1. What is The Fluency Factory reading scheme?

The Fluency Factory offers a comprehensive and coherent reading fluency scheme designed for primary schools. It focuses on improving children's reading fluency through daily sessions and short-burst texts, utilizing strategies like repeated reading, echo reading, and reader's theatre. The scheme runs from Spring Year 2 until Summer Year 6, with carefully chosen texts that progress in complexity throughout the years. 
 

2. What types of texts are included in the scheme?

The scheme features a diverse range of texts, including modern novels, classic literature, poetry, and non-fiction. These texts are selected in collaboration with publishers like Bonnier Books and Teacher Created Materials to ensure they are engaging and appropriate for each year group. 
 

3. How is the scheme structured across different year groups?

The Fluency Factory's resources are organized by year group, from Year 2 to Year 6. Each year group has a dedicated section containing a scheme overview, assessments, intervention packs, and weekly resources. This structure ensures that lessons progress in complexity as students advance, supporting continuous development in reading fluency. 
 

4. What pedagogical approaches underpin the scheme?

The scheme is grounded in research-based pedagogies aimed at enhancing reading fluency. It emphasises repeated reading, echo reading, and reader's theatre to improve accuracy, speed, and prosody in students' reading. These methods are designed to support children in developing a high standard of reading fluency throughout their primary years. The scheme is based on Samuels’ Automaticity Theory and Rasinski’s Fluency Model, emphasizing repeated reading, prosody, and automaticity. It also aligns with Scarborough’s Reading Rope, which integrates fluency with comprehension.

 

5. How are lessons structured?

The scheme is designed that one text is used per week for a class. The embedded PPT is broken into 5 lessons. It is recommended that each lesson takes 15-20 minutes and is spread over 5 school days. Some schools have combined sessions effectively (e.g. Lesson 1 & 2 on a Monday, Lesson 3 & 4 on a Wednesday and Lesson 5 + Comprehension Quiz on a Friday). 

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6. How is children's progress assessed in The Fluency Factory?

The scheme assesses fluency holistically, incorporating accuracy, rate, and prosody. Teacher assessments include expression, phrasing, and automaticity. Texts are provided to assess children's words correct per minute (wcpm) but it is also suggested that this is used in conjunction with Tim Rasinski's Rubric to gain an overall picture of children's ability and progress. 

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7. Should The Fluency Factory scheme be the only reading lessons used in school?

The Fluency Factory should form part of the reading lessons in school. A validated phonics programme should be taught prior to The Fluency Factory and children should continue to have phonics support or interventions if needed. It is recommended that children from Spring Year 2 to Summer Year 6 also receive whole class book study lessons  and further scaffolded reading lessons alongside The Fluency Factory.

 

8. How do texts progress through the scheme?

Texts have a Lexile attached (e.g. 350L) and are aimed at the 75 percentile in terms of difficulty for each year group. This is just above the expected standard and is therefore challenging. Lexile levels assess texts according to text structure and vocabulary, although poetry cannot be attributed a Lexile level. Each text gives a focus area in terms of text complexity for children/teachers to focus on (e.g. grammatical elements) which also progress over time. Progression documents and overviews are available to subscribers. 
 

9. How can schools access The Fluency Factory resources?

Schools can subscribe to The Fluency Factory through plans and pricing options depending on the size of the school. Subscriptions can be set up via card/PayPal for immediate access or through an invoice with yearly payments made via BACs transfer. The platform is designed to be user-friendly, providing a straightforward experience for staff. 
 

10. Are there sample resources available for evaluation?

Yes, The Fluency Factory offers free sample resources for schools to evaluate before subscribing. These samples provide insight into the quality and structure of the materials available within the full scheme. Click 'Free Samples' in the top right-hand corner of the site.
 

11. What support is available for implementing the scheme?

The Fluency Factory provides comprehensive support to schools, including detailed overviews, assessments, and intervention packs for each year group. The resources are designed to be straightforward and easy to use, ensuring that all staff members can effectively implement the scheme. There will be supplementary training videos and CPD for paying schools in Summer Term/ Autumn Term 2025.

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12. Can the scheme be tailored to accommodate diverse student needs?

The Fluency Factory offers intervention packs and assessments designed to identify and support students with varying reading abilities. These resources allow teachers to tailor instruction to meet the diverse needs of their students, ensuring that all children can develop their reading fluency effectively. Challenge Cards, Phonics Support Sheets and Interventions ensure scaffolds are in place to support children's needs.

 

13. Is there evidence that The Fluency Factory improves reading fluency and comprehension outcomes?

The scheme is designed based on proven fluency-building strategies. Schools using the approach have reported improvements in reading speed, accuracy, and prosody. In our trial schools, children made on average 33 wcpm improvements over 12 weeks.

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For further details, sign up to one of our free Zoom sessions or email info@manicstreetteachers.com. 

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