An independent evaluation has found that Chatta significantly enhances pupils’ communication and literacy skills, particularly their confidence in speaking and self-expression.
It stated: “Teachers consistently reported that even the most reluctant speakers, shy children, and those who are selectively mute begin participating after using Chatta.”
The report found that Chatta has a particularly positive impact on the literacy skills of children eligible for free school meals and children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The report added: “Teachers believe strongly that Chatta has a positive impact on all aspects of pupils’ literacy; Chatta’s ability to positively impact pupils’ oral sequenced sentence composition and to engage in classroom activity came through strongly in the data.”
The evaluation of Chatta by ImpactEd involved 223 children and 31 teachers from 7 schools participating in a SHINE-funded pilot of the programme.
Impact highlights
- 70% of reception-age children eligible for free school meals who used Chatta met age-related expectations in writing, compared with the national average of 55% for this group.
- 87% of teachers agreed that Chatta had made them a better teacher.
- Almost a third of surveyed teachers reported a reduction in workload since using Chatta. 46% of early years teachers said their workload had decreased.
The evaluation also found “promising evidence that Chatta is an effective and inclusive teaching approach, supporting both improved pupil outcomes and teacher wellbeing”.
Teachers noted that “the technology naturally engages children, particularly appealing to the ‘TikTok generation’ that expects immediate, interactive content. The instant reward of hearing their voices back thrills children and sustains their attention and participation”.
Transforming Teaching Approach
While 87% of teachers felt Chatta made them better at their job, many described it as transforming their teaching methods rather than simply improving them. Several mentioned that it provided new strategies, perspectives, and approaches to teaching. One teacher noted it “totally transformed my approach” and provided “a new strategy and perspective.”
Meanwhile, 90% of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that Chatta has led to improved pupil social and emotional skills, with none disagreeing.
Other teacher comments included:
- “Children have gained so much confidence in their ability to speak in front of others and formulate sentences as they had the appropriate scaffolding in place. It provides opportunities for the children to collaborate with each other developing their communication skills.”
- “Absolutely all of my children have developed confidence through Chatta.”
- “Chatta makes learning so much fun for every child, they forget any worries they may have about speaking in front of others and even the most reluctant speakers join in.”
- “It allows me to adapt my lesson to meet all my learners’ needs, particularly those with SEND. We have seen a great improvement in our children’s writing, due to the opportunities for oral rehearsal and allowing them to experiment using more challenging vocabulary.”
- “Chatta enables you as a teacher to involve every child in discussions and storytelling, taking away any boundaries and making learning fun for all.”
ImpactEd stated: “With further robust evaluation, Chatta has the potential to demonstrate its contribution at scale to addressing persistent challenges in literacy attainment, social confidence, and teacher workload.”
