In France, every year, 120,000 pupils leave CE1 without being able to read. To tackle this issue, which mainly affects disadvantaged communities, public authorities have introduced a number of programmes throughout the school year. To complement these initiatives, Agir pour l’école, in partnership with the Institut des Politiques Publiques, has developed a summer programme designed to develop phonological awareness in pupils in the final year of nursery school.
Six summer courses were organised during the summer of 2012 in the Calais 1 school district. The pupils taking part, who had been identified as potentially struggling at the end of their final year of nursery school, were offered three weeks of extra lessons in the mornings from 9.00 am to 12.00 pm. The courses were run by volunteer teachers, recruited specifically to work on the skills that prepare children for learning to read.
