Estyn Podcast - Sgwrs Sgwrs - Episode 5 - Overcoming challenges in the teaching of reading
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Nov 27, 2025 Rachel, headteacher of Newton Primary School, and Vicky Constantino, head of Tredegarville Church in Wales Primary School, dive into innovative literacy strategies. They discuss how assessing literacy dips led to significant school improvements. With a focus on bespoke training and the appointment of passionate literacy leads, they highlight the importance of modeling and coaching. Engaging families through reading cafés and using diverse texts aim to boost pupils' engagement and comprehension, especially for EAL learners. Their insights emphasize collaboration and the need for consistent, funded training across Wales.
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Refocus Literacy Through Staff Development
- Rachel refocused literacy after monitoring showed standards falling and linked improvement to curriculum and staff development.
- She invested in sustained professional development and engaging, locally relevant texts to rebuild reading, writing and oracy.
Appoint A Passionate Literacy Lead
- Vicky described appointing a passionate phonics-experienced teacher as literacy lead who modelled lessons and raised staff confidence.
- That leadership sparked whole-school enthusiasm and was instrumental in recent improvements.
Prototype, Model, Then Scale Teaching
- Trial new approaches in one class, then invite colleagues to observe successful practice before scaling across the school.
- Use short focused phonics and oral-rehearsal routines alongside consistent story-mapping to build speaking-to-writing links.