Rotherham school achieve record-breaking SATs results while closing the disadvantage gap with Reading Plus
Reading had been a particular challenge in Highfield Farm Primary School for many years – with common struggles surrounding fluency, comprehension and catering to their large proportion of disadvantaged pupils.
The school began looking for a tool that would develop KS2 reading skills to contribute to achievement by Year 6 and lead their endeavours towards creating a strong reading culture.
This became achievable through Reading Plus.
After taking part in our free pilot of the programme, ‘the impact was instantaneous’, and the school knew it ‘had to be a central feature of our reading offer’.
“In my 18 years of teaching and 10 years as a senior leader, it is my opinion that Reading Plus is one of the strongest reading programmes on the market. See it, use it and watch your children discover / rediscover a love of reading.”
Read on as Patrick Scotton, Deputy Head Teacher and English Lead at Highfield Farm, shares more about the impact of Reading Plus on progress, SATs and reading engagement.
Improved comprehension, fluency and confidence
Our reading attainment has historically been very poor - and has been for a long time. Fluency and comprehension were also weak, which impacted achievement.
Since using Reading Plus, our children’s confidence in reading has increased astronomically. They speak about their own reading skills and habits, whereas before, they did not have as strong an awareness of their self-belief in reading.
Progress data from Sep 2025 – May 2026 on Reading Plus also shows an average increase of:
- +2.3 years of comprehension progress in text complexity.
- +59 words per minute increase in reading speed.
Record-breaking SATs success and closing the disadvantaged gap
Compared with LA and national levels, our data has been continuously low.
Reading Plus has been a central feature of our SATs results in reading:
- Our disadvantaged pupils performed better in reading than the national average for this group.
- Our disadvantaged pupils narrowed the gap against non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.
- Our reading data now stands at 67% EXS - our highest ever result in a school context that is incredibly challenging. Two years ago, it was at 53%.
Support that enables disadvantaged pupils to succeed
Reading Plus is identified in our pupil premium strategy as an intervention to be invested in for our children.
A high proportion of our children, as well as being eligible for pupil premium and SEND, are also in-year transfers. Reading Plus has been crucial in establishing where a child is on their personal reading journey.
Online learning features facilitating progress
The gamified elements and intelligent technology-driven support provide a perfect blend of challenge and motivation for our children. Teachers and pupils’ favourite features include:
- The Guided Window*: This unique feature has been a game changer for us. It focuses the child brilliantly and is a tool that cannot be easily replicated anywhere else. The adaptability in terms of speed is a further strength.
- The Combo system**: Empowers pupils to improve while building reading stamina in a way that is manageable, chiming well with our inclusive ethos.
- Vast online library: The material breadth is phenomenal and complements a knowledge-rich curriculum, meaning there is something for everyone. For the first time, children are starting to get a sense of their preferences, motivating them to enjoy reading.
- Text selection: Seeing the thickness of books has been off-putting for pupils. The beauty of Reading Plus is that you can’t see how long the texts are with it being electronic.
- Goals and rewards: The children love the programme’s certificates - the ownership they can take over their learning and self-awareness of what they need to achieve has empowered all children of all abilities.
*Patented technology that builds stamina and fluency by guiding pupils’ eyes across a text at a bespoke speed. Watch it in action.
**Where pupils level up through the programme by reading multiple texts in a row with 80+% comprehension.
Increasingly detailed assessments while reducing teacher workload
“No longer are our teachers analysing reams of assessments at summative points. The live data provides instant, rich data that can be acted upon swiftly. With recommendations as to the areas for development on a class or individual level.”
The data Reading Plus provides is illuminating. The assessments were able to pick up on things that, as teachers, are very difficult to explore and therefore draw deductions from.
I am able to view performance at a whole-school, class or individual pupil level - using it to dig deeper into reading challenges, areas of relative strength and support gap analysis for discrete teaching.
For teachers new to the profession or experienced staff, this feature is a real bonus of its implementation.
Highfield Farm’s Reading Plus journey so far
From implementation to impact
After very careful consideration and experiencing the free Reading Plus pilot, we knew the programme had to be a central feature of our reading offer. The impact within the trial period was instantaneous and ignited a renewed enthusiasm for reading at Highfield Farm.
Reading Plus was easy to implement, and the support provided by Daisy Education was simply outstanding. No question was unanswered, and nothing is too much trouble - exactly what a leadership team need!
They do not just talk to you once and leave. They hold your hand and guide you through the programme and application.
Now, Reading Plus is timetabled for a minimum of three times a week, with many children excited to read at home.
“The magic of Reading Plus is that it is not just about the attainment, it is also about attitudes to reading, therefore making it an all-rounder for an English leader when implementing a reading priority.”
Book a brief introductory meeting online with one of our Reading Development Consultants to explore the advantages of Reading Plus for your school.
Call:
0191 389 6078 (option 1)
