Improve Inference in the Primary Classroom

This recorded training is designed for primary teachers, English Leaders and Teaching Assistants who want to strengthen pupils’ inference skills and improve reading comprehension across KS1 and KS2. Recorded CPD (live event recording) | Approx. 2 hours Inference is not just a reading skill — it is a foundational thinking skill. Research shows that the ability to draw inferences underpins comprehension and higher-order thinking. Pupils who struggle with inference often struggle to understand texts at all, making explicit, high-quality teaching of inference essential. As highlighted in the DfE literature review, poor inferencing causes poor comprehension — not the other way around. This course unpicks what inference really is, why it matters so deeply, and how teachers can teach it explicitly and effectively so that all pupils can succeed. Drawing on national research, including the Ofsted Research Review Series (English), this training places strong emphasis on the role of vocabulary and background knowledge, alongside practical classroom strategies that can be used immediately. In this training, you will: ✔ Understand why inference is foundational to reading comprehension and thinking. ✔ Explore the crucial role of vocabulary and context knowledge in inference-making. ✔ Learn how to use effective questioning to scaffold and deepen inference skills. ✔ Develop a toolkit of active instructional strategies to explicitly teach inference. ✔ See how inference strategies can be applied in whole-class teaching and interventions. Classroom impact ✔ Improve reading comprehension outcomes across KS1 and KS2. ✔ Support pupils who struggle to “read between the lines”. ✔ Strengthen pupils’ reasoning, discussion and written responses. This practical, evidence-informed training empowers staff to teach inference with clarity and purpose — ensuring pupils develop the comprehension skills they need to access texts confidently and succeed across the curriculum.