In its recently released Strong Foundations in the First Years of School guidance, Ofsted reinforces the critical importance of building a secure, knowledge-rich foundation in the early years of education. The guidance outlines the essential steps schools must take to ensure that all children, especially those in Early Years and KS1, are provided with an educational base that supports future learning and development. This includes developing early literacy, vocabulary, and comprehension skills within structured and carefully sequenced programmes.

Ofsted’s report calls for approaches that prioritise language exposure, structured phonics progression, oracy, and a broad comprehension of texts. These pillars form the basis of successful, lifelong learners and are essential for ensuring that children do not fall behind in literacy and language development.

At Literacy Counts, we’ve long advocated for these principles, embedding them into our core resources: Ready Steady Write and Ready Steady Comprehension. These resources are designed to meet and exceed the standards outlined by Ofsted, ensuring schools can provide children with a solid start in literacy, communication, language and comprehension. Here, we share insights from Louise, one of our expert consultants in Early Years, who has detailed how our resources naturally align with Ofsted’s recommendations.

Ofsted's Key Recommendations for Early Years and KS1

To provide context for educators and school leaders, Louise has summarised the key components of Ofsted’s guidance, particularly how they translate into practical steps within the classroom. The guidance places a strong emphasis on:

Language and Vocabulary Enrichment: Creating language-rich settings that encourage children to actively engage in speaking, listening, and developing vocabulary. This allows young learners to build a foundation of words, phrases and concepts that are essential for later literacy skills.

Phonics and Reading Progression: Delivering phonics instruction through a structured, sequential manner to build phonemic awareness and decoding skills. This provides children with the essential building blocks to read fluently.

Comprehension and Critical Thinking Development: Teaching children to not only read words but to engage with texts meaningfully, enhancing their comprehension and analytical thinking skills.

Oracy and Expressive Language: Encouraging children to articulate their ideas and thoughts verbally, which supports their language confidence and helps foster effective communication skills from an early age.

How Ready Steady Write Meets Ofsted’s Guidance

Embedding Language and Vocabulary Enrichment

Ready Steady Write has been carefully crafted to support young learners in expanding their vocabulary through rich language experiences. Each unit begins with Immerse Lessons, which draw children into the world of storytelling through high-quality texts and narrative structures. These sessions allow children to interact with words and ideas in engaging ways, introducing them to vocabulary that enhances both their spoken and written language. Our Story Friends characters in EYFS & Year 1—such as Octopus Opening and Problem Penguin—create memorable associations with different story parts, encouraging children to actively use and understand new words as they build their own stories. Additionally, the EYFS Story Songs infuse language learning with music, helping children to naturally absorb vocabulary and sentence structures in a way that’s both enjoyable and effective.

Structured Phonics and Reading Development

In alignment with Ofsted’s emphasis on structured progression, Ready Steady Write integrates phonics with early writing practices, ensuring that children learn to connect sounds and letters seamlessly. Each lesson is designed for children to apply their phonics knowledge and skills, developing their oracy, reading and early writing skills. This approach ensures that children not only become proficient in recognising sounds but also in applying them within a meaningful context, developing both reading and early writing skills concurrently.

Enhancing Oracy through Booktalk and Role Play

Ready Steady Write is rich in opportunities for oracy development, giving children a chance to articulate their thoughts, share their ideas, and participate in Booktalk. Role-play activities enable children to step into characters, exploring perspectives and narrative voices. This approach aligns perfectly with Ofsted’s call for improved verbal articulation skills. By developing these early oracy skills, children gain confidence in speaking and listening—critical abilities that also reinforce their writing capabilities as they move through school.

How Ready Steady Comprehension Meets Ofsted’s Guidance

Structured Reading and Phonics Progression

Ready Steady Comprehension is designed with Ofsted’s focus on structured reading progression in mind. The resource offers carefully sequenced phonics integration, providing children with a firm foundation in phonetic decoding. Through systematic phonics lessons, children develop decoding skills essential for fluent reading. Each unit within Ready Steady Comprehension builds on prior learning, supporting children in moving from word recognition to sentence comprehension and, eventually, full-text understanding. This progression ensures that children not only learn to read but also comprehend and retain what they’ve read—aligning with Ofsted’s emphasis on meaningful, cumulative learning in the early years.

Building Comprehension and Critical Thinking

Ready Steady Comprehension places a strong emphasis on comprehension as an active process. Lessons are designed to teach children to question, infer, and discuss texts, fostering a deeper level of engagement and critical thinking. Through Booktalk discussions, children learn to express their interpretations and listen to others, promoting a collaborative learning environment. Louise points out that these comprehension discussions not only help children understand the literal content of a story but also encourage them to explore underlying themes and ideas. This aspect of Ready Steady Comprehension reflects Ofsted’s recommendation to build comprehension as a fundamental component of early literacy.

Encouraging Articulation through Structured Discussion

Aligned with Ofsted’s focus on oracy, Ready Steady Comprehension also supports children in articulating their understanding of texts. The resource’s structured discussions allow children to explain their thoughts, articulate responses to questions, and build confidence in expressing themselves. This element is especially beneficial for young learners, as it reinforces the understanding that reading comprehension goes beyond decoding words—it involves interpreting, sharing, and even debating ideas. In this way, Ready Steady Comprehension provides children with the communication tools they need to excel in language and literacy.

In Conclusion

Ofsted’s Strong Foundations in the First Years of School guidance highlights the importance of structured, engaging, and language-rich learning experiences in Early Years and KS1 classrooms. Literacy Counts is proud to offer award-winning resources like Ready Steady Write and Ready Steady Comprehension that directly meet these recommendations, ensuring that every child has access to the quality literacy instruction they need to thrive.

Our resources provide schools with a clear structure to implement Ofsted’s principles, creating environments where young learners can develop the critical skills of vocabulary, comprehension, and articulation. With these tools, schools can confidently build strong foundations that support not only academic success but also a lifelong love of learning.

Need support?

Our team of expert consultants can assist your school with any literacy need, providing tailored guidance to help you implement these foundational principles effectively. Click here to get in touch!

Discover Ready Steady Write and Ready Steady Comprehension.

For further details on how Ready Steady Write can transform early writing skills, including sample resources and tailored training options, contact us here. Curious about how Ready Steady Comprehension can support your school’s reading goals? Access more information and sample materials here to see how we align with Ofsted’s guidance for the first years of school here.