Expert Insights on Primary Literacy
Welcome to the Literacy Counts blog — your go-to space for expert insights, school success stories and trusted advice on primary literacy. From award recognition and Ofsted updates to SATs preparation, CPD highlights and Ready Steady Literacy School Spotlights, our blog supports teachers, leaders and MATs in raising outcomes in reading, writing, phonics and spelling. Whether you're looking to improve your literacy provision or stay up to date with sector developments, you’ll find practical guidance, inspiration and research-informed strategies across EYFS, KS1 and KS2.
Ready Steady Read Together: The Vision, Purpose and Pedagogy
Developing lifelong capable readers begins with giving every child the tools to truly understand a text. This blog explores how a carefully sequenced approach to whole-class reading comprehension rooted in structured scaffolded lessons helps pupils build the confidence and skills they need to read for meaning. Through activating prior knowledge, explicit reading strategy instruction, vocabulary teaching and fluency development teachers can create purposeful lessons that enable all learners including EAL and SEND pupils to access and enjoy challenging texts. With opportunities for collaborative learning, low-stakes formative assessment and ongoing reading for pleasure routines this approach nurtures children who see themselves as readers and read more widely and more often. By embedding close reading, metacognitive questioning and rich discussion schools can strengthen pupils' reading stamina, text comprehension and confidence across the curriculum.
Looking for Steps to Read? Discover Literacy Counts' New Shared Reading Resource
Teachers across the country often tell us how much they loved using Steps to Read or Ready Steady Comprehension. These programmes supported schools nationally and internationally and helped strengthen reading comprehension through clear, high-quality teaching sequences. At Literacy Counts, we have taken everything we learned from those resources and created something entirely new. Ready Steady Read Together is a digitised whole-class shared reading programme designed to offer even greater consistency, impact and ease of use for teachers and leaders.
Ready Steady Read Together is not an update of previous programmes, it is a completely fresh approach to shared reading for Years 2 to 6. Built on metacognitive and evidence-informed principles, it combines structured lessons with diverse texts chosen to develop knowledge, vocabulary and understanding. Already recognised as a Finalist in the Teach Primary Awards 2025, it is fast becoming one of the most celebrated reading resources available.
Schools have praised its clear teaching slides, mapped progression and assessment tools as well as its ability to reduce workload while raising outcomes. Feedback from our Spring Term 2025 trial showed exceptional consistency and confidence among teachers along with strong engagement from pupils. With an online member space that mirrors the familiar structure of our Ready Steady Write, Ready Steady Spell and Ready Steady Phonics programmes, teachers have everything they need in one place.
As teaching demands continue to evolve, Ready Steady Read Together offers a shared reading solution that supports strong leadership, curriculum coherence and inclusive practice. Schools searching for Steps to Read or Ready Steady Comprehension are invited to explore this next generation of reading support and discover why so many teachers are making the switch.
Strengthening Writing through Ready Steady Write: Radnor Primary and the Welsh Curriculum
Radnor Primary School, located in Cardiff, is one of our Welsh schools successfully implementing Ready Steady Write and adapting it to the Welsh Curriculum. The school is a vibrant learning community committed to nurturing confident, articulate and creative learners. Under the leadership of Headteacher L. Williams, the school has placed a strong emphasis on improving writing standards and fostering a love of literacy across all year groups.
Award-Winning Across All Key Stages: Ready Steady Write Triumphs Again
Discover how this award-winning primary writing scheme is transforming classrooms from EYFS to Year 6. Recognised in national Teach Early Years and Teach Primary Awards, it delivers inclusive, structured and evidence-based literacy teaching that improves writing outcomes for all learners, including EAL and SEND pupils, across whole-school settings.
Literacy Counts Celebrates Four Finalist Nominations at the Bett Awards 2026
Literacy Counts has been shortlisted for four Bett Awards 2026, recognising our impact as a leading literacy provider for primary schools. From the best shared reading scheme for KS2 to the best writing resource for EYFS, our evidence-based programmes and expert consultancy continue to raise literacy standards nationwide
Raising Every Writer: How Sandbrook Supports All Learners with Ready Steady Write
Sandbrook Community Primary School set out to achieve greater consistency and higher standards in writing across all year groups. By adopting Ready Steady Write, the school has seen remarkable improvements in pupil outcomes, teacher confidence and whole-school consistency. Assistant Head G. Mason shares how this award-winning, inclusive writing programme has transformed teaching and learning, supporting every child to thrive as a writer.
Director of Education, the Weaver Trust: “An absolute success story”
Mixed-Age Class Success: Elton Primary Achieves 27% GD with Ready Steady Write
Illustrator Spotlight: Chris Mould on The Iron Man
Discover our first Illustrator Spotlight with award-winning illustrator Chris Mould, creator of the stunning edition of The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. A core text in Year 3 Ready Steady Write, this feature explores the power of illustrations to spark imagination, inspire reading for pleasure and support the primary writing curriculum.
“A Profound and Measurable Impact on Early Reading Outcomes Across Our School”: High Legh’s Ready Steady Literacy Journey
High Legh Primary School shares how Ready Steady Phonics and Ready Steady Spell have transformed reading and spelling outcomes. With 100% of pupils passing the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check in 2025, their journey highlights the power of whole-school consistency, reduced teacher workload and research-driven, structured literacy programmes.
"You Can Take All Learners With You": The Whole-Class Approach to Phonics
Discover how Welshampton and Newtown CE Primary Schools are transforming early reading through a whole-class approach to phonics. By using Ready Steady Phonics—a systematic, DfE-validated phonics scheme designed for whole-class teaching—both schools have achieved greater consistency, improved pupil outcomes and stronger support for mixed-age classes. This blog explores the impact of high-quality phonics resources, confident teaching and cohesive literacy planning across EYFS and Key Stage 1.
What the 2025 KS2 SATs Tell Us About Teaching Reading, Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling
In this expert blog, Literacy Counts consultant Jessica Dolby shares key takeaways from the 2025 SATs papers and what they tell us about curriculum priorities. From the rising focus on inference and vocabulary to the importance of sentence accuracy and overlearning grammar, discover how high-quality teaching and carefully structured resources like Ready Steady Write, Ready Steady Spell and Ready Steady Read Together can help every child succeed – not just in tests, but as confident readers and writers.
DfE The Writing Framework July 2025: Aligned, Actionable, Ahead
DfE The Writing Framework July 2025: Aligned, Actionable, Ahead
After much anticipation, the DfE Writing Framework landed in early July.
Claire Belisari, our Head of Consultancy and Professional Development, has spent the past week going through the framework section by section. In our upcoming blog, she offers a clear, practical summary of what has changed and how it impacts classroom practice.
Confident Readers, Accurate Spellers, Technical Writers: A Celebration of Literacy at Banks Road
Discover how Banks Road Primary School is raising outcomes in reading, writing and spelling through a whole-school approach to literacy. This showcase highlights the impact of Ready Steady Write, including live teaching, pupil voice and early writing aligned with the new DfE Writing Framework (2025).
Writing in 2025: What the Latest NLT Report Tells Us – and How Ready Steady Write Responds
The NLT’s 2025 report highlights a drop in writing enjoyment. Discover how Ready Steady Write helps schools turn this around with real impact.
Pupil Pride in Action: A Literacy Showcase at Mill View
Discover the Impact of Evidence-Informed Literacy Teaching at Mill View
Our recent showcase at Mill View Primary School brought school leaders together to see Ready Steady Write, Ready Steady Spell and our brand-new Ready Steady Read Together shared reading resource in action. From confident pupil performances to powerful working walls, the event highlighted how a consistent, whole-school approach to literacy transforms outcomes – especially for disadvantaged learners. Featuring expert insights, classroom visits and real examples of progress, this literacy event was a celebration of high-quality teaching and purposeful curriculum design.
The ‘Game Changer’: Executive Function, Foundational Knowledge and the Impact of Ready Steady Write
Discover how Ready Steady Write supports Year 1 pupils with key foundational and executive function skills, aligning with Ofsted priorities.
Cracking the PSC: Barnton’s Year-on-Year Success Story
Discover how Barnton Community Nursery and Primary School transformed early reading outcomes with Ready Steady Phonics. From staff confidence to rising Phonics Screening Check scores, this School Spotlight showcases the power of high-quality training, consistent pedagogy and impactful resources.
Writer's Insights: Environmental PLUS+ Units for the Whole School
Discover how Literacy Counts’ new Environmental Ready Steady Write PLUS+ units bring writing to life across the whole school. In this blog, our expert resource writers share the inspiration, pedagogy and creative thinking behind these exciting cross-curricular units.
AI & Writing: Insights from Claire's Groundbreaking CPD
Discover how AI can enhance teaching, reduce workload, and support all learners in primary writing. This CPD session from Literacy Counts explores ethical AI use, practical classroom strategies, and how tools like Ready Steady Write remain essential alongside new technologies.
