Based on one of the largest studies ever undertaken of what primary schools do to improve literacy, this book reports what Professor Ted Wragg and his research team found. The evidence comes from 1,395 primary schools reporting the strategies they used and there is also an analysis of four local authorities, with a special focus on Birmingham. Thirty-five primary teachers were observed over a full school year and several hundred individual pupils' progress in reading was also monitored closely. School policies, classroom practices, the views and behavior of teachers, children and parents, as well as the progress of children who improved significantly, are all explored thoroughly in a book which should make a significant impact on policy and practice in primary education.