The Science of Reading

What is the “Science of Reading”?

For a long time, people assumed children would learn to read simply by being surrounded by books. We now know that isn’t true for most children.

Over recent decades, researchers — including cognitive scientists who study how the brain works — have built a huge body of evidence about how children actually learn to read. That evidence is what we mean by the Science of Reading. It isn’t a program, a brand, or a passing trend; it’s simply the best available knowledge about what works. We use it so that reading is taught clearly, in the right order — and so that if a child ever struggles, we know exactly how to help.

The Simple View of Reading

Researchers have found that skilled reading comes down to two things working together:

Decoding — turning the letters on the page into the sounds and words they represent. This is the job phonics does.

Language comprehension — understanding what those words actually mean.

A handy way to remember it is: Reading = Decoding × Understanding. Both halves matter. A child who can sound out every word but doesn’t understand it isn’t really reading — and neither is a child who follows spoken stories beautifully but can’t yet decode the words on the page. Great teaching grows both, side by side.

Meet the Reading Rope

One of the clearest ways to picture skilled reading is Scarborough’s Reading Rope, created by researcher Dr Hollis Scarborough. Imagine a rope made of many smaller threads twisted together — strong reading is exactly like that: lots of separate skills woven into one.

The threads fall into two groups. Word recognition is sounding out and instantly recognising words. Language comprehension is understanding what the words mean: vocabulary, knowledge about the world, and how sentences work.

When every thread is taught well and woven together, a child moves from slowly sounding out words to reading smoothly and understanding what they read. Leave a thread out, and the rope is weaker — which is why we teach every strand deliberately.

The building blocks — the “Big Six”

In the early years we focus on six building blocks that research shows matter most. Teachers often call them the Big Six:

Oral language — talking, listening and growing vocabulary.

Phonological awareness — hearing and playing with the sounds in words: rhyme, syllables, and individual sounds.

Phonics — learning which letters make which sounds, and blending them to read words.

Vocabulary — knowing what words mean.

Fluency — reading smoothly and at a comfortable pace, so attention is free for meaning.

Comprehension — understanding, thinking about, and enjoying what’s read.

We weave all six through every week, from Foundation onwards.

Why we teach phonics — and use decodable books

Phonics is taught systematically — that means in a planned, sensible order, a few sounds at a time, with lots of practice, rather than left to chance.

To practise, children read “decodable” books. These use only the letter-sounds a child has already been taught, so they can successfully sound the words out instead of guessing from the pictures or the first letter. Success builds confidence, and confidence builds readers. As children master more sounds, the books grow with them — and before long they’re reading anything they like.

What it looks like in our classrooms

In the early years you’ll see daily, explicit phonics — children learning the sounds letters make and blending them into words, in a carefully planned order, with plenty of practice.

At the same time, we build the other half of the rope every day: rich conversations, new vocabulary, stories read aloud, and lots of knowledge about the world. Reading isn’t only decoding — it’s understanding — and we grow both together.

From “learning to read” to “reading to learn”

In the first few years, most of the effort goes into learning to read — cracking the code until words become automatic. Once reading is fluent, the goal shifts to reading to learn: using reading to explore the world, dive into stories, and build knowledge across every subject.

That shift is why the early years matter so much. The stronger a child’s foundation, the more reading opens up for them later on.

A few things that might surprise you

Some long-held beliefs about reading haven’t held up to the evidence:

“Children learn to read naturally, just like they learn to talk.” In fact, speaking develops naturally — but reading has to be taught.

“Good readers guess words from the pictures or the context.” Skilled readers actually recognise words rapidly and accurately. Frequent guessing is a sign a reader needs more support, not less.

“Phonics takes the joy out of reading.” The opposite is true — children who can read the words easily are free to enjoy the story.

How you can help at home

You don’t need to be a reading expert. A few simple things make a real difference:

Read aloud together every day, even once your child can read alone — it builds vocabulary and a love of stories.

When they get stuck, gently prompt them to sound the word out rather than guess from the picture.

Talk about everything — the more words and ideas your child hears, the stronger their comprehension.

Keep it joyful. Ten happy minutes beats thirty stressful ones.

Words you might hear

A quick guide to some terms you may come across:

Phonics — matching letters to sounds to read and spell words.

Phonemic awareness — hearing and working with the individual sounds in spoken words.

Decodable book — a book written using only the sounds a child has been taught.

Fluency — reading accurately, smoothly and with expression.

Comprehension — understanding and thinking about what has been read.

Want to know more?

These trusted resources explain the science of reading and the Reading Rope in more detail.