Membership FAQs

What does a Power of Reading membership give me? 

All the planning resources you need to implement a whole school programme of English Teaching, based on high-quality children books, which is progressive from Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to Year 6 and meets the needs of all children, as well as easing teacher's workload. There are also additional resources to support home learning, supporting continuity of learning between home and school.

The Power of Reading has proven impact in raising attainment and engagement in reading and writing, through whole class teaching of English, closing gender and disadvantage gaps and increasing children's motivation to read independently. For further information go to our Power of Reading Information Page.  

What additional content can I access with a membership? 

• Over 200 extensive teaching plans for Power of Reading books; 

• NEW teaching plans written for carefully chosen books for each Key Stage (KS), added each term; 

•  CLPE English curriculum maps (sample and template), which show how you can select books and plan for progression within and across year groups; 

• Home Learning Resources for over 80 Power of Reading books.  

• With a Power of Reading Face-to-face training and school membership or a Power of Reading Online Training and school membership you can also send teachers on the Power of Reading training programme, where they will receive high-quality CPD across the school year to build subject knowledge and support whole school engagement and improvement.

Do the plans support writing as well as reading?

The detailed plans include everything you need for whole class English lessons. This includes engagement with high quality literature, the development of oracy, reading and writing including embedded teaching of skills and strategies and contextualised opportunities to teach and embed phonics, spelling, language and grammar. Our research-proven teaching approaches used in the plans develop all aspects of literacy and develop comprehension at greater depth, language and imagination for writing and lead children to purposeful writing outcomes. 

Do the chosen texts and plans support cross-curricular or topic-based learning? 

We select our text recommendations based primarily on their quality, but we maintain awareness of topics and themes covered in the curriculum so we do select texts where these are available, to link to popular topics. Every plan provides purposeful links to other curriculum areas to ensure that planned learning from English lessons feeds into core subject topics and core subject learning enhances children's literacy.  

How long does a membership last? 

12 months from the date of payment. You will receive reminders to renew your membership before each membership period ends.

Do I need to renew my membership each year?

Every year we add new text recommendations, teaching plans and resources, and update our example curriculum maps, so we would recommend renewing your membership to ensure you maintain a curriculum which is broad, rich and meets the needs of your pupils at any given time, and that allows you to choose and use the most up to date texts for your children. 

Does everyone in my school need a membership? 

There should only be one login account per school which all teachers use. The login is set up by the school when the membership is purchased by the account owner and consists of account owner's email and a school password. Further information. 

Do the teaching plans cover every year group? 

Yes, we provide teaching plans from EYFS to Year 6 and additional plans to support the transition to Year 7. 

How long will a Power of Reading teaching sequence last? 

As a guide, the majority of sequences will last between 3 and 6 weeks, but teachers may choose to stretch the texts and planning over a longer period, depending on the specific needs and interests of their class. 

Do the teaching plans cover National Curriculum objectives? 

Yes, they meet all the requirements of the National Curriculum. We highlight at the start of each teaching sequence, which area of the statutory English curriculum can be covered by teachers using the sequence. For EYFS and KS1 plans we provide the possible contextual links to phonics phases.  

Can we use the plans as they stand, or do we need to adapt them?

The plans give you a detailed journey of how to teach through a text, developing all aspects of speaking and listening, reading and writing, including planned questions, activities and direction for writing outcomes. The plans can be taken and used direct, but will be much more effective when the teacher reads the text, the plan and then teaches with their own class and their specific needs in mind. This will be minor adaptation, rather than significant adaptation, looking at where your children, or specific groups or individuals, may need reduced or extended input, based on their prior learning. 

Can you use Power of Reading with SEND pupils in a mainstream school or in a special school or alternative setting? 

The approaches used in the Power of Reading are inclusive and support all learners, regardless of starting points. We expect that teachers will be able to use their own professional judgment and adapt the sequences according to the needs of their own class. Many teachers report that the creative and dramatic teaching approaches advocated by Power of Reading, are particularly engaging for all pupils. 

Can I trial the CLPE School Membership before purchasing it? 

There is a wealth of sample material that you can download to trial our Membership, including free Power of Reading teaching sequences, sample curriculum maps, our latest impact report and Associate School videos. For more information and sample sequences please go to our Power of Reading Information Page and scroll down to supporting materials.   

Is the Power of Reading Training included with my membership?

We have different membership options that include participation in the Power of Reading Training.

Our Power of Reading School Membership does not include training, only access to the text recommendations, planning and resources, but our Power of Reading Online Training and School Membership and our Power of Reading Face-to face Training and School membership options allow teachers to access our training face-to-face or online.

We also provide membership options for groups or networks of schools to engage in training at discounted rates. 

Can I see any schools that are using the Power of Reading texts and planning in practice?

Our network of Associate Schools will all be teaching English through the CLPE teaching sequences with quality texts. Their English Leads will have developed a thorough understanding of how to implement the Power of Reading throughout their school as well as being able to demonstrate the impact on pupils’ engagement and achievement in language, reading and writing.

If you would like to talk to an Associate School about the implementation and impact the Power of Reading has made in their school, please email membership@clpe.org.uk who will be able to put you in touch with your nearest Associate School.

"What we love is the opportunity to immerse the children into a book so thoroughly, giving ample time to work through the different teaching approaches, developing children's empathy for the characters; writing for different purposes and cross-curricular links."

Lucy Challand, Associate Headteacher, Sydenham Primary School, Warwickshire

"It has transformed the way we teach reading, writing and cross curricular work. It has also changed the children’s attitudes to reading and has increased the uptake in reading for pleasure."

Sarah Bradshaw, Acting Assistant Headteacher, Sutton Park Primary School, Birmingham