Effectiveness of Headsprout Early Reading® in Special Educational Needs Schools: A cluster randomised controlled trial

Abstract Children with intellectual disabilities often find acquiring age‐appropriate reading skills difficult. We evaluated the impact of a structured online reading intervention on the reading skills of children aged 5–11 years in special educational needs (SEN) schools in England. A two‐armed cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) compared Headsprout Early Reading® (HER®) with education as usual (EAU). Children completed the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills® measure online before randomisation and 1 year later. Fifty‐five SEN schools (382 children) were randomised to HER® or EAU. Children in HER® schools made no additional progress in reading, on average, compared to children in EAU schools (Hedges' g = −0.01, 95% CI [−0.28, 0.26]). HER® seemed to have a positive impact on oral reading fluency (IRR = 0.77, 95% CI [0.60, 0.98] SE = 0.1), but these data were only available for 55% of children. Intervention compliance was low, with only ten children completing ≥40% of HER®. HER® was not implemented as planned and attrition was relatively high in the intervention group, compared with EAU. It is therefore difficult to draw firm conclusions. We successfully recruited SEN schools and children, suggesting large‐scale RCTs in SEN schools may be feasible; however, challenges must first be overcome to ensure acceptable implementation. ISRCTN 46208295.