A high-quality, reading-rich curriculum can offer the mean for pupils to thrive after their time away from the classroom, according to the Education Endowment Foundation.

It can be the best way to close attainment gaps widened by Covid disruption, and also calm teachers’ stress, exacerbated by coping with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Even after decades of teaching, the first days back to school in September can still trigger butterflies in your stomach; the butterflies might feel like jumbo jets this year,” says EEF literacy specialist Caroline Bilton.

“And yet, despite a new year unlike any other, perhaps we can be calmed by returning to the age-old act of reading.”

While we may not know the exact impact of school closures, even before Covid-19, 27 per cent of Year 6 pupils didn’t make the “expected standard” in their key stage 2 reading test, explained Bilton, who is currently a primary school teacher, assistant headteacher and English lead.

And the vast majority of those pupils then go on to struggle in secondary school, too.

She said: “If we make our focus in the coming school year improving reading attainment, we can be confident it is a best bet to close any notional Covid gaps.”

Here is what she suggests.

The power of shared reading

Successful shared reading is a simple and powerful classroom routine that can help improve behaviour along with a concerted focus on academic success.

But it can also shape a class community, and go beyond academic goals.

She explained: “Skilled shared reading is also a practical strategy for supporting the social and emotional learning of our pupils.

“For example, discussing how a character understands the feelings of others in a narrative can be a practical way to navigate tricky conversations about recent experiences. A high-quality, reading-rich curriculum offers the means for our pupils to thrive after their time away from the classroom.”

Focusing on strategic reading

Along with carefully crafting a reading-rich curriculum, focusing on the knowledge that pupils gain from complex texts and the teaching of reading comprehension strategies will best support pupils upon their return to school, Bilton said.

“This isn’t just for English teachers or literacy leads - in secondary school, every subject leader and classroom teacher will have ideas for what books can support and enrich pupils’ knowledge and the curriculum offer,” she added.

Sharpen the reading tools

“Ensuring that every pupil has the tools to read strategically is crucial to success,” Bilton said.

“Whenever we open a book, pupils need to draw upon a wealth of prior knowledge, while also gathering evidence and squeezing out vital clues to support their predictions and inferences as they grapple to comprehend.”

Bilton explained that in her classroom she demands that students have their “I wonder” brains on, so questions can “fly around” the classroom at every pause.

“Also, ‘I love a link maker’ is a key phrase in my classroom,” she recounts.

“At every opportunity for a shared-reading routine, pupils must be looking to make links in the text, to other texts and to the real world.

“For example, when reading The Eye of the Wolf by Daniel Pennac, pupils are encouraged to make links to their knowledge about environmental issues. They often desperate to share what they have seen on the news.

“The novel offers a potent link to prior knowledge of the challenges faced by the African continent. Atop this rich knowledge of the world, pupils can then make apt predictions and ask important questions of themselves and the world.”

Weaker readers, she noted, don’t always ask questions to connect what they already know to their new reading.

The simple act of making summaries can help - however brief - so that they can cohere and retell the text, Bilton explained.

“This can extend to retelling the text to someone at home - I advocate the dog if everyone is busy!”