Given the importance of early success in reading and writing, the question of how schools can support children to make progress in these areas is of great interest. This project set out to explore this question by identifying schools that appear to be successful in achieving progress in literacy and asking them how they have gone about this. The aim was to uncover common themes between schools, which might help other schools work towards similar lifts in literacy achievement. Using National Standards data from 2012-16, the authors were able to identify schools that seemed to have made greater-than-average sustained shifts in literacy achievement (reading and writing). They selected six of these schools as case studies, representing a broad range of contexts. The authors visited each school to talk to a range of staff. The research suggests there are three essential elements that combine to create a framework to support progress in literacy achievement. These elements are: (1) a well-defined, positive school culture; (2) a strategic focus on literacy combined with whole-school PLD; and (3) coherence of purpose, where the school community works collaboratively as a team towards a commonly understood goal.