Carlton Academy Trust

Accelerating literacy progress at Carlton Academy Trust in Bradford

The context & challenge

Carlton Academy Trust is a West Yorkshire-based Trust made up of three Primary Schools, three Secondary Schools, and three Special Schools.

Across our three secondary schools, an average of around 25%of our students arrive with us in year 7 with significant literacy learning barriers, reading an average of 10.9 months below their chronological age. In one of the schools, this is as high as 36% of Y7 arriving with reading ages below the threshold for functional literacy, and in September 2024 the average student in the school was reading more than 20 months below their chronological age.

Our progress so far…

“For the first time ever, the average student has a reading age ABOVE their chronological age - this changes lives!”

• 14.9-month net reading age gain: The average student progressed from nearly 11 months behind to reading 4 months ABOVE their chronological age.
• 428 readers reached: 428 students previously reading below 9 years, 6 months have now gained functional reading fluency, and many have gone significantly further.
• 50% increase in advanced literacy: The number of students reaching a 16+ reading age has increased by almost 50%
• Wider school impact: Early data shows a positive link between reading progress, increased school attendance, and improved GCSE outcomes. English attainment in 2026 has risen across all three secondary schools, and it is clear that the 7+ outcomes in a range of subjects have increased in line with the rise we have seen in 16+ readers.
• Implementation fidelity matters: Progress was significantly higher in our schools where Lexonic Leap has been fully embedded compared to schools with less consistent usage, proving the impact of effective delivery.

How we achieved this

The literacy strategy at Carlton Academy Trust follows some key principles, but is adapted for each individual school and its particular cohort needs. We have a rigorous testing and diagnostic program to ensure that all students are known and understood, and that our interventions are properly targeted. We started in 2024 by focusing on those most in need, the students who were reading below 9 years and 6 months (functional illiteracy), beginning with students in KS4, to ensure that no students would leave our care unable to read. In some of our schools, this has required intervention on an enormous scale. Our phonics decoding solution is Lexonic Leap. This program has been extremely effective for us, and we have worked hard to ensure that the implementation of this program has been well resourced, staffed, prioritised and supported by excellent logistical planning and school-wide focus. Through the curriculum, students experience high quality texts read out loud multiple times per day, and literacy pedagogies in the classroom are evidence informed, explicit and adapted for each discipline area. We have also done very powerful work around volitional reading, ensuring that students have a voice in selecting books for the library and reading programs, and building a culture of reading for all. This is an ongoing piece of work for us - there is a huge amount still to do, but Leap will continue to be a core part of our offer, even as we introduce additional strategies this year to target fluency and comprehension. We have an attached alternative provision where we have also begun to use Lexonic Flex. It is early days, but feedback so far has been extremely positive.

Department for Education (DfE) Recognition & Next Steps

In April, representatives from the DfE visited us at Carlton Academy Trust to review our literacy program, observe live Lexonic interventions, and evaluate student progress data. We were proud to share our work, and to see that the findings from this visit were reflected in comments made by DfE civil servants at the Education Select Committee’s hearings on reading for pleasure.

“We have a long way to go, but the progress we've made is extremely strong. Lexonic has been a huge part of that work."

Jenny Webb, Director of English and Literacy, Carlton Academy Trust

Want to discover how Lexonic’s interventions could accelerate literacy progress in your school or trust?

Get in touch with our team to find out more.