Evidence from the EEF (May 2022) shows that Covid-related disruption has caused learning loss in children.
There is some evidence that the writing outcomes for primary-aged and Year 7 children were lower than expected compared to previous year groups (Christodoulou, 2021, 2022).
One of the common issues is that reading stamina has been heavily impacted.
Fluent reading is the bridge between decoding and comprehension, between learning to read and using reading to learn.
Children also need to develop stamina as readers to build their ability to read increasingly lengthy and more complex texts.
Here are three practical best bets for improving reading stamina!

Ensure pupils have developed good word recognition. Stamina begins with success in decoding. Decoding in turn leads to automaticity. Provide children with lots of opportunities to practise decoding in decodable texts.

Fluency in Letter formation! In terms of fluency and stamina – handwriting is probably the biggest hitter of all. The point of handwriting is not about a beautiful script – the point is fluency. Novice writers should focus their efforts on ‘automaticity’ and fluency, rather than a particular style.

Provide regular opportunities for close reading or line-by-line reading. Comprehension gets in the way of fluency and stamina. Without comprehension, it is very difficult to achieve stamina in reading.
Join VNET’s Emma Adcock on Monday 26th September to discover more best bets for improving reading stamina!
This session will summarise key proven techniques to support the development of fluent reading (both out aloud and silent) and stamina for pupils of all ages.
Best Bets for Improving Reading Stamina
26 September, 2022
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
This course, led by Emma Adcock, Director of Training and Research, will look at the ‘best bets’ that schools can consider in order to boost stamina in reading.