Reading across the curriculum: What it takes to get every subject onside
The new academic year is underway and across schools, students are settling into new classes, new subjects and new expectations.
For many students, one skill will underpin how confidently they access all of them: reading.
In this edition of Staffroom Scoop, we're looking at what reading across the curriculum really means, why it matters from Key Stage 2 through to GCSE and practical strategies every teacher can use this term.
01 Staffroom Story
“Oh… I actually know this”
A secondary teacher recently told us about a pupil who had been stuck on a science question for what felt like forever.
He’d read it. Read it again. Then pushed the paper away.
“I don’t get it.”
Rather than explaining the science, his teacher asked him to circle the words he understood and underline the one that was throwing him off. They talked through that word, then read the question again.
His reaction? “Oh… I actually know this.”
And he did. Once the language clicked, so did the question.
It was a tiny moment in an ordinary lesson, but one that stuck with his teacher. The knowledge had been there all along - he just needed a way into it.
Sometimes, helping a student move forward isn’t always about teaching them more of the subject. It’s about helping them unlock what’s already in front of them.
And as students move through school, what’s in front of them only gets more complex.
That's why reading belongs in every classroom.
02 Think Deeper - Reading Across the Curriculum
By the time students reach GCSE, success depends on far more than subject knowledge.
Every exam paper asks them to decode instructions, navigate unfamiliar vocabulary and extract meaning from increasingly complex texts. When reading becomes a barrier, every subject feels harder.
That was the thread connecting two standout sessions at Daisy Education's International Reading Conference. Although approaching the issue from different perspectives, Emily Weston and Charity Lisco reached the same conclusion: reading is a whole-school responsibility.
Emily Weston: The Fluency Gap that follows students to GCSE
Emily Weston spent seven years teaching Year 6 before becoming a Key Stage 3 English Lead, giving her a unique view of what happens during the transition to secondary school.
In primary classrooms, reading is taught explicitly every day. Students spend dedicated time developing fluency, comprehension and vocabulary. Once they reach secondary school, however, those opportunities often disappear just as the demands of reading increase.
Students are suddenly expected to tackle longer texts, subject-specific vocabulary and more complex instructions across every lesson.
Emily describes fluency as the bridge between recognising words and understanding them.
When reading isn't fluent, so much mental effort goes into decoding that there's little capacity left for thinking deeply about the content.
And the consequences can appear surprisingly quickly.
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By GCSE, the impact doesn't stay confined to English. Weston still remembers losing a GCSE PE grade over one unfamiliar word, “socioeconomic”.
Art, drama, music, PE, science and maths all lean on reading more than students might expect. If a student can't confidently access the text, it becomes harder to demonstrate what they know about the subject.
So what can you do to help your students?
Practical ideas to take away
- Read a text once with no questions attached - pressure kills fluency before comprehension gets a chance.
- Share key vocabulary that unlocks understanding before the text, not after.
- Break longer texts into manageable sections to reduce cognitive load.
- Use audiobooks so students hear expression modelled well.
- Build five minutes of reading practice into every subject, not just English.
Charity Lisko: Why Science and STEM texts get switched off
If Emily focused on how students read, Charity Lisco, VP of Curriculum at Discovery Education, challenged us to think differently about what they read.
She opened with a simple exercise.
Picture someone reading a novel.
Now picture someone reading a science article.
For many of us, the first image feels cosy and enjoyable, while the second feels serious and demanding.
Those assumptions don't just belong to adults. They can find their way into classrooms too. That instinct can stop students choosing science and STEM texts for pleasure and it's one teachers can pass on without ever meaning to.
Charity argued that science and STEM texts deserve the same curiosity we naturally bring to stories.
The evidence suggests students are already more interested than we sometimes assume.
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For Charity, that's the real goal.
Reading shouldn't end with comprehension. It should inspire curiosity, critical thinking and agency.
How can you do that in your classroom?
- Explain why students are reading a text before they begin.
- Pause during reading to ask, "What does this remind you of?" or "Have you seen something like this before?"
- Teach diagrams, charts and graphs explicitly - starting with the title, labels and axes before interpreting the information.
- Show students how subheadings, diagrams and text features help them navigate complex information.
- Prioritise the vocabulary that unlocks understanding rather than trying to pre-teach every unfamiliar word.
03 Industry News
Reading across the curriculum - What's happening nationally?
Unlocking reading CPD for secondary schools
What's new: The new DfE-funded CPD programme launched in January 2026 is helping secondary schools strengthen reading fluency and embed evidence-based reading strategies across the curriculum.
Why it matters: Schools have access to practical training and resources to support reading in every subject.
Year 8 reading assessment takes shape
What's new: The Department for Education has confirmed it is exploring a range of delivery models for the new statutory Year 8 reading assessment, which will focus on reading fluency and comprehension rather than content students can revise.
Why it matters: With the assessment still being developed, now is the time to strengthen reading across the curriculum - not just prepare for a test.
GCSE formula sheets remain until 2027
What's new: Formula and equation sheets will continue to be provided for GCSE maths, physics and combined science, with greater emphasis on applying knowledge rather than memorising formulae.
Why it matters: As exam questions become more contextual, strong reading and comprehension skills can help students make sense of what a question is asking before applying their subject knowledge.
04 Ready-to-use resource
Library audit checklist
The start of a new academic year is a great time to take a fresh look at your library or reading space.
Phoebe Demiger, librarian at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), makes the case for treating a library as a living ecosystem: something to tend, weed and refresh rather than simply stock once and leave.
We've pulled together a short, practical checklist from her session, Building a Brilliant School Library, at the International Reading Conference.
It covers stock quality, representation, weeding and display to help you review what's working and what could be refreshed this term.
05 Share your story
We want to hear from you!
Each month we share real stories from real educators and we'd love to hear yours, whether it's a reading breakthrough, a lesson that finally clicked or just something that made the staffroom laugh.
What's one thing you're doing differently this term to support reading beyond the English classroom?
We hope you've found something useful to take into your classroom this term.
Next month's theme is Reading in a Digital World, looking at digital literacy and how students read and make sense of information online.
If you’d like to share any other ideas ahead of next month’s issue, email us at staffroomscoop@daisyeducationuk.com.
Until then,
Staffroom Scoop Team, Daisy Education
Daisy Education supports over 1,700 schools and 350 multi academy trusts across the UK.