Our Vision

The importance of reading cannot be underestimated; it is the golden thread of the whole curriculum, one that is key to the achievement of our pupils. We believe a love of reading is crucial to both personal development and an essential skill for lifelong learning.

We know that literacy poverty exists, and the most recent report from the National Literacy Trust identifies that almost one in five children, aged 5 to 8 years, in England do not have a book of their own at home.

At Legacy Learning Trust, reading lies at the very heart of our curriculum. We believe that every child has the right to learn to read well and to experience the joy, curiosity, and empowerment that reading brings. Our collective vision is that every pupil, regardless of background or need, becomes a fluent, confident, and enthusiastic reader who reads both for purpose and for pleasure.

Our approach is grounded in the Simple View of Reading, recognising that reading comprehension depends on two essential, interrelated components — word recognition and language comprehension. Both must be taught systematically, explicitly, and with equal importance. Informed by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) guidance for literacy across all primary phases, we commit to an evidence-informed strategy built on high-quality teaching, early identification, purposeful intervention, and a culture that celebrates reading.

Reading is not confined to the English lesson — it is the golden thread that runs through every subject, every classroom, and every conversation in our schools.

Our reading strategy outlines how we will prioritise, promote and intervene to ensure all children make progress in reading. It is underpinned by evidence informed research and practice, drawing upon the DfE Reading Framework, guidance from OFSTED’s English reviews and School Inspection Handbook, English Hub’s Challenge Checklist and recommendations from the EEF.

Aims

We want our schools to:

• To instil a love of reading within our pupils, that lasts a lifetime, helping all to recognise the value of reading as a life skill;
•  To enhance pupils’ accuracy, fluency, confidence, and independence when reading different texts for different purposes;
• To inspire our pupils to become enthusiastic readers, introducing them to an array of literature from across the literary caning and other cultures;
• To deepen our pupils’ comprehension skills, exposing them to non-fiction; fiction; poetry; and drama to enhance their understanding of language