School improvement priorities no.1 - primary

If the ‘Faster Read’ can make a difference in secondary contexts, what about primary? Colleagues in primary settings are also saying that developing literacy, including across the curriculum is a priority. They too express the ambition for all pupils:

1. To be able to read, understand and talk about stories, novels, poems and non-fiction and to create their own

2. To access subjects across the curriculum, and realising that to do this, pupils need to be supported to understand the technical, tier 3 vocabulary, and texts of greater lexical depth and complexity

It’s a tall order

Fortunately, there are some strategies that are having impact.

The one I believe is most promising is the ‘Just reading’ research from the University of Sussex.

The results are impressive: 8.5 months progress in reading comprehension, with a surprising 16 months progress for pupils identified as ‘poorer’ readers.

Schools trialling the ‘Just reading’ in primary this have found similar impressive results.

If improving literacy is a priority in your context, it’s worth watching Gayle Fletcher and Lauren Haines talk about how 93% of pupils in Yr 2, and 83% in Yr 4 made at least 6 months progress: Just Reading Primary Project, free to access.