Rhythm for Reading 5-Day Implementation Plan
A 5-day plan for Reading Leads, SENCos and senior leaders to decide whether Rhythm for Reading is right for their school.
Explore the needs of your lower-attaining readers, assess your school's capacity and evaluate the evidence for impact, before deciding whether to introduce the programme.
Work through it in your own time.
You know lower-attaining readers need more support, but choosing the right next step can feel complex.
Perhaps you are seeing pupils who can decode accurately, but do not yet read with fluency, confidence or full understanding.
You may already have strong phonics teaching and reading practice in place, yet still be wondering what additional support could make a meaningful difference for the pupils who continue to find reading effortful and laborious.
And with so many priorities competing for time, it is important that any new approach is manageable for teachers and genuinely right for your setting.
The 5-Day Implementation Plan gives you space to consider these questions clearly, before making any decisions.
In five short, focused steps, gain clarity on what your pupils and team may need next.
This is not another initiative to add to your list
It is a self-paced implementation planning experience, designed to help you reflect on what is already happening in your school, identify where the gaps may be, and consider whether Rhythm for Reading could be a useful fit.
By the end you will have a clearer sense of:
The pupils who may benefit most from additional reading fluency support
How Rhythm for Reading could sit alongside your existing reading and phonics provision
The evidence and principles behind this approach
What staff capacity and implementation could realistically look like
Whether a bespoke pilot or longer-term CPD route may be appropriate for your school.
This plan is for you if you are…
A reading lead, SENDCo, English lead or school leader considering how best to support reading fluency.
Concerned about pupils who can decode to an extent, but are not yet reading with ease, expression, confidence or understanding
Looking for an approach that complements, supplements and extends the good work already happening in school
Keen to make an evidence-informed decision without being rushed into a commitment
Trying to balance pupil need with the practical reality of curriculum time, teacher workload and school capacity.
What you will explore across the five days:
Day 1
Prerequisites
Why reading simple musical notation supports lower-attaining readers.
Why your team already has the ability to use this approach to create meaningful change in pupils' reading.
Day 2
Bring the programme to life
Why building expertise into your team is about identifying those who bring a positive emotional connection to delivery, and feel comfortable when moving to music.
Day 3
Explore the rhythm-based approach
Discover the principles behind the B.E.A.T. model and how the approach supports pupils through rhythm, repetition, engagement and carefully structured practice.
Day 4
Discover three likely outcomes
Discover which pupils are likely to benefit and why. More than ten years of delivery show consistent patterns in the progress that lower-attaining readers make following the ten weekly sessions of Rhythm for Reading.
Day 5
Decide on a sensible next step
Bring your reflections together and consider whether you would like to explore a bespoke pilot, the Rhythm for Reading 30-week online CPD programme, or simply return to the plan when the time is right.
Additional materials
Build the strategy using the workbook
Identify, evaluate and decide with the 5-Day Implementation Plan workbook. The fillable PDF supports planning, whilst providing detailed insights for implementing an intervention successfully & communicating clearly.
Buy now for just £7.99
5-Day Implementation Plan
Designed for the reality of school life...
You do not need to complete the plan all at once. You can move through each of the five days when you have the time and headspace, return to earlier sections, and involve colleagues in the conversation if that feels helpful.
There is no expectation that you will have all of the answers straight away.
The purpose is simply to help you make a clear, confident decision about what could best support your lower-attaining readers.
A thoughtful approach to supporting reading fluency…
Rhythm for Reading supports schools to help pupils develop greater fluency, confidence and understanding through an approach that prioritises structure, repetition, engagement and pupil voice.
It is designed to work alongside the robust foundations that schools already have in place, while giving teachers practical ways to support lower-attaining readers, whose reading has not yet developed automaticity, fluency, ease, expressive qualities, understanding or enjoyment.
The focus is on steady progress for pupils in a way that feels manageable for the team supporting them.
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"My reading's got better. I've been practising more and it's more interesting."
— Year 3 Pupil, London
“An excellent use of inference to show the key motivations of the protagonist."
— Year 3 Teacher, London
“My difference has been amazing and it makes me feel so happy and excited!"
— Year 3 Pupil, London
“A good use of theme to discuss the different levels of meaning."
— Year 3 Teacher, London
Take the first step towards greater clarity.
If you are considering how to better support lower- attaining readers with reading fluency, confidence and understanding, the 5-Day Implementation Plan is a calm place to begin. There's plenty of detail and practical insights. These apply to implementation in general, as well as to Rhythm for Reading in particular.
You will leave with a clearer perspective, and an incisive lens on the practicalities that need to be addressed with colleagues. Overall, you will know whether or not Rhythm for Reading could be the right next step for your school.
Self-paced, practical & designed for the realities of school.
Created by Marion Long, founder of Rhythm for Reading and developer of rhythm-based CPD for teachers of lower-attaining readers. Rhythm for Reading is built on on 14 years of delivery, published research in peer-reviewed academic journals, and a PhD at UCL Institute of Education.
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