic phonics on a trial basis in its primary schools. It was so successful it still forms the core of the West Dunbartonshire approach.

Around that they also linked what their pupils were being taught at schools with ways parents could help at home and set up a home support system and regular parents’ evening to teach parents about phonics. Some parents used this as an opportunity to find help with their own reading problems.

The project became part of the community in which it was based. Expectations increased and alongside those the aspirations of higher-achieving pupils, despite being surrounded by a culture of long-term unemployment.

What did they use?

The council bought in Synthetic Phonics programme Jolly Phonics in 1999 on a research basis. Success was so immediate and sustained that they have continued using this method.


For individual intervention staff and volunteers trained to deliver the phonics based 'Toe by Toe' programme.


Assessments were done individually and in group tests with 4,000 children being tested every year.


Children are taught until they can read right through to secondary school if necessary.

The Results

Children entering P3, Year 2, had an average reading age almost six months higher than previous expectations.


Disadvantaged pupils developed at the same rate as more socially advantaged peers.


The Centre for Policy Studies (a government think-tank) cited this as a model for English schools.

The Statistics

1997 28% of children leaving primary school were functionally illiterate.
2007 All but half a dozen children have attained a reading age six months above expectations.

1997 5% of Primary 1 (Receptions) children had 'very high' word reading
2007 45% of Primary 1 children had 'very high' word reading scores.

1997 11% of Primary 2 (Year 1) pupils had very low word reading scores.
2007 1% of pupils had very low word reading scores.

1997 Primary 1 children were reading an average of 5.52 words.
Primary 2 could read an average of 24.24 words.
2006 Primary 1 children were reading an average of 16.01 words.
Primary 2 could read an average of 40.44 words.


Tests used to assess and monitor progress

West Dunbartonshire's own baseline assessment developed phonological awareness.
Neale Analysis Reading Test.
Teachers' own classroom assessments.

There is no electronic version of the finished Early Intervention Initiative findings but a copy can be ordered, for £30, from Moira, Claire or Lesley by e-mailing education.centralregistry@west-dunbarton.go.uk.

What Is Synthetic Phonics? | The Clackmannanshire Experiment | The West Dunbartonshire Project | A Guide for Head Teachers | Phonics Can Be Fun | Synthetic Phonics Is Not Enough | Why Synthetic Phonics Is Wrong For Our Children | Enthusiasm Is The Key | Phonics Help & Advice

Lost for Words: Clackmannanshire

In 1998 two educational psychologists, Dr Joyce Watson and Professor Rhona Johnston, started a small pilot project in Scotland to see how effective Synthetic Phonics could be in teaching reading.

Seven years later they published their results. They had found that children taught using synthetic phonics could read better than children who were taught using a programme of analytic phonics.

One of the most surprising findings was that boys, who are trailing behind girls in reading, writing, comprehension, spelling and general education in all parts of the UK, ended up eight months ahead of girls in word reading by Primary 3 (Year 2) and seven months ahead over the following two years.

Rhona Johnston and Joyce Watson believe that Synthetic Phonics and the structured approach it needs to work properly is more suited to the way boys learn.

Both boys and girls were above their chronological age in spelling and reading comprehensions. And in the latter boys on the synthetic phonics programme were almost ten months ahead of their counterparts learning through analytic phonics.

No mean feat when you consider the research started out in schools where 30% of children were reading well below their age.

"Only a few are now lagging behind," adds Sandy Wilson, Clackmannanshire's head of Lifelong Learning.

How did they do it?

Schools saw themselves as having primary responsibility for ensuring that their pupils learned to read.

Children were taught the 42 letter sounds of the English language at the rate of six a day over eight days.

At the same time they were taught to identify letters in the initial, middle and final positions in words and to sound and blend words using magnetic letters (particularly enjoyed by the boys).

Children were assessed each year using the British Ability Scales Word Reading Test (Elliott et al 1977) and the Schonell Spelling Test 1952.

The system worked even for children with variable attendance levels in deprived areas. The training was so intensive that if a child came to school without their homework they were able to make up the gap at school the next day.

The Results

Overall: Boys and girls

3.5 years ahead of what was expected for their age in reading words
1.75 years ahead of that expected for their age in spelling
3.5 months ahead of that expected for their age in comprehension
Disadvantaged children at P7 were still ahead of their peers by 5.8 months whilst more advantaged children had a 6.2month advantage.

Differences between boys and girls:

Primary 3 boys pulled ahead of girls in word reading and by Primary 7 were reading 11 months ahead of girls.
In primaries 4, 6 and 7 boys were spelling better than girls: 8.6 months ahead.

Recommended Reading

The Effects of Synthetic Phonics Teaching On Reading and Spelling Attainment: A Longitudinal Study by Joyce Watson and Rhona Jonston – Department of Psychology University of Hull, School of Psychology, St. Andrew's University. Published by the Scottish Executive, February 2005.
Available as a free download here»

Author: Mary Carson