Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the gap between the lowest and highest achievers in GCSE english performance.

On 5 February 2025, the government announced a £2 million investment to drive high and rising standards in reading and writing. We know that supporting pupils to build strong foundations in reading and writing will give them the tools to succeed in key stage 4 and beyond. Therefore, from September, building on the success of phonics, teachers will receive additional training to help children progress from the early stages of phonics in reception and year 1 through to reading fluently by the time they leave primary school. This will be delivered through the English Hubs programme.

Building on this, secondary schools will get funded support to foster a strong whole-school reading culture, and in January 2026 they will get access to the Unlocking Reading programme, a continuing professional development package delivered by FFT Education on behalf of the department, aimed at boosting reading through evidence-based strategies.

Ensuring pupils build strong foundations in the early years and key stage 1, and offering further guidance and support on best-practice in the teaching of reading and writing in key stage 2 and 3, will prepare pupils for GCSEs in key stage 4.