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.

Probability: Simple random. Schools who met the following criteria were invited to take part in the evaluation: had never taken part in the programme previously were located in geographical areas where there would be a concentration of business volunteers to recruit as mentors schools that were large enough to have one teacher per class an equal numer of schools from each of the Education and Library Boards Two hundred schools were identified. The first fifty schools who responded to the invitation were recruited and the remaining schools were placed on the reserve list. All consenting P5 pupils in the schools were tested as baseline. The following eligibility criteria was applied to pupils for inclusion: scored below average (between 10th and 50th centile) on the reading test did not have a SEN statement The application of these criteria resulted in eight hundred and forty three pupils. Business in the community has the capacity to put four mentors into each school. Therefore eight pupils from each school were randomly allocated to the intervention group (n = 385) and the remaining eligible children formed the control group ( n = 458).

Face-to-face interview: PAPI