"DSR generates a love of reading, and builds independence from day one: helping children want to read and make rapid progress."
About the school
Queensbridge Primary School in Hackney implemented Daily Supported Reading (DSR) in 2010. They are a hub school, which means they have hosted numerous other schools to see DSR in action and find out more about the positive impact it’s had on their school’s data.
Finding a new approach to reading
When Sarah Bailey OBE, Headteacher of Queensbridge school, started in 2006, she was concerned that the children were not benefiting from an effective approach to reading.
Although reading was a priority, the interventions the school were using had become more challenging as the school continued to grow in size.
Sarah recalls her thinking from that time:
“In particular, I felt that a love of books and reading for pleasure was missing, and we did not want to lose sight that reading is engaging, and that we want pupils to understand and make meaningful links.”
Queensbridge school subsequently developed a comprehensive approach to reading in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, with DSR playing a central role.
Alongside the school’s rigorous teaching of phonics, DSR brings a hierarchy for vocabulary, language and engagement in reading. Children have opportunities through DSR to discuss engaging stories at their learning level.
Implementing DSR across the school
The school received training from Hackney’s DSR experts and then started the process of implementing the approach across the school.
Sarah describes their process:
“At the beginning we did a lot of DSR training, upskilling and generating buy-in as part of a full-on drive in the school. Senior management led DSR with classroom teachers and teaching assistants.”
“Questioning, touch-base meetings, tailored interventions, sharing what are we doing well and what are we struggling with, and timetabling were all important. Making sure children are on the right books, the right levels, and that books are labelled is also key”.
Embedding DSR from year to year
The school begins the DSR cycle in the summer term of reception. They train staff, assess each child’s reading level, group them and provide the DSR reading resources to ensure the programme is delivered daily and with purpose. Children then enter Year 1, grouped and levelled with a strong foundation ready for the Year 1 reading curriculum.
The team holds weekly DSR meetings to monitor the progress of children and deliver ongoing CPD responsive to the current needs of the cohort. Informal observations and coaching sessions are undertaken to inform these.
The group discusses children who are highlighted as struggling, and we jointly consider how best to support them. Children are also moved between groups depending on their progress that week.
The impact on the children
The school’s approach to reading for pleasure supported by DSR ensures that pupils begin to express their own opinions and responses whilst reading with increasing fluency and understanding. Every child progresses and the vast majority of children leave Year 1 at expected reading levels.
DSR has proved very effective in meeting the needs of struggling readers by engaging them in stories, building language and understanding, plus developing verbal skills.
More experienced readers are constantly being challenged with higher text levels, alongside more complex ideas, language structures and vocabulary.
Staff experiences of DSR
Hear directly from school staff about their experiences of DSR.