“We bought Reading Eggs because it was great value for money and offered a really comprehensive resource. We started using Reading Eggs about a term and half before SATs and for the first time in the school's history 100% of our pupils achieved level 4 or above in reading this year (2012/2013). Reading Eggs definitely contributed to this fantastic result of which we are very proud. Our children are no longer afraid of reading. They now love to read and because they are reading more their results have improved. Pupils are willing to tackle harder activities because they can see the progression they are making and they enjoy interacting with the program. They are fearless when it comes to reading! With Reading Eggs we've been able to create a 'can do' attitude towards reading throughout our school.”
– Victoria White, Assistant Headteacher - Teaching for Learning, Penshurst Primary School, East Yorkshire
“We have had a very successful trial of Reading Eggs. Children in both Key stages have stated that they really enjoyed the program and many have stated that it and I quote 'Makes reading fun'.
My children have greatly enjoyed it. Especially the 'Boffin Boy' series, this has been a class favourite! It has really helped to develop the children’s comprehension skills. They actually look forward to taking the Quiz even though really it is a stealth test!”
– Daniel McGill, Blackthorn Primary School
“Reading Eggs for KS1 pupils is easy to access and appealing for children to do incorporating phonics work, games and activities for them to try. Even the lowest ability children can work through it independently as it is simple, clear and easy to follow.
The story-writing factory is absolutely brilliant and is a great way of encouraging reluctant writers to have a go. Reading Eggs is also great for lower ability KS2 children.
Reading Eggspress for KS2 children is a fantastic interactive world that they love to explore. There is a huge range of books to read and games and activities to play. They love their personalised avatar and apartment to furnish, which adds an extra dimension spurring them on as they are in competition to see who can create the best pad!
Both Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress assess the child before they can access the resources and therefore make sure it is pitched at just the right level. It is fantastic as the children can work at their own speed whilst it still introduces the element of competition with their friends.
Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress has definitely helped us to raise the profile of reading in school and create a buzz around it. The enthusiasm of the children has been fantastic, even the hard to reach children who are reluctant to try other things and during their free-choice ICT time many children choose to spend time on Reading Eggs.
Reading Eggs is available for all our children from Year 1 to Year 6 (approximately 150). All our children are signed up and some use it more than others obviously but it is something we make sure all of our children have access to every year. We are looking to include our Foundation Stage children as well next year, which will take our total up to about 180.”
– Catherine Davies, Heatherbrook Primary, Leicester
“Really enjoyed the comprehension books and the questions which the children had to answer. The children really enjoyed the games, especially collecting the golden eggs and spending them on their virtual apartment. The grammar, spelling and punctuation exercises supported the new tests in a way that engaged the children. The range of titles was also impressive.
Overall, the children have enjoyed their experience of Reading Eggs, and all staff who have trialled it, have given positive feedback.”
– Lawrence Lee, Glebelands, Leicester
“My class are using the program regularly to boost their reading skills, as part of guided reading extension activities. They enjoy it a lot. All children have logins so that they can access the program at home.”
– Dawn Smithen , Osborne Primary School
“We use Reading Eggs in a variety of ways including homework, small group work in guided reading as well as individual quiet reading sessions. The children also used some of the features involving grammar and spelling in revision for the new SATS test this year.
I had a lower ability group of children in year 6 and with the use of the Reading Eggs program during my guided reading session the children made some good progress. They also enjoy the book choices and the lengths seem more manageable than a longer chapter book from the book corner for example.
The reward system is excellent; we hand out the rewards in front of the whole school during assembly and make quite a big deal out of it to raise the profile of reading the school.
We would recommend Reading Eggs to another school; it is an easy to use resource, which the children can also use at home. There is a selection of books on offer for a range of interests. As a parent of a KS1 child the phonics activities are super as well to reinforce what is being done in class.
The pupils love Readings Eggs and using it in the guided reading sessions seemed to up the interest. Many of my typical non-readers, spent more time reading at home and at school. They also love collecting the cards, changing their avatar and getting the certificates.””
– Abby Bennett, Smallwood Primary School and Language Unit (Wandsworth)
“We use Reading Eggs at our school as part of an activity in a carousel of activities in guided reading. Pupils are told by the teacher which book they need to find in the reading eggs library, and that they must complete the questionnaire at the end. We think it is important for pupils to have access to digital reading, and we are pleased with the quality and variety of the questioning and books offered by the program. All our pupils have a login card and they use Reading Eggs both at lunch, after school clubs and at home. Pupils are excited about the program and discuss the books they read, and the rewards they achieved.
Reading for pleasure has increased thanks to Reading Eggs. We found the program to be an effective additional tool for learning.”
– Ana Silva, Culloden Primary School, Tower Hamlets
“I find Reading Eggs very helpful. I am the Inclusion Manager and Senco and it has proved to be particularly helpful for some of our children with SEN, and children who are underachieving in reading and phonics. I know the children like getting their certificates, which I print out and are presented in assembly. Yes I would recommend Reading Eggs to other schools and have already done so.”
– Sarah Faux, Chalgrove Primary School, Barnet
“We are a school for children with dyslexia and dyspraxia. I sourced this program as I was trying to find a way to engage them in reading and also because they could use the program at home.
This is definitely a beneficial reading tool. The resources are incredibly well designed, the books engaging and the language used is perfect for our children. I love that the book study notes include thinking about text structure, analysis and interpretation of texts. They also include really well considered guided reading questions, saving me having to pre-read books and make them up myself! They are modern in their presentation and look engaging, and there is a lot of material to choose from in the library. I love that you can select reading ages when choosing books. We would recommend Reading Eggs to another school.
Our pupils love it:
"I like the books on there because they have lots of books on there and I like the space books. I like that you can answer questions which get you eggs and then the eggs help you make your house. It kind of makes you want to do it." Boy aged 10
"It’s a lot of fun and a good way to learn." Girl aged 10”
– Sarah Mitchell, Fairley House School, London
“We use Reading Eggs during our Guided Reading sessions and as whole class sessions when working on comprehension skills. The teachers also use the resources for teaching focus groups. Reading Eggs also forms part of our reading homework tasks that teachers set on a weekly basis.
The resource is extremely useful - we first trialled it in KS1 and then found that the children were so engaged with it and it was having such a big impact on reading that we purchased it for the whole school. The reward system adds an element of fun and is playful so the kids love it. It is most definitely a very useful reading tool. Yes, we would recommend it to other schools.
Our children love the program and use it regularly, especially in KS1. Reading Eggs is an interactive reading tool that provides children with the choice of texts that are appropriate for their age. It makes reading fun and all children love it!”
– Sophie Tunnacliffe, William Tyndale Primary School
“We are a pre-school for children aged 3-5 based in Woodloes Primary school in Warwick. We already use Jolly Phonics to get our children learning to read and Reading Eggs came recommended to us. We trialled the program and found that all our pupils loved it so much that we decided to continue with it.
The children are more engaged in learning sounds and there’s been a definite improvement in the speed with which they pick up and recognise their sounds. What’s also great is that parents can see what their children are working on at home. Reading Eggs is definitely value for money because all children enjoy using it and we can see how it’s benefiting our pupils.”
– Jo Sutcliffe, Saplings pre-school, Woodloes Primary School
“We were looking for something that helped us improve reading across the school and we found that Reading Eggs met our needs. Reading Eggs is great for improving pupils’ comprehension skills and our children love earning rewards. Reading Eggs really helps to motivate children to keep reading.”
– Deborah Mercer, Wensley Fold Church of England Primary School
“The resources on Reading Eggs are excellent; it’s very bright and colourful. The children just love using it. It’s really helped develop their love of literacy. Children can choose from a range of books and they now love to read thanks to Reading Eggs.
The children love Reading Eggs because it’s very child friendly, very colourful and there are so many different activities. They never got bored! They are really excited about using the program and are learning at the same time which is really important. It’s such a practical resource and the children have fun whilst they’re learning. It covers all the aspects of reading, comprehension, spelling and grammar. I would definitely recommend using it. The kids love it!”
– Kilburn Park Foundation School, Serena Briggs
“In 2013 we were very pleased that 100% of children achieved a level 4 and 49% achieved a level 5 in reading. I’m sure Reading Eggs contributed greatly to this improvement.”
– Kilburn Park Foundation School, Kilburn, Cherylyn Larking
“At The Prague British School we have introduced Reading Eggspress and Reading Eggs throughout the primary school.
We have encouraged all children to start with the placement test and I have been particularly impressed with how thorough it is. Throughout the school the children and teachers have taken to both programs quickly and are using them as part of their day-to-day teaching.
In class SEN and EAL children are able to access Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress to their own level. The tailored program provided by Reading Eggspress levels the children so that they are working at their own ability. The games and challenges are in short chunks and keep the children motivated. I have really enjoyed discovering Reading Eggs, my students have really taken to it and they are thoroughly enjoying using it. They are reading so much more than they were before and in addition their spelling and grammar is improving with the other challenges in the arena.
It has been great seeing the ‘buzz’ around Reading Eggs grow throughout the school, the students have loved working on it, most of them are playing on a daily basis at home. One thing that has really stood out and many staff have commented on is the fact that it provides great reading support for those children that have no one at home that speaks English. Both Reading Eggspress and Reading Eggs reinforce and support the English learning from school.”
– The Prague British School
Below is an excerpt from an independent review of Reading Eggs from John Dabell that appeared in Teach Primary magazine (original full version can be found here).
“It does exactly what it says on the tin. It is highly educational, very entertaining, colourful and engaging.
Reading Eggs has a whopping 120 lessons online. Each lesson focuses on the basics of reading by pinpointing key skills such as phonemic awareness, letter sounds, high frequency sight words and reading connected text. The lessons are great fun to complete, made up of a rich assortment of interactive animations, games, silly songs, and constant rewards. Using their own avatar, children navigate their way through a host of activities as many times as they want. With each lesson, children get valuable repetition and practice, and at the end of their journey they receive a certificate of achievement for all their efforts. There are also over 1000 e-books for children to explore and enjoy.
The four levels in Reading Eggs provide a healthy coverage of early reading skills. Level 1 begins at a pre-school level, starting children off by focusing on the alphabet, letter sounds, first words and short vowels. Further levels help children learn to read and write simple sentences covering short vowels, blends, sight words and word building. Golden eggs are rewarded for every activity completed and these can be spent on games or items for online avatars. The range of activities motivates pupils to return regularly to complete lessons, share their work with others, earn rewards and expand their knowledge.
The Teachers’ Section of the Reading Eggs site is very well-stocked and a delight to navigate. There are areas for managing individual pupils’ accounts, checking progress and previewing lessons. It’s easy to see where children are in their reading journey as Reading Eggs shows how many lessons each child has completed along with report cards. This is the perfect way for parents to see what their children are learning too.
On a professional level, I have used Reading Eggs with learners new to English as a language and it has been a bit of a God-send. The results have hatched some readers in quite a short space of time. On a personal level I have been using Reading Eggs with my four year old daughter and she has loved exploring the online world; I have lost count the number of times she has been on it and wanted to do more.
The important thing to remember is that Reading Eggs is a supplemental. It is not intended to act as the be all and end all of reading success and so if you use it alongside other resources, you are sure to be giving children an eclectic experience.
Reading Eggs has received some rave reviews from teachers, parents and children and I’d join that list too. It marries school and home reading perfectly.”
“Drives Accelerated Progress
We decided to spend some of our pupil premium money on Reading Eggs and also set up a daily Reading Eggs breakfast club for children who needed extra support. I gave them the Salford Standard Reading Test before they started attending and after 10 weeks I repeated the test.
The results were staggering. Over a 2 month period 93% of children made accelerated progress making at least 4 months progress in their reading age. A third of pupils made over a 1 year progress with one child going up by 1 year and 6 months.
As well as setting reading tests, we also refer to the Reading Eggs reports which are valuable in helping us monitor individual progress. Teachers can see exactly what the children have got right and wrong which is very useful.
Creates a Positive Impact
What works really well is that all children work at their own level and at their own pace so it doesn't impact negatively on their self‑esteem. In fact, as children have improved in their literacy skills they have become more confident and started to enjoy reading.
Reading Eggs ensures children can't move on until they have understood what they are learning and each activity builds on the next, making the program an effective learning resource. We have seen astonishing results from some children who have made rapid progress with their reading.
Children who didn't enjoy reading previously are much more inclined to read as they perceive it as more fun, particularly where boys are concerned. They love the multi‑sensory teaching, activities, creating their avatars and really enjoy earning their rewards, encouraging them to keep reading.
We've seen a positive impact where Reading Eggs is being used at home too. With Reading Eggs, parents don't have to be good at literacy to support their children as children can log on securely using their unique passwords and attempt their activities independently and whenever they want to.
Offers Value for Money
Using a relatively small chunk of our pupil premium money for Reading Eggs, we’ve seen really good results. Most reading intervention programs require one to one teaching but with Reading Eggs I’ve only needed an extra two or three Learning Support Assistants helping me with the 30 children who attend the Reading Eggs club.
Being able to access Reading Eggs from home as well as school makes it really good value for money.”
– The Downley School, Buckinghamshire