Product reviews for Opening Doors to Ambitious Primary English

Beyond teaching the basics of reading, there are currently three major initiatives that have the potential to improve children’s attainment in English and transform their lives hugely for the better. They are interrelated and complementary; every primary school needs to take all three to heart and work hard to put them into practice if they are to bring the best out of all children. One is the work on Reading for Pleasure led by Professor Teresa Cremin and colleagues through the Open University. The second is the Talk for Writing approach developed by Pie Corbett. The third is the Opening Doors work of Bob Cox and his team, involving ambitious English teaching based around challenging texts.

The important work of Bob Cox and his colleagues is nowhere in print better introduced and explained than in his latest book Opening Doors to Ambitious Primary English. This essential guide carefully and accessibly explains the principles that underpin the approach: ambitious, direct teaching; using challenging texts; devising access strategies; developing meaningful dialogue; linking reading to writing. Key points are very usefully summarised in lists at the end of each section. However, it also provides truly practical and easily replicable strategies for teaching, clearly developed by teachers who understand both this approach and the realities of the primary classroom. Here are people who really know how to make highly rewarding English teaching work for all children.

This book provides considerable challenge for both teachers and children but, equally, every support to meet that challenge. It has the potential to transform primary English teaching for the better, and in conjunction with the other key approaches mentioned, open doors for children, not only to a more rewarding educational experience, but to richer lives. No primary school should be without it, and many would benefit considerably from associated professional development.