Building a Culture of Reading Success: A Conversation with Michael Brooks

At Literacy Counts, we work closely with schools across the country to support high-quality reading teaching. We recently spoke with Michael Brooks, Headteacher of St Anthony’s of Padua RC Primary School in Liverpool, about the impact of Ready Steady Read Together in his school. In this conversation, Michael reflects on his school context, the consistency the programme has brought to teaching and how it is helping children develop confidence, fluency and a genuine love of reading.

Can you tell me a little about the context of your school?

We are a one-form entry school in Mossley Hill in Liverpool, which is quite an affluent area. We have the smallest proportion of pupil premium children in Liverpool, at 4%. We currently have 13% of pupils identified with SEN and that number is slowly increasing.

Most children come into school ready to learn and already have the skills to tackle the curriculum. Like many schools, however, we are seeing more children coming through with speech and language difficulties, as well as an increasing number of pupils with SEN.

How much does Ready Steady Read Together contribute to that data in Year 6?

A lot of it comes down to consistency across the school. Teachers are fully aware of the exact expectations. As Headteacher, and alongside my subject leader, we can walk into classrooms and immediately see the strategies being taught through the clearly labelled strategy posters on the walls.

You can also hear it being taught. When you stand in the corridor during lessons, you hear the vocabulary being used. You hear echo reading and choral reading taking place. There is a real buzz in the classroom, with collaboration around the high-quality texts that the children are engaged in.

The slides are excellent. On the final page, the recommended reads are a great feature. Teachers want to include these recommended books in our library, which is very important to us.

Vocabulary is also a major focus in our school. We thread it throughout the curriculum and use high-quality non-fiction texts to build vocabulary knowledge across subjects. We know that to succeed in the Year 6 SATs, children need strong reading skills and a wide vocabulary, so this is something that works very well for us.

You have also had additional consultancy days.

The consultancy day had a huge impact, particularly in identifying non-negotiables and supporting subject leaders to create an action plan. By the end of the day, expectations were very clear and we knew exactly what we needed to do next.

For me, one of the biggest benefits is the training videos available online. We can choose a short video and share it for ten minutes at the start of a staff meeting. Research from the EEF shows that teachers learn best when training and CPD are revisited regularly, so that is exactly what we do.

You mentioned that you have a smaller proportion of SEND and vulnerable pupils. How does Ready Steady Read Together support them?

Whole-class teaching is key. Children work in mixed-ability pairs and groups rather than ability groups. The adaptive teaching built into the resources supports pupils so they can access the learning as fully as possible, which helps narrow the gaps.

In our current Year 6 class, we have a small number of SEND pupils, mainly children with dyslexia. I recently carried out some pupil voice with them and they said they enjoy the reading sessions because they do not feel overwhelmed by a big, thick book they have to keep reading. The sessions are broken into manageable chunks.

The children clearly understand the structure of the lessons because each session follows a similar format. As they become familiar with the strategies, when they see the image on the screen they know exactly what to do.

I recently completed lesson observations and learning walks across Years 4, 5 and 6. The children can now explain the strategies and talk about how they use them. For me, that is brilliant because it shows they understand how they read.

How does the programme support teachers?

I have an Early Career Teacher in her second year who joined our school feeling less confident about teaching reading. However, when I have watched her teach Ready Steady Read Together, it has clearly become one of her strengths. She has the right resources and support from specialists, which helps her bring out the very best in the children.

You’ve mentioned that children are enjoying their learning. What about the teachers?

We would be lost without it now. Many teachers have said that if they ever moved schools, they would be looking for one that uses Ready Steady Literacy resources.

It has lifted the quality of what we deliver in school. The demonstration video clips are really helpful. For example, teachers can watch how choral reading works or how vocabulary teaching is modelled.

We even shared the training videos with our governors so they could explore the website and ask questions.

Teachers trust the resource. It saves time and allows them to focus on adapting lessons for vulnerable pupils, so they get the very best from the programme. The consistency across the school is really strong, and the flexibility to choose units also helps reduce workload.

What difference does it make for the children?

The children experience high-quality reading lessons and they love being involved. They are no longer passive learners during reading sessions. They actively engage with vocabulary and develop fluency.

They are learning how to take a text apart, analyse key themes and explore meaning. This gives them the confidence to tackle a wide range of genres and apply their vocabulary knowledge and reading strategies.

If you had to summarise the impact of Ready Steady Read Together in one headline, what would it be?

That our children have developed a genuine love of reading.

So, Ready Steady Read Together works because…

It is inclusive for everyone. It does not matter whether you are a strong reader, a struggling reader, or somewhere in between. It brings everyone together.

Ready Steady Read Together is already helping hundreds of schools raise reading standards and build confident, motivated readers. Discover why so many teachers are choosing it as their shared reading solution today.