RISE Project: West Midlands
Manor Primary Leads a Landmark Literacy Project Across the West Midlands
Manor Primary School is proud to have been commissioned by the Department for Education to lead a RISE Universal Project supporting schools across the West Midlands to raise standards in children’s literacy. This highly successful project focused on strengthening outcomes in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to improve Good Level of Development (GLD), while also raising achievement in reading and writing across KS1 and KS2.
Working in partnership with St Bart’s and the John Bosco English Hub, Manor Primary staff designed and delivered 15 live literacy conferences, led by expert practitioners. These conferences offered delegates the unique opportunity to observe live classroom practice, engage in facilitated professional discussions, and access a rich suite of Manor-created resources grounded in real, evidence-informed teaching.
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To ensure long-lasting impact, Manor Primary also developed a dedicated digital platform, now shared with all participating schools and made accessible to every school across the West Midlands, extending the reach well beyond the live events.​​
Project Impact to Date
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312 schools reached
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8,100 staff supported
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87,000 children impacted
Feedback from delegates has been exceptional, with participants consistently reporting that they left feeling equipped, informed and energised to make meaningful and sustainable improvements to literacy practice in their own schools.
Delegate Reflections
“This is the best course/conference I have ever attended.”
“Hands down one of the most useful training days I have had in a long time.”
“I feel really inspired to go back to school and share what I have learnt with the rest of the staff and SLT.”
“The passion for reading was tangible.”
“Very practical – links to teaching by people who know teaching well.”
“So many takeaways… practical ideas to implement straight away.”
“It was a privilege to observe teaching and learning in real classrooms.”
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This project firmly establishes Manor Primary as a centre of excellence for literacy, demonstrating the power of collaboration, high-quality professional development, and practice rooted in real classrooms to transform outcomes for children.
Live Classroom Observations
Live classroom observations at Manor Primary School formed a powerful and integral element of the programme. Delegates had the opportunity to observe exceptionally strong practice in reading and writing across EYFS, KS1 and KS2, exemplifying what consistently high standards look like in action. Teaching was of exceptional quality, characterised by precise modelling, clear and well-established routines, high expectations for all pupils, and expertly scaffolded talk and independent work. Across every phase, a deeply embedded culture of reading and writing was evident, with pupils engaging confidently, fluently and with clear enjoyment. The coherence between curriculum intent, classroom practice and assessment was highly visible, and the consistency of approach across the school reinforced a shared professional understanding of excellence. Seeing this practice first-hand was repeatedly cited by delegates as both inspiring and transformative, bringing research and professional learning to life in a way that strengthened confidence, sharpened expectations and supported effective implementation within their own schools.
Digital Resource Platform
Manor Primary School created a digital resouce platform that included downlaodalbe PDF resources, live lesson recordings and other information fromt he sessions. These are accessbile for free here for anyone working in education, who is willing to sign up for the resource.
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