How to solve the literacy crisis in schools | Letters

Readers respond to a report that disadvantaged white children have lower reading fluency than other groups, leading to disengagement and school absence

The critical issue of secondary school reading fluency is not a new problem (Third of disadvantaged white pupils in England leave primary school without being able to read properly, 4 July). A fundamental inability to access the curriculum due to poor reading and comprehension has always been the case for a significant cohort of students entering secondary education, although this has increased over time.

As a secondary school teacher, I am frequently left wondering about the exact nature of the literacy instruction occurring in some primary schools. Year after year, pupils entering year 7 lack the basic decoding and automaticity required to engage with secondary-level texts.