The Reading Fluency Handbook

Pre-order now. The Handbook is published on 26 October 2026, and pre-ordered copies will be posted by Friday 6 November 2026.

I believe fluency is the missing piece in primary reading.

This book is for the child I have taught many times, in different schools and under different names. They are in Year 4. They have a reading book in their tray and it has been there for at least a couple of weeks. When the room goes quiet after lunch they take it out, open it near the middle and look at it. If I ask them about it they tell me it is good. If I ask them to read a page aloud they can do it, more or less, if I wait. They understand limited amounts of what they read. They read with little expression and certainly no joy.

Whilst 'fluently' made its way into the 2014 National Curriculum, what it actually meant and how you teach it, unlike phonics, was never specified.

Inside this book

• Why fluency is the missing piece, and what the evidence says
• The Reading Fluency Programme, from assessment to a half term at a glance
• The Playbook: fourteen techniques, step by step
• The Toolkit: ten tools for words, phrases and texts
• Assessment passages for all nine stages, photocopiable

Simon Sharp has been in education for twenty years and a headteacher for ten.

The book

• 164 pages, full colour, Royal format (156 × 234 mm), paperback
• ISBN 978-1-995779-09-6
• Published by Nectarwood Press
• Printed in the UK, UK postage included, usually with you in 7–10 working days
• Ordering for a school? Pay by pro-forma invoice with your PO number

Also on Kindle. Prefer to read on screen? Pre-order the Kindle edition on Amazon, out on 26 October 2026.