Our Tackling Reading programme is a five-week, curriculum-aligned intervention designed to create confident readers and resilient learners, while also nurturing a lifelong enjoyment of reading.

Each group receives a total of ten hours of engaging learning. This is divided between one hour of interactive literacy sessions, led by Foundation education staff, and one hour of practical rugby activities with the Saints Community Coaching Team. 

The literacy sessions focus on key reading objectives, encouraging pupils to develop essential skills in comprehension and confidence, while the rugby sessions bring the sport’s core values to life through teamwork, communication, and active participation. 

The programme is delivered entirely within your school, ensuring maximum accessibility for all learners. It is suitable for pupils across KS1, KS2, and KS3, with content carefully tailored to meet the needs and interests of different age groups and abilities, including those who may be reluctant readers.

The programme is fully aligned with the National Curriculum for reading, supporting pupils to strengthen their understanding and enjoyment of texts. Through a combination of guided reading, discussion, and reflection, pupils learn to retrieve and record key information, use inference and deduction to deepen comprehension, and evaluate texts by supporting their opinions with evidence. They are also encouraged to make predictions based on what they have read, explore vocabulary and language choices in context, and develop positive habits that promote reading for pleasure.

Programme features

• Exploration of rugby’s six core values: Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline, Sportsmanship, and Understanding
• Introduction to our Champion Levels – Looking, clue, and thinking questions – to strengthen comprehension and critical thinking
• Age-appropriate group reading activities, including Combat Zone by Tom Palmer at KS2/KS3, alongside carefully selected texts.
• Strategies to boost confidence in reluctant readers, helping them see reading as enjoyable, purposeful, and achievable
• Positive discussions about what it means to be a Rugby Reading Champion, inspiring pupils to share their reading journey with others
• A celebration event to showcase pupils’ achievements and encourage aspirations, whether as future rugby players, passionate readers, or both.

For more information or to book your place in the Tackling Reading Programme, please email EducationManagers@northamptonsaintsfoundation.org.