Research School Network: Implementing Change in an Inner City Secondary Emma Walkley-Williams discusses implementing reading fluency in an inner city secondary school

Emma Walkey-Williams, Assistant Principal at the Charter School Bermondsey and ELE for London South Research School explains how the EEF’s School’s Guide to Implementation helped them drive change. This case study explores the implementation of a reading fluency program during learning family time.

In the quest to enhance reading fluency among Key Stage 3 (KS3) learners, our school has adapted an innovative program inspired by the successful initiatives at Charles Dickens Primary School. Guided by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) framework, we embarked on a comprehensive implementation journey, ensuring a structured and impactful approach.

1. Explore: Identifying the Need

The first step in our journey was to explore and identify the specific needs of our KS3 learners. Data from Star Reading Tests and teacher observations highlighted that many students struggled with reading fluency, which impeded their overall academic performance. Our previous plan of year groups reading an entire novel throughout the year during these slots had not been effective in helping students to make progress. Therefore, inspired by Charles Dickens’ approach, we sought to create a program that could be delivered in small, manageable chunks by teachers of all subjects.

2. Prepare: Designing the Program

Preparation involved finding topical and engaging texts which would capture our KS3 leaners’ interests and ensure that the teaching materials adhered to our whole-school literacy norms, which we established last year. 

Our program incorporated:

Explicit Vocabulary Instruction: Students are exposed to ambitious tier‑2 vocabulary and encouraged to use it in a variety of contexts.

Modelled Reading: Students read aloud to an audience, enhancing engagement and motivation.

Phrase Marking: Students are supported to work out where to place pauses to make the reading fluent and cohesive.

Echo and Choral Reading: Students have multiple opportunities to read the text, experimenting with tone, pace and volume.

Comprehension: Students answer a range of comprehension questions designed to develop their close reading and give them another chance to use the ambitious vocabulary already acquired.


To ensure fidelity, we developed a detailed booklet to keep delivery simple for teachers. We ran several CPD sessions with staff before launching to ensure that all were fully trained, as well as being engaged and motivated to deliver the initiative.

3. Deliver: Implementing the Program

With the groundwork laid, we moved to the delivery phase. During Learning Family Time, students participated in 20-minute reading fluency sessions twice a week; smaller intervention groups were also established where the data told us that students were reading significantly behind their chronological age.

Regular team meetings allowed educators to share insights and strategies, ensuring consistent delivery across the school and suggesting small tweaks to the program to ensure its success.

4. Sustain: Embedding and Scaling

Sustaining the program required embedding it into the school’s culture and routines. We gathered feedback from students and teachers to refine the program continuously. Celebrating successes, such as improved reading scores, by sending letters and postcards home to parents.


To scale the program, we plan on introducing an additional session aimed at developing our student’s oracy skills, as well as training some of our students in the delivery of the programme so that they can support younger year groups.

Reflections and Lessons Learned

Implementing the reading fluency program during Learning Family Time has been a transformative experience for our school. The data shows that the impact has been positive, especially when it comes to moving the middle, those students who are just at the point of needing intervention. The smaller reading groups were the most successful, achieving an average reading age increase of 1.8 years in just 6 months.

Our journey continues as we strive to refine and enhance our reading fluency program, guided by the needs of our students. The positive impact on our students’ reading skills and overall academic confidence reaffirms the importance of dedicated and thoughtful implementation.