Trial Evaluation of Business in the Community's (BITC) "Time to Read" Pupil Mentoring Programme 2006-2008

This dataset pertains to the findings of a randomized control trial (RCT) evaluating the 'Time to Read' pupil mentoring programme from Business in the Community. The programme is delivered by volunteer metors who spend one hour per week reading with two children on a one-to-one basis (30 minutes each). The RCT aimed to assess the impact of the 'Time to Read' programme on children. A total of seven hundred and thirty four children form fifty schools in Northern Ireland took part in the RCT between September 2006 and June 2008. Three hundred and sixty children were randomly assigned to the intervention group and three hundred and seventy four to the control group. Children in both groups were tested on outcomes relating to self-esteem, aspirations for the future, reading ability and enjoyment of education. Outcomes were measured before the intervention, and again every four months for the next two years.