Fischer Family Trust (Wave 3)

Intervention description

Fischer Family Trust Wave 3 (FFT Wave 3) is an early intervention for children in Year 1 who have difficulties learning to read and write. It is based on the pedagogy and practice of Reading Recovery, and targets children who do not have the skills to access group interventions. FFT Wave 3 can be used with year groups other than Year 1, although texts will need to be adapted for different maturity levels.

It is a 2-day rolling programme, so a day of reading is followed by a day of writing. On each reading day the child rereads a familiar book, carries out three fast letter-work activities, reads a new book following a book introduction, reconstructs a cut-up sentence from the book, and learns a new word from the book. On each writing day the child rereads yesterday’s new book (the adult takes a running record once a week), revises word(s) previously learned, composes and writes a sentence based on a picture or stimulus from the book just read, reconstructs a cut-up sentence taken from the written sentence, and learns a spelling.

Staffing requirements

After attending the training, teaching assistants deliver the programme working one-to-one with a Year 1 child for 15-20 minutes per day, on a daily basis for 10-20 weeks

Professional development/training

Training in the intervention is offered as a three-day programme, with a week to ten days between each training day, and is intended for both the Teaching Assistant and the Class Teacher.

Evidence Summary

Fischer Family Trust Wave 3 has not been included in any systematic reviews into the effectiveness of educational programmes.