34% reading jump: How Willow Wood Primary transformed year 6 outcomes

A 34% increase in children reaching age-related expectations in reading. A Fresh Start group moving up 1–2 book bands in weeks. Children arriving early, excited to practise reading on laptops.

For a school where reading was "a common thread throughout", these results represent nothing short of a transformation.

We spoke with Assistant Headteacher Lindsay Grigg and Grade 7 Teaching Assistant Tracy Mackay about how Willow Wood Primary turned their reading crisis into a reading revolution, and what it could mean for your school.

Willow Wood Primary at a glance

• Location: Wharton, deprived area, high pupil premium

• Challenge: Below-national-average KS2 reading outcomes

• Intervention: SATs Springboard (reading focus)

• Timeline: January–May (5 months)

• Results: 34% increase in reading ARE, Fresh Start group up 1–2 book bands

• Teacher verdict: "It's changed me as a teacher"

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The reading challenge: below-national-average reading in a deprived area

"If you walk around our school, reading is a common thread throughout. We believe strongly that you can't succeed in life unless you can read."

That's Lindsay Grigg, Assistant Headteacher at Willow Wood Primary in Wharton. Whilst intentions were good, intervention was needed.

The school serves a deprived area with high mobility and low entry points. The result? Below-national-average KS2 reading outcomes.

Tracy Mackay, who leads the school's Fresh Start reading intervention, puts it plainly:

"The Fresh Start group I was working with just weren't making the progress they needed. And it wasn’t just decoding. It was decoding, but it was [also]  comprehension.

I needed a fresh way of teaching."

The approach: why we chose SATs Springboard from LbQ and how we used it

Lindsay spotted SATs Springboard on Facebook and immediately saw its potential. The next morning, her headteacher mentioned the same tool. "That was it. No turning back."

For Tracy, a transformative moment came during a virtual meeting:

"It just blew my mind. It was something that was really going to help the children and make them more independent as well and make them more aware of where their pitfalls were."

The reading-specific appeal was instant: "Our children really lacked that ability to understand what the question was asking them to do."

The results: 34% increase in reading ARE & 1-2 book bands in weeks

Tracy's Fresh Start group

Tracy made a bold decision: she parked her existing reading programme and replaced it with daily Learning by Questions sessions.

Initially, children worked individually, but Tracy quickly adapted:

"Because they were so poor in comprehension, I put them into groups of two so they could talk about it and work through it together."

The impact was immediate:

"Confidence grew immeasurably. It was absolutely brilliant. Seeing them get those green markers, getting frustrated when they couldn't get it, but in a positive way. There was never a negative experience."

When one child began racing ahead, Tracy could differentiate instantly:

"I was able to adjust everything on LbQ so she had something separate. You can just be fluid with it and change it as you need to."

The result: Most of the group moved up 1–2 book bands within weeks.

Lindsay’s year 6 classroom

In Lindsay's class, the reaction was equally dramatic:

"When the children were first introduced to LbQ they were just blown away. They could not believe they were learning on a laptop and seeing the progress they made."

The collaborative element transformed classroom dynamics:

"My class love seeing the matrix on the board. They've now asked me to put their names up because they want to support their peers."

When Lindsay pauses the class to unpick a comprehension question together:

"I hear a groan, but then when we've unpicked the question, the children are really, really clear on what's been asked."

The reading results at a glance

"It's not just the academic progress. It's the impact on their mental health and wellbeing."

Reading diagnostics on SATs Springboard

A unique tool to support pupils with SATs preparation, whilst keeping the joy of reading widely at the heart of learning.

Find out more

What drove the transformation: live feedback, ready-made resources and SEND support

1. Live feedback that builds comprehension

"I can see exactly how the children are performing in the moment and address misconceptions right there and then. And then, rather than having to go home and create a question level analysis, it's all there for me and the children get that immediate feedback. That is just phenomenal."

2. Quality reading resources, ready to use

"If I want to teach inference through reading, I can just look on LbQ and the questions are there. I don't have to pull them together from different sites."

3. Support for struggling readers, including SEND

Tracy highlights one dyslexic child:

"Using a screen is much better for her than paper. She's got brilliant comprehension if you talk to her, but getting it on paper is hard. For her, SATs Springboard from LbQ is going to be amazing."

4. Independence and metacognition

"Children know exactly where they're going wrong or right. They can use the feedback to help them learn."

The teacher perspective: “It’s changed me as a teacher.”

"Having done that trial, it's changed me as a teacher. I've been teaching for over 20 years and in a way I wish I'd found this earlier because it has such an impact in such a short space of time."

Lindsay is clear about the workload impact:

"LbQ has made my life so much easier. I don't have to look on different sites or pull questions together. And for my wellbeing? I don't have to take work home at the end of the day to mark."

Tracy sums up the platform's appeal:

"I can't believe how user-friendly it is, for adults and for children. And all the resources are just there."

Sustainability: rolling out in more subjects and across KS2

Year 6 in Willow Wood have already started using Learning by Questions for more than just reading: 

“We started doing it for reading, but then it just escalated into our grammar, punctuation and spelling and a resource for our maths as well.”

Willow Wood have intentions for rolling Learning by Questions out across key stage two:

"We've seen the benefits in year six. If we can deliver it lower down the school, that's only going to increase the benefits by the end of key stage two."

Other schools have taken notice. Two out of three visiting schools have already committed to adopting Learning by Questions.

What this means for your school: key takeaways

Ready to see if SATs Springboard from Learning by Questions could deliver similar reading results in your school?

Willow Wood's story is one of hundreds. Book a leadership demo to see SATs Springboard in action and discuss your specific context with someone who understands.

"I've just seen a real rise in the children's confidence and self-esteem, so it's not just the academic progress that I've seen."

Learning by Questions offers SATs reading diagnostic resources as part of their SATs Springboard offering. They support pupils with SATs prep, whilst keeping the joy of reading widely at the heart of learning. Find out more about reading diagnostics from Learning by Questions.