Stop Supporting Reading Recovery in Irish Schools

Reading Recovery has faced growing criticism due to advances in the Science of Reading. Four decades after its introduction, New Zealand Education Minister Erica Stanford announced on 3 May 2024 that funding for Reading Recovery will end in 2025 (Newshub 2024, cited by Chapman and Turner 2024). Minister Stanford has been widely praised for her strong commitment to evidence-based policy in ending this harmful and outdated approach. Similarly, New South Wales discontinued all funding for Reading Recovery in 2016 due to serious concerns about its effectiveness and cost. Numerous U.S. states have also moved to ban or phase out Reading Recovery programs, citing its failure to produce lasting gains in literacy and alignment issues with Science of Reading research

Quite frankly—and with all due respect—Minister Helen McEntee, the time has come to engage with the wealth of accessible research condemning this approach and take decisive action in Ireland. Please refer to my blog 'Reading Recovery: A Review of the Research' on www.muinteoirchloe.ie for a review of literature and listen to the 'Sold a Story' Podcast.
https://www.muinteoirchloe.ie/blog/reading-recovery-a-review-of-the-research