Research School Network: Introducing our Secondary Reading resource Steve Trafford blogs on developing pupils’ reading abilities – and announces our new resource and multi-session programme.

Over the last few years, many schools have intentionally tried to give their pupils more opportunities to read throughout the school day. This could be through Tutor Reading, or through adopting a ​‘bookletised’ curriculum where pupils read informational texts in their different subjects. Here, reading becomes a frequent feature of lessons, and a primary vehicle for building academic knowledge in different academic disciplines.

The EEF’s Secondary Literacy Guidance Report recommends that schools ​‘develop students’ ability to read complex academic texts’ in order to deal with the demands of Key Stage 4 and beyond.

It also outlines the correlation between literacy rates and health, wellbeing and employment. We know as well that there is a strong correlation between reading ability and GCSE Success – this is true across all subjects.

Our new Secondary reading resource Supporting reading in the Secondary classroom aims to provide concrete, practical strategies that teachers can use to support their pupils in reading texts across the whole curriculum.

Pupils’ reading progress can be thought of as a virtuous circle: if we continually create the conditions for pupils to successfully read challenging texts, they will, over time, build their vocabulary and background knowledge, and their reading will improve.

But while the strategies in our resource are designed to support pupils reading a particular text in a particular lesson, we also have an eye on helping them to become more independent, strategic readers who can navigate difficult texts on their own.

Teachers model and scaffold strategies and approaches, and gradually fade support away over time, moving students towards independence.

How is the resource structured?

The resource is divided into three sections: before, during and after reading. Each section comprises nine strategies, focused on three separate areas, as shown below.

Before reading, teachers should prepare texts and identify supporting tools, as well as identifying challenging vocabulary to pre-teach. They should also plan to check and activate pupils’ prior knowledge so that they can draw upon this when reading the text.

During reading, teachers should model fluent reading and comprehension strategies, giving pupils opportunities to practice these independently. They should also ask questions designed to scaffold pupils’ understanding and help them build a mental model while they read.

After reading, teachers should give pupils structured opportunities to summarise and discuss reading, as well as checking their understanding and their use of key strategies. They should also give them the chance to reflect on the success of their reading and the challenges they faced, aiming to make students more aware of the effective ways they can approach complex texts.

Our resource also contains guidance on effective vocabulary teaching at different stages of the reading. An appendix contains 40 common word roots that can be taught across the curriculum to develop students’ word-consciousness, and their ability to learn new words for themselves.

What’s next?

Over the next two months, we will be sharing sections of our resource through LinkedIn, BlueSky and X and on our website. Keep an eye out!

We’re also running our Improving Secondary Reading Programme in February and March 2026, online and in-person in South London (Sutton/​Carshalton Beeches). Please see our brochure for more details – we hope you can join us and attendees will all receive a free copy of Supporting reading in the Secondary classroom.