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Right to Succeed supports English hubs to expand literacy excellence into secondary schools

  • May 6
  • 3 min read
Three secondary school students in uniforms walk down a school hallway. The mood is cheerful and focused.

Place-based charity Right to Succeed has partnered with two English hubs in Greater Manchester to support the expansion of their literacy excellence programmes from primary into secondary schools.


The partnership follows the recent Department for Education (DfE) announcement to expand its successful English hubs programme - established to boost phonics teaching, early language and reading for pleasure in primary schools - into the secondary school sector from September 2026. 


The secondary school roll out also coincides with government plans to introduce a mandatory Year 8 reading test, designed to ensure no student falls behind as they progress through Key Stage 3. 


Right to Succeed has been working with two of the 34 nationwide English hubs - Arch English Hub (Rochdale) and the Lacey Green English Hub (Tameside) - to build their relationships with local secondary schools.  


Additionally, the charity is supporting the recruitment of Secondary Literacy Specialists for the hubs, who will lead CPD sessions for secondary schools across the boroughs. 


As a result, Arch English Hub recently led training for 18 secondary schools in Rochdale and Tameside on improving reading fluency across the transition from primary to secondary school, with a focus on practical, evidence-based approaches. 


A group in a meeting room listens to a presenter beside a screen displaying "Fluency: Bridge to Comprehension." People are seated at tables.

Josh Callaghan, Hub Lead at the Arch English Hub, who delivered the training, said: “Expanding our literacy programmes into secondary schools is the natural next step, but it requires a deep understanding of the secondary landscape. 


“Partnering with Right to Succeed allows us to bridge the gap between our primary-focused expertise and what is required for this secondary school rollout, which we hope will be adopted in a borough-wide approach to literacy."


Emily Humphrey, School Improvement Officer at Rochdale Local Authority, added: "In Rochdale, we are committed to ensuring every child has the literacy skills they need to thrive.


“The English Hub has had a transformative impact on our primary settings. We are now embracing collaboration between the English Hub and Right to Succeed to further enhance the transition from primary to secondary for our learners, ensuring that successful strategies used in primary are effectively adapted for older students."


Right to Succeed, which also delivers Cradle to Career literacy programmes across the Liverpool City Region, has been funding and delivering literacy and inclusion programmes in Rochdale and Tameside since 2023. 


It currently works with all secondary schools in Rochdale, including special schools and referral units, as well as a third of the borough’s primary schools. 


In Tameside, Right to Succeed funds literacy programmes in all but one secondary school and is currently rolling out funded literacy programmes to primary schools in the area.


Students in a classroom, seated at tables, reading books. A teacher stands reading.

Suzanne Hibbert, Greater Manchester Programme Director at Right to Succeed, explained: "Our mission is to ensure that every young person has the support they need to succeed, regardless of their background. Literacy is the foundation of that success. 


“By supporting this handover with the English hubs, we can continue to empower teachers with the specialist tools they need to support their pupils after the Right to Succeed programme has completed. It’s about working collaboratively with other organisations to build a sustainable model for literacy that will benefit Greater Manchester for years to come."


Over the past three years in Greater Manchester, Right to Succeed has supported: 


  • 1419  pupils to receive specialist secondary literacy interventions within the 2024-25 academic year

  • 82% of year 6 and 85% of year 5 pupils to make expected or above progress within the New Group Reading Test 

  • 144 hours of literacy training for Rochdale  primary and secondary school leads


For more information on Right to Succeed’s Greater Manchester programmes, visit: https://www.righttosucceed.org.uk/literacy-and-inclusion 


ENDS


Editor’s notes:

For press enquiries, please contact: chelseayearsley@righttosucceed.org.uk 


 
 
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