On 31st October 2022, Ofsted published their guidance on supporting struggling readers in secondary schools, entitled “Now the Whole School is Reading”. The report is based on a study of schools in which a higher-than-expected proportion of poor readers got a grade 4 or above in English language at GCSE. The seven main findings are summarised below, with top tips for action.
1. Reading is a whole school priority
“By attending to the literary demands of their subjects, teachers increase their pupils’ chance of success in their subjects.”
Sir Kevin Collins, Chief Executive EEF, Improving Literacy in Secondary School
What the report says
In the successful schools, senior leaders prioritised reading. The invested in support for struggling readers and made sure that this help was part of a well-thought-out curriculum and a wider school reading strategy.
Top tip for action
Reading within the subject disciplines can be specialist for students: for example the language of equations, science terminology, devices of argument, technical vocabulary, reading statistical prose. It’s useful to take time to consider as a department:
- What vocabulary, terminology and text types are specific and unique to your subject?
- How would a reader be expected to approach a text within your subject (fact, questioning, analysing, evaluating, enjoying, interpreting?)
- What expressions, idioms, terminology or language features might be common pitfalls within your subject?
2: Find the gaps, not the scores
What the report says
In the successful schools, pupils’ gaps in reading knowledge were identified effectively. Instead of simply identifying struggling readers by reading ages and test scores, they used diagnostic tests to determine which aspects of reading pupils struggled with and implemented intervention accordingly.
Top tip for action
How is reading assessed in your school? Reading ages alone can be very misleading. Often they misrepresent a student’s actual ability; as Jessie Ricketts reveals in her recent article in the Times Educational Supplement, it’s possible for your reading age to be as much as four years below your chronological age but still to be within the average range! More importantly, reading ages alone don’t tell you anything about what to teach. Diagnostic tests can help with this: tests of fluency, comprehension, phonics and word reading are a great place to start.
Top tip 3: Understanding precedes doing
What the report says
Successful schools made sure that staff who taught specific aspects of reading had relevant training, and this was shared with all staff.
Top tip for action
Our brains were not built to read! It’s hard! There are no quick fixes, and computer programmes do not substitute informed teaching of reading which is adopted across the curriculum. It’s worth investing in time to do this, and ensuring that those who are trained share their expertise with subject teachers and support staff. If you don’t have the resources within your school, why not partner with a local primary to do this?
4: Communicate
What the report says
All staff in the schools which succeeded in raising reading achievement were made aware of which pupils struggled, and what areas they struggled in, and this was used for planning across the curriculum.
Top tip for action
To ensure there is a whole school approach, time needs to be taken to ensure that all staff know not only who struggles with reading, but what area do they struggle in. If it’s a comprehension problem, scaffolding can be planned accordingly and lessons planned with this focus. If it’s a problem with word recognition, word banks and assistive technology will help. If it’s fluency, extra time and pre-teaching will be key.
5: Evaluate
What the report says
Intervention and support for struggling readers in the successful schools was monitored and the impact evaluated regularly. Changes were made accordingly.
Top tip for action
There are so many different types of intervention, but the best ones have built in assessments and monitoring procedures. Decide how you will monitor reading support, in intervention and across the curriculum, and what systems are in place to ensure it is evaluated.
6: Pupil voice
What the report says
I’m delighted that one of the outcomes of the report was the voice of the learners themselves. As pupils’ reading improved, they gained confidence and became more motivated to engage with reading in class.
Top tip for action
Pupil confidence and motivation is a vital measure of effectiveness in teaching reading. This may not be reflected in a reading age or a standard score, but it can be measured through simple pupil interviews or teacher observation. Find ways to make sure this is done; pupil and teacher interviews with scores which can be measured is a good place to start.
7. Think long term
What the report says
The unturned stone that was left in the study was the impact on pupils beyond Key Stage 3. Additional support and monitoring stopped at this point in the schools in the study. This was a concern, as schools did not always know the longer-term impact of help, or whether pupils continued to struggle in key stage 4.
Top tip for action
It’s common for students with dyslexia and different types of reading difficulties to compensate for their specific weakness in certain areas. Sometimes they manage well enough even into Key Stage 3, but the cracks begin to appear as they progress through the increasingly demanding curriculum. Deeper understanding, greater fluency and more challenging vocabulary are all required. Many struggling readers are capable of achieving well in GCSE and beyond, but they need the right adjustments and support.
In your whole school reading strategy, it’s worth considering how reading is taught beyond Key Stage 3. This can be done by spending time in departments considering key skills, in targeted intervention on types of study skill and higher level reading skills, and continuing to monitor the impact of support beyond Key Stage 3.
To conclude.
Am I jobless? Maybe not, but now the whole school really is is reading. That’s because there’s a whole school approach, which is prioritised by senior leadership. There’s a commitment from all teachers to teach reading within their subject, and a commitment from the specialists to identify gaps and communicate with staff, and support continues beyond Key Stage 3. All are monitoring impact and all are prepared to learn.
Addressing the needs of struggling readers is everyone’s business, not just the specialist’s.
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Read the full OFSTED Report here
References and further reading:
Sir Kevin Collins, EEF Blog, “Disciplinary Literacy”, July 2019
EEF, Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/literacy-ks3-ks4, October 2021
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/eef-blog-what-do-we-mean-by-disciplinary-literacy
Jessie Ricketts, TES magazine article “Reading ages, what does research say?” October 2022,
https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/reading-ages-what-does-research-say
Alex Quigley, “Closing the Reading Gap”
