The Gap Is Not Closing
In 2025, just 47% of disadvantaged pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and Maths at KS2, compared with 69% of their peers. That is a 22 percentage point gap, and it has not narrowed since last year. (Source: DfE, Key Stage 2 Attainment, 2024/25 Revised)
The Education Policy Institute found that by the end of primary school, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their more affluent peers stands at approximately 10 months of learning, and remains substantially wider than before the pandemic. (Source: EPI Annual Report 2025, Disadvantage)
These stats represent children in your school who are reading below their potential, not because they lack ability, but because the systems around them are not yet designed to reach them.
The Reading Equity Scorecard helps you see exactly where those systems are working and where they are falling short.
A Diagnostic Built for the People Closest to the Problem
The Scorecard asks 15 targeted questions across four dimensions that together give you a practical, evidence-informed picture of reading equity in your setting
Reading Provision
How robust is your core reading offer? Does it reach every learner, or are there structural gaps in access, frequency, or quality for specific groups?
Equity and Identification
Are vulnerable readers being identified early and accurately? Are Pupil Premium, SEND, English as an Additional Language (EAL), and children in care visible in your reading data, or hidden in averages?
Belonging and Culture
Do your book collections, reading spaces, and classroom libraries reflect and represent the identities and experiences of all your learners?
Engagement and Support
Are the right interventions reaching the right children at the right time? Is there a clear pathway from identification to targeted support, aligned with the EEF's guidance on structured literacy interventions?
The Scorecard draws on principles from the EEF's Improving Literacy guidance reports, the DfE's Reading Framework, and Ofsted's reading deep dive methodology. It is not a compliance checklist. It is a strategic reflection tool that helps you see what an external review might find before anyone else does.
It’s free and takes less than 5 minutes
A POSITIVE READING EQUITY SCORE:
Stronger Belonging
Build a reading culture where every learner sees themselves reflected in the texts, spaces, and conversations around books.
Sharper Identification
Surface the vulnerable readers your current systems may be missing, so no child is hidden in a cohort average.
Greater Accountability
Walk into your next Ofsted conversation, governor meeting, or Pupil Premium review with clarity on what is working and what is not.
More Purposeful Intervention
Move from generic support to targeted, evidence-informed action that reaches the right children at the right time.
Ready to Transform Reading Outcomes?
Take The Reading Equity Scorecard to identify your highest-impact opportunities and put every learner on the path to literacy success.
What You Get? Who It is For? Who We Are?
Your Results in Under 3 Minutes
Upon completion, you will receive a personalised Reading Equity profile: your overall score across all four dimensions, a breakdown showing where provision is strong and where the gaps lie, and practical next steps, from quick wins to school improvement priorities, in language ready for a leadership discussion. No login wall. No sales call. Your results are yours.
Built for Roles That Own This Work
Built for Literacy Leads, Pupil Premium Leads, SENCOs, Virtual School Heads, and Trust Directors of Education the people directly responsible for reading outcomes and inclusion. Are benchmarking provision, evidencing Pupil Premium impact, closing gaps for vulnerable learners, or preparing for an Ofsted deep dive? This gives you a starting point grounded in what the evidence says matters.
About Happier Every Chapter
Happier Every Chapter works with schools, MATs, and local authorities to improve reading attainment, book diversity, and belonging for vulnerable learners. The Scorecard is built on sector research, school leader feedback, and EEF and DfE frameworks. Every vulnerable learner deserves an adult who found where the system was failing them and decided to fix it.
It’s free and only takes 3 minutes
