Independent evaluation finds Chatta boosts communication and writing skills
Teachers report "dramatic improvement" in children's confidence, particularly for speaking and self-expression
An independent evaluation has found that Chatta significantly enhances pupils’ communication and literacy skills, particularly their confidence in speaking and self-expression.
Data also suggests the programme has a particularly positive impact on the literacy skills of children eligible for free school meals and children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Chatta is an innovative teaching approach that uses interactive audio-visual storyboards to break learning into manageable chunks. It develops vocabulary, oral sentence composition, and communication skills, while boosting writing confidence, fluency, and stamina.
The evaluation of Chatta by ImpactEd involved 223 children and 31 teachers from 7 schools participating in a SHINE-funded pilot of the programme.
Impact highlights
- 70% of reception-age children eligible for free school meals who used Chatta met age-related expectations in writing, compared with the national average of 55% for this group.
- 87% of teachers agreed that Chatta had made them a better teacher.
- Almost a third of surveyed teachers reported a reduction in workload since using Chatta. 46% of early years teachers said their workload had decreased.
- Teachers using Chatta reported wellbeing 8.9% higher than the national average for primary teachers.
The evaluation found that “across the dataset, teachers reported significant improvements in pupils’ social and emotional skills, most notably their confidence in speaking and self-expression”.
ImpactEd’s report added: “Attainment data suggests that Chatta has a particularly positive impact on SEND and FSM pupils’ literacy skills.”
The evaluation also found “promising evidence that Chatta is an effective and inclusive teaching approach, supporting both improved pupil outcomes and teacher wellbeing”.
ImpactEd stated: “With further robust evaluation, Chatta has the potential to demonstrate its contribution at scale to addressing persistent challenges in literacy attainment, social confidence, and teacher workload.”
The evaluation found evidence that Chatta led to “dramatic improvement in children’s confidence, particularly for speaking and self-expression”. It stated: “Teachers consistently reported that even the most reluctant speakers, shy children, and those who are selectively mute begin participating after using Chatta.”
Meanwhile, 90% of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that Chatta has led to improved pupil social and emotional skills, with none disagreeing.
The report added: “Teachers believe strongly that Chatta has a positive impact on all aspects of pupils’ literacy; Chatta’s ability to positively impact pupils’ oral sequenced sentence composition and to engage in classroom activity came through strongly in the data.”
Teachers also noted that “the technology naturally engages children, particularly appealing to the ‘TikTok generation’ that expects immediate, interactive content. The instant reward of hearing their voices back thrills children and sustains their attention and participation”.
While 87% of teachers felt Chatta made them better at their job, many described it as transforming their teaching methods rather than simply improving them. Several mentioned that it provided new strategies, perspectives, and approaches to teaching. One teacher noted it “totally transformed my approach” and provided “a new strategy and perspective.”
Other teacher comments included:
- “Children have gained so much confidence in their ability to speak in front of others and formulate sentences as they had the appropriate scaffolding in place. It provides opportunities for the children to collaborate with each other developing their communication skills.”
- “Absolutely all of my children have developed confidence through Chatta.”
- “Chatta makes learning so much fun for every child, they forget any worries they may have about speaking in front of others and even the most reluctant speakers join in.”
- “It allows me to adapt my lesson to meet all my learners’ needs, particularly those with SEND. We have seen a great improvement in our children’s writing, due to the opportunities for oral rehearsal and allowing them to experiment using more challenging vocabulary.”
- “Chatta enables you as a teacher to involve every child in discussions and storytelling, taking away any boundaries and making learning fun for all.”
ImpactEd did add a note of caution to its report, stating: “While these findings are encouraging, the evaluation was constrained by small sample sizes and the absence of baseline or comparison group data. Larger and more representative samples, alongside validated measures of pupil outcomes, will be essential for future evaluation to establish causal impact with greater confidence.”
SHINE has supported Chatta and its creator, Chris Williams, since 2019, bringing the programme to 50 schools across the North and benefiting thousands of children.
This school year, SHINE has awarded Chatta a new £180,000 grant to fund the development of Chatta’s Ambassador Network, aiming to support 32,400 children in 170 schools by 2028.
Schools already enthusiastic about Chatta’s potential, will become Chatta hubs, hosting training workshops and demonstrations for neighbouring teachers and school leaders, equipping them to implement Chatta effectively in their own settings.
The first hubs are in Beverley (East Yorkshire), Liverpool, and Huddersfield.
“Chatta is not a one-size-fits-all off-the-shelf kind of approach. It will always follow and match the needs and priorities of a school,” said Chris. “School leaders like to see similar schools that have taken a step forward, which is why this approach is the best way to quickly grow Chatta’s reach.”
“Each term at our hub schools we’re hosting a demonstration day, followed by a training day. This will mean that schools can join us more efficiently. And there’ll be local support and the building of a network of practice within communities.”
The scaling plan is ambitious yet measured, aiming for steady expansion.
“The priority of this project is ensuring that children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those facing challenges to learning have the best opportunity for effective, inclusive, consistent practice which helps remove barriers and close gaps.”
Chris says the SHINE partnership has been vital not only in providing financial support but also in shaping the project’s direction and sustainability.
“To scale the impact, to scale the difference we can make, the SHINE funding and guidance is giving us the infrastructure and the resources, the expertise to build on what’s already happening and spread it locally.”
With this new phase underway, Chris says Chatta is poised to grow from “one to one, to “one to many”, building a network of ambassador schools across the North and beyond – and giving thousands more children the opportunity to find their voice.