Times Tables Rock Stars
Rocking out with maths
Case studies
A child’s future should not be defined by their circumstances. Yet, for too many children in the North of England, economic disadvantage continues to limit their educational outcomes.
At SHINE, we’re committed to breaking down these barriers and ensuring every child can reach their full potential.
We believe that innovative, evidence-backed approaches are key to improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children.
That’s why we fund and develop projects that directly address the challenges they face, both in and out of the classroom.
By working closely with schools, communities, and dedicated teachers, we’re creating a more equitable learning environment for all.
LOUISE’S STORY
Teacher Rachel Ward is passionate about ensuring that the most vulnerable children receive the support they need to succeed in reading from the very earliest opportunity.
She believes that early literacy intervention can make a significant difference in the educational journey of the most vulnerable children.
With SHINE’s support, Rachel created Ready Let’s Read, a bespoke programme that pairs skilled teaching assistants with small groups of Reception-age children.
One of the many children who has benefited from this programme is Louise.
Watch Louise’s story above.
LINCOLN’S STORY
SHINE has a proud track record of supporting innovative educational technology programmes. One of the latest is Chatta, a groundbreaking tool created by teacher Chris Williams.
Chatta, an award-winning platform that connects images with language, aims to boost students’ vocabulary, oral communication skills, and writing abilities.
It also aims to close achievement gaps for disadvantaged children.
This year, SHINE awarded Chris a grant of £97,000 to introduce Chatta into 50 schools in Hull, Liverpool, West Yorkshire and Newcastle.
Lincoln, a student at Princes Primary School in Liverpool, is one of many benefiting from this expansion of the programme.
Lincoln used to be painfully shy and would never speak in class.
But since using Chatta as part of his daily timetable, he’s become confident, expressive, and eager to share his experiences with his classmates.
BOROMI PLAY LIBRARIES
Last year, young children who used Boromi Play Libraries showed notable gains in language and communication skills, enhanced social and emotional development, and positive behaviour changes at both school and home.
- A 10.3 percentage-point increase in parents’ confidence, knowledge and ideas to initiate play-based activities with their child.
- Participating children’s communication, language, and speaking skills improved by 19.3 percentage points.
- A 10.7 percentage point increase in children’s social and emotional development.
- Behaviour improved at both school and at home, with a 10.6 percentage-point increase across the two years.
FLUENCY FOR ALL
Students taking part in the pilot of a groundbreaking reading intervention programme backed by SHINE have made significant gains in their reading abilities.
Year 7 pupils at 6 North East schools taking part in the first year of the Fluency for All programme had their reading skills measured by a range of data sources.
The main measure of progress for all six was a standardised reading test. Analysis of students’ standard age scores (SAS) demonstrated significant progress. Students who received the intervention consistently outperformed those who did not.
HOME LITERACY PROJECT
A pioneering home-based early years project has successfully boosted children’s literacy attainment and engagement, while encouraging effective parenting approaches and strengthening home-school relationships.
The Home Literacy Project, led by the Astrea Academy Trust in South Yorkshire, aimed to raise literacy attainment for disadvantaged nursery children.
Thanks to a grant from SHINE, over three years, early years practitioners worked with nursery new starters and their families in their homes.
During four home visits over the course of a year, children and their parents engaged in family literacy activities such as sharing books, singing nursery rhymes and writing shopping lists.
Each child taking part was tracked during the project to see what progress they made in the five strands of early literacy.
Evaluation was integral to the programme, with both qualitative and quantitative data being collected and analysed to demonstrate impact for children, parents and practitioners.
SCIENCE CURRICULUM HUB
A project created to bridge the gap in science knowledge between Year 6 and Year 7 students has “galvanised change” in primary schools, says its creator, Alex Robertson.
Pupils involved in the programme have outperformed their peers on science assessments.
Alex, from Sacred Heart Catholic High School in Newcastle created the Science Curriculum and Training Hub after witnessing many children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, starting at the school and very much needing opportunities to develop their science skills.
This issue often leads to teachers spending significant time helping these students catch up with their classmates. Alex’s solution was to create a comprehensive science curriculum resource for primary schools, providing specialist resources and lessons designed by secondary science teachers.
Numeracy Bridger
Students taking part in a numeracy programme backed by SHINE have shown impressive progress, with improvements of up to three years and an average gain of over 1.5 years.
Of the pupils who completed the Numeracy Bridger intervention last year, nearly 70% made measurable gains, significantly closing the gap between their numeracy age and their chronological age.
Individual improvements ranged from 5 months to 3 years and a mean improvement of 1.6 years.
Numeracy Bridger has been devised by Sam Slingsby, a teacher at Educational Diversity, an alternative provision school in Blackpool for children unable to attend mainstream schools.
Early results from a groundbreaking SHINE-backed project in Bradford show that storytelling can be a powerful way to help young pupils better understand their emotions, build empathy, and manage their feelings.
The Story Project, which uses children’s books and stories to teach emotional and social skills, has seen pupils expanding their vocabulary for talking about feelings, learning practical ways to handle emotions, and growing more confident in discussing sensitive topics.
The project has significantly boosted pupils’ emotional literacy, with teachers noting a wider emotional vocabulary and greater confidence in expressing feelings.
Pupils are now using more nuanced emotional language and grasping complex wellbeing ideas like resilience and gratitude.
Overall teacher ratings for pupils’ wellbeing vocabulary increased from ‘poor’ at the start to ‘good’ at the end of the year – a 42% improvement.
We know that there are big challenges still to address but I am incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made this year, reaching over 48,000 children, supporting nearly 1,800 teachers, and engaging with more than 3,300 parents.
These accomplishments are a testament to the incredible partnerships we have fostered and the tireless work of so many.
First and foremost, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the teachers who continue to inspire and uplift children, even in the most challenging circumstances. Your passion and dedication are the foundation of everything we do.
I also want to thank our partners, schools, and community leaders who help us turn our vision into reality, and to our generous donors, whose support fuels our mission to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children in the North of England. Your belief in our work is what makes this possible.
Yet there is so much more still to do. Together, we will continue to break down barriers to learning, creating brighter futures for disadvantaged children.
Thank you for being part of this journey. I look forward to working with you to drive forward our impact for the future.
Raksha Pattni, Chair, SHINE
Latest updates Project impact
Study finds prolonged use of new intervention boosts reading skills in disadvantaged children
Are You Really Reading? is is helping disadvantaged children across the North West improve their reading skills.
Impact, News
Revise Chemistry with Mr B.
Teacher Jon Blackbourn was aware some students found revision challenging. So, with the help of SHINE, he created Revise Chemistry With Mr B.
Case studies
Children using Boromi Play Libraries show notable communication gains
According to teachers’ surveys, participating children’s communication, language, and speaking skills improved by 19.3 percentage points.
Impact, News