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OPINION 27 SOME of the biggest wins you can get in education might not necessarily be the big grandiose projects, but the more simple and endearing stuff which brings about a big change in its own little world. Through the introduction of reading and literacy programmes, there were small but important wins in the way children, and adults, look at reading. One of the most delightful moments in my political life was seeing young children so excited about reading, and so engaged in the story-line. We have come to a place where reading isn't seen as a must-do. It's no longer about ancient books and same-old titles. We've modernised not just through investment in new material, but also in presentation and the way it is done. The smile and happiness these programmes bring about, not just in children but also in adults and the connection of these parents with their own children through this experi- ence, makes the gloomy part of politics worthwhile. The Reading Recovery programme is an accredited school-based literacy programme for the lowest achieving six-year-old children, that enables them to reach age-expected levels within 20 weeks/100 sessions. Effective early intervention is designed to reduce dra- matically the number of children with literacy difficulties in schools. The big news now is that this will no longer be limited to English, but will expand to Maltese as well. It is a second chance, prevention programme deliv- ered in the second year of school. It in- volves a short series of daily 30 minutes one-to-one lessons for with a specially trained teacher. The programme is different for every child, starting from what the child knows and what he/ she needs to learn next. The focus of each lesson is to comprehend messages in reading and construct messages in writing, learning how to attend to detail without losing focus on meaning. Its effectiveness has been widely researched internationally and statistics indicate that 8 out of 10 students reach the desired level. The goal of Reading Recovery is that children not only catch up with their peers but sustain those gains, remaining in the average band of literacy attainment. Many research and evaluation studies demonstrate that Reading Recovery students maintain and improve their gains in the years fol- lowing Reading Recovery. In Malta the problem of illiteracy has been long identified, however, students were still slipping through the net and their literacy needs were not being reached. On this premise, the National Literacy Agency together with the Ministry for Education and Employ- ment wanted to invest in a structured programme which trained Maltese teachers specifically to be able to reach students within a limited time-frame and at an early stage before student's self-esteem and motivation are effected by this. It is proven that the timing and inten- sity of instruction does have an effect on the outcome. Furthermore, research shows that appropriate instruction by trained teachers is also an impor- tant factor to help students overcome literacy. In March 2018 the NLA in agree- ment with University College London launched Reading Recovery in Malta offering two different courses; a post- graduate teacher course and a Master's degree, for teachers in Malta and Gozo. Seven teachers opted for the Master's course, these teachers will become Reading Recovery teacher Leaders who will train teachers locally. 15 RR teachers who followed the RR teacher course this scholastic year 2018-19 have successfully finished the course in June 2019. In all this past scholastic year (2019- 19) 133 children were offered Reading Recovery intervention. 72 out of 86 students (84%) reached the expected literacy level, the remaining 16% were referred for further assessment or alter- native intervention programmes. The second cohort consisted of 43 students. These were offered Reading Recovery intervention, however they will con- tinue Reading Recovery intervention next scholastic year, as they did not complete the programme by the end of the year. Next scholastic year, 32 teachers, complementary and literacy support teachers will be starting the RR course, therefore more students, in more schools will be reached through this programme. Another important factor in this programme is parental involve- ment, as parents are encouraged to attend information meetings and to observe sessions with their child. The long-term benefits of literacy achieve- ment significantly outweigh the short- term cost of instruction and teacher preparation. By intervening early, later costs on special education and catch-up programmes are reduced. Therefore, a strong Reading Recovery implementa- tion, in which almost all children are enabled to succeed, has the potential to close the attainment gap completely and permanently for children begin- ning to fall behind. This is despite the fact that children were identified for Reading Recov- ery when they were six because they were the very lowest attaining in their class. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 JULY 2019 Small wins that bring about big change Evarist Bartolo Evarist Bartolo is Minister for Education and Employment propriate level of centralisation. A more centralised policy-making structure is needed because having 19 eurozone countries with no common governance reduces the effectiveness of ECB policy. This would mean further integration, which is something most of the so-called populist or nationalist parties in the European Parliament resent. However, many commentaries see this as the single most critical issue impinging on the Euro's survival. In fact, in geo- political terms, a fragmented Europe be- comes insignificant next to international players such as the US, China and India. So, what should we expect? Though she is not an economist, Lagarde has the right experience to steer another "beauti- ful vessel" also facing "rough waters out there." The IMF was heavily involved in the 2010 Greece bailout, which staved off the potential default of Greece and the potential contagion to other European counterparties. She has held various ministerial positions in France –includ- ing the finance portfolio. She also brings a marked political reputation and communication skills to the ECB. Financial markets across Europe in fact rallied on the news of her nomination. She is seen as an influential figure on the international stage. And any critique rooted at her economic credentials (compared to some of the other candidates to the post) ignore the importance of her executive board and wider technical team. By nominating a lawyer, the ECB fol- lows in the footsteps of the Fed when appointing Jerome Powell (degree in politics and in law). The choice of such a profession is probably a clear indica- tion of the increasingly political nature of the tasks ahead. Apart from being a continuity candidate who is not likely to ditch Draghi's policies supporting eco- nomic growth, she is also likely to need all her negotiation and communica- tion skills to help push through further integration. dioxide emissions by 41%, even when considering future increases in trans- port demand. We have studied other options before the final plans were drawn up. All sci- entific studies carried out show that the project in its current format is the most feasible option. These studies have been publicly available for months. They were pub- lished by ERA as part of the develop- ment permitting process that led to last week's approval of the project. We have no difficulty sharing them or other information with interested parties. Infrastructure Malta always takes constructive feedback on board. Our doors are always open to discussing improvements to this project, to reap greater benefits for Malta and minimise any negative impacts. At the agency's offices, my colleagues and I are meeting farmers, green lob- byists, local councils and residents to listen to their concerns and identify solutions on a daily basis. Infrastructural investments like the Central Link Project are as important to improve our quality of life and to support Malta's economic and social progress as longer-term plans for mass transport solutions, electrification and other major future transport mile- stones. We are doing this cautiously, by introducing sustainable solutions, with the least possible undesirable impacts on nearby communities and on the preservation of our historical and envi- ronmental heritage. Aaron Farrugia is Parliamentary Secretary for EU funds and Social Dialogue Frederick Azzopardi is CEO of Infrastructure Malta