We have created a SlideShare pack with some points that leaders may want to consider regarding assessment, curriculum and pedagogy for weaker readers. These messages are based on what research and inspection practice tell us about indicators of quality. For more information on this topic, see our blog post 'Supporting secondary school pupils who are behind with reading': https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/?p=6466&preview=true

1. Support for secondary school pupils
who are behind with reading
Slide 1

2. Aim
 To explore indicators of quality related to curriculum,
assessment and pedagogy for pupils in secondary schools
who need to catch up with reading.
Slide 2

3. This footer is edited in >Insert > Header & Footer Slide 3
To fulfil the demands of
the secondary school
curriculum, pupils need to
be able to read age-
appropriate fiction and
non-fiction texts fluently.

4. Curriculum

5. What does it take to become a fluent reader?
Accuracy
Decoding unfamiliar words
by saying the sounds
corresponding to the letters
and blending the sounds
together.
Slide 5
Automaticity
Reading familiar words
‘at a glance’.
Pupils develop this by re-
reading words that they
have first sounded out and
blended.

6. How do pupils become accurate and automatic
word readers?
Slide 6
Accuracy
Through phonics, pupils
learn the alphabetic code.
This allows them to decode
any unfamiliar words they
come across.
Automaticity
Once pupils can decode a
word accurately, they need
the right quality and
quantity of practice so that
they can read it
automatically.

7. Accurate word reading – the alphabetic code
Slide 7
Phonics is a body of knowledge, not a pedagogy.
Regardless of age, special educational need or background,
the same alphabetic code knowledge and phonics skills
underpin all reading.
Understanding the alphabetic code, that the letters on the
page represent the sounds in spoken words, underpins
successful word reading.

8. Accurate word reading – the alphabetic code
Slide 8
 Some people work out the alphabetic code for themselves
eventually, but too many do not.
 A different curriculum, such as teaching pupils to read whole
words by sight, may appear to offer some short-term success
but will not provide a long-term strategy for decoding
unfamiliar words.
Phonics gives pupils a way of decoding any unfamiliar word.

9. Accurate word reading – the alphabetic code
Slide 9
The curriculum does not change but the resources and
activity choices might.
Broadly speaking, it will only be those pupils with severe
cognitive difficulties who cannot be taught the code. Those
pupils will still be on the same curriculum journey as their
peers – but at a much earlier stage.

10.  circulatory
 photosynthesis
 respiratory
 anaerobic
 peristalsis

11. Automatic word reading – the right quality
and quantity of practice
Slide 11
Pupils need enough practice so that their reading
becomes automatic and they can read words ‘at
a glance’.

12. Progressive fluency
Slide 12
 The term progressive fluency is useful as it indicates that
fluency can develop over time, as pupils experience more
demanding texts and develop the stamina necessary to read
longer, academic texts.
 Pupils need lots of practice each step of the way so that they
are able to read words accurately, silently and speedily.
, silently and speedily.

13. Reading is crucial for increasing the
breadth of pupils’ vocabulary
 Some pupils may read accurately but read so little, either for pleasure
or regularly in lessons, that they do not build their fluency
progressively to be able to read increasingly demanding texts
automatically. They struggle to get through the sheer volume of
reading needed in lessons.
Academic writing provides exposure to complex vocabulary and ideas
that must be grasped for academic success.
KE Stanovich, ‘Does reading make you smarter? Literacy and the development of verbal intelligence’, in ’Advances in child
development and behavior,’ Volume 24, 1993, pages 133 to 180.
Slide 13

14. What about comprehension?
Fluent word reading allows comprehension.
 Without accurate and automatic word reading, pupils will have difficulty
understanding what they read, even if they understand the words.
Working memory overload makes it very difficult for pupils to focus on
making sense of the text.
 Accuracy and automaticity make a fluent reader. This is the bedrock
from which pupils make inferences and analyse what they read.
 Accurate and automatic word reading is an urgent priority so that
pupils can read for themselves and be able to access the curriculum.
Slide 14

15. Principles of curriculum design for pupils
who have fallen behind with reading
 Individual components of knowledge need to be directly
taught (for example, phonics for word reading and spelling).
 Each component needs sufficient practice for it to become
securely embedded.
Slide 15
Complex reading and writing tasks become more
manageable once pupils have secured important
component knowledge.

16. Assessment

17. How might you use assessment to
check…
Spring conference 2022 *ITTC220322SH
Which pupils are
finding reading
difficult?
Slide 17
Which aspects of
reading are not
secure?

18. You may have considered…
Which pupils are finding reading difficult?
 Transfer of information between key stages.
 Results from reading tests (scores and reading ages).
Spring conference 2022 *ITTC220322SH Slide 18
Which aspects of reading are not secure?
 1:1 reading
 Assessments from your phonics programme

19. Assessment should determine whether pupils have difficulty
with accuracy (decoding) and automaticity (being able to
read words speedily enough to focus on the meaning) or
language comprehension.
Different teaching is required for each.
Spring conference 2022 *ITTC220322SH Slide 19

20. Pedagogy
Slide 20

21. Resources for older pupils
 Phonics catch-up should use a systematic, synthetic
phonics programme.
 For older pupils, a phonics programme with more age-
appropriate lessons and resources should be considered.
Slide 21

22. Most pupils will catch up if they have the
right quality and quantity of practice
 Differences in the quality and quantity of practice leave some
pupils falling behind their peers and struggling to ever catch
up.
 Most pupils will catch up with an intensive period of additional
support.
 Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
may take longer.
Slide 22

23. Staff expertise
 The adults supporting the most vulnerable pupils need to have
sufficient expertise.
 Leaders should invest in a skilled team of staff who are
committed to making sure pupils catch up.
Slide 23

24. Matched books for decoding practice
Pupils should be able to read:
unfamiliar
words
accurately
familiar words
automatically
Slide 24

25. Pupils who cannot read accurately and/or
automatically will need:
A
systematic,
synthetic
phonics
programme
Decisions
about how
and when
this will be
delivered
Texts
matched to
pupils’
phonic
knowledge
Trained
experts to
deliver the
programme
Slide 25

26. Key takeaways – curriculum
 Accuracy and automaticity make a fluent reader.
 Knowledge of the alphabetic code underpins all reading.
 Phonics is not a pedagogy but a body of knowledge.
 Pupils who cannot read accurately need phonics.
 Pupils who cannot read automatically need practice.
 Fluent word reading allows comprehension.
 Complex reading and writing tasks become more
manageable once pupils have secured important component
knowledge.
Slide 26

27. Key takeaway – assessment
 Assessment should determine which pupils are behind with
reading but also what they are behind with.
Key takeaways – pedagogy
 Older pupils need a systematic, synthetic phonics
programme with age-appropriate resources.
 Staff should have sufficient expertise.
 Pupils need enough practice to help them catch up quickly.
Slide 27

28. Ofsted on the web and on social media
www.gov.uk/ofsted
https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk
www.linkedin.com/company/ofsted
www.youtube.com/ofstednews
www.slideshare.net/ofstednews
www.twitter.com/ofstednews
Slide 28