UK-based edtech platform EdenFiftyOne has developed a structured literacy framework mapping 51 core English skills across reading, writing, speaking and listening, designed to address what founder Tom Reynolds describes as a systemic failure in how foundational literacy is delivered in secondary schools, as reported by Edtech Innovation Hub.

Reynolds, a former five-times Head of English and Nationwide English Advisor across multi-academy trusts, developed the framework after identifying the absence of a defined, shared literacy skills system across the English secondary education sector.

His diagnosis draws on both professional and personal experience. Diagnosed with dyslexia at 21, four days after completing his English degree, Reynolds said the experience reframed his understanding of how the system handles foundational gaps. "Finding out I had dyslexia was a relief because it offered clarity regarding my past educational struggles," he said. "It provided a sense of relief that my difficulties were not my fault."

Reynolds argues the problem is structural rather than pedagogical. "Secondary teachers are often forced to 'ice cakes that aren't baked properly,' pushing students through advanced literature and prose when their fundamental literacy foundations aren't yet set," he said.

The framework originated as a colour-coded Excel mapping tool before developing into a full platform. Reynolds said visualising skills transformed how students perceived their own progress. "Students could see that they weren't just a grade or a failure. They had strengths. They had areas to improve. It became tangible," he said.

The platform includes a "Build Together" feature allowing teachers, school leaders and students to propose and vote on new developments, embedding classroom input directly into product design.

Reynolds is now expanding the platform through teacher-informed AI, focused on capturing and distributing practical classroom knowledge at scale.

Explore the thinking behind EdenFiftyOne's literacy framework in the original article.