Dyslexia advocate Sharon Scurr has made an official complaint to the Ombudsman over the continued Government funding of Reading Recovery.
"We believe the processes followed by the Ministry in extending these contracts have been unreasonable and inequitable," she stated in the complaint.
"This impacts on vulnerable learners - those with severe literacy and language learning challenges, such as students with dyslexia, second language learners, and some Māori and Pasifika learners who continue to lag behind."
The one-on-one literacy intervention is funded by the Ministry of Education for students that are struggling to read at age six.
After a 2019 review found improvements were needed, the intervention has recently been widened and is now called Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Support.
This includes a more structured phonics approach and wider classroom and group literacy support for students, as well as continuing the one-on-one lessons for those still needing help.
Contracts totalling $4.1 million with the universities of Auckland, Waikato and Otago have been extended until January 31, 2024 to provide training for staff who deliver the intervention in schools.
At the moment, there is the equivalent of 271 full time staff funded by the ministry to provide this support.
In a statement, the Ministry of Education's Julia Novak said it would be inappropriate for the organisation to comment.
"We will engage fully with the Ombudsman on the matter," she stated.
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A spokesperson for the Office of the Ombudsman said in a statement no further comment could be provided as the Ombudsman is required by law to carry out inquiries in secret.
Scurr wants to see Government funding spent on Reading Recovery redirected to training teachers in a structured literacy approach.
The instructional teaching approach features different elements including methodical word identification and decoding, or sounding out words.
The Ministry of Education said these strategies benefit most students, but are essential for students with dyslexia.
University of Auckland Associate Professor Rebecca Jesson is leading the redesign and roll out of Reading Recovery.
In a statement in May, she said there's a need to avoid comparing Reading Recovery, as a support for students struggling with literacy when they start school, with Structured Literacy, an approach to teaching literacy.
"As a country, we need to cease the oppositional approach," she said.
"I would describe the two-approach discourse as a false binary. There is nothing to suggest that schools have to make a choice between two opposite positions."
Jesson said multiple international reviews show the quality of the teacher is what makes the difference.
"Phonics is a necessary part. So are fluency, language development, comprehension and writing.
"No one thing by itself is going to be sufficient. It will always be a combination of approaches," she said.
Review shows decline
A 2021 review revealed fewer schools participated in Reading Recovery, a trend that has continued since 2013.
Another continuation in the data was a slight decline in students completing the programme and no longer requiring extra literacy support, at 71% in 2021 compared to 74% in 2019.
In a previous statement, the Ministry of Education's Pauline Cleaver said the Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Approach is effective in lifting the literacy skills of most children who take part.
The complaint to the Ombudsman also claims there's a conflict of interest with University of Auckland Professor Stuart McNaughton providing advice to the Ministry of Education on evidence-based literacy instruction.
This is because the university receives funding for providing Reading Recovery training and because he's one of three trustees for the Marie Clay Literacy Trust.
Marie Clay is the researcher who created Reading Recovery.
The trust is tasked with working "to ensure the ongoing quality and relevance of Dr Clay's work as it relates to Reading Recovery," its website states.
When questioned on the perceived conflict of interest in 2020, Professor McNaughton told 1News "a good scientist puts the evidence on the table and the connections one has, one declares them".
Professor McNaughton's daughter is the literacy and numeracy programme director for the Auckland University service Tu Tuia Learning Circle that provides Reading Recovery training.
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