The Reading Journey
Reception → Year 6 · UK primary curriculum

From sound
to sense.

A clear map of how children learn to read across primary school — from the first letter sound to reading critically beyond the page. It threads together Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar, the VIPERS comprehension strands, text awareness, and standardised assessment, all working towards one shared bar.

Reception
Jolly Phonics
All 7 sound groups completed — the decoding foundation.
Year 1
Jolly Grammar
The complete Jolly Grammar programme is covered; the Phonics Screening Check confirms decoding.
From Year 2
NGRT & Pearson GL
Standardised reading assessment begins and is tracked every term.
The shared bar
Stanine 7
The baseline every child is supported to reach — and hold — to Year 6.

The shift every reader makes

Early years are weighted towards decoding the words. As that becomes automatic, the work moves to comprehension — understanding, and then reading beyond the text.

Decoding the words (phonics & grammar) Making meaning (VIPERS & beyond) Stanine 7 baseline
The journey, stage by stage

Five stages, one continuous path

Each stage shows the same five things: what readers decode, how they comprehend (the VIPERS strands), the text features they notice, how they read beyond the text, and the assessment and target for that point.