Although every school is different, there are some underlying principles that ECTs should try to consider when developing a classroom reading culture. Among others, these include:

Make time for independent reading and story time

This is perhaps the most difficult to achieve but undoubtedly the most important. The primary timetable seems to get more squeezed every year, but finding time for reading is essential. If reading isn’t prioritised at home, then it needs to be given an even bigger focus in school. Story time is very easy to drop if it’s scheduled for the end of the day, especially when a lesson overruns by a few minutes, so consider timetabling it for straight after lunch to ensure it goes ahead.

Introduce new initiatives gradually

Although it is tempting to begin twenty new reading initiatives all at once, that is probably the best way to guarantee that none of them will be sustained beyond the second week. I would suggest introducing one new idea every few weeks and ensuring that it is almost self-sustaining before bringing in something else. Creating a Pupil Recommendations shelf, following it a few weeks later with Poem of the Day and then adding in a Reading Scrapbook at the start of the next half-term will help make sure they all become firmly embedded.

Be a reading role model and talk about what reading means to you

Do the children ever see you read in class? Every so often, read alongside them. There will always be data needing to be added to tracking systems and Geography displays to be tidied but the benefits for children of seeing an adult enjoying a book are enormous. It might be one of the only times they experience an adult reading for pleasure.

Keep the reading corner simple

The most important thing in the reading corner is the reading material on offer. Rows of flashing fairy lights and fluffy cushions will not inspire reading if the books and magazines available are not of interest. Try and ensure there is a range of chapter books, quick reads, poetry, graphic novels, non-fiction, magazines and comics by diverse writers and featuring diverse characters. Although it is tempting to spend a significant chunk of your salary on books, please avoid doing this; speak to the leadership team. There almost certainly won’t be enough money for books but there should be some.

One of my colleagues, Charlotte Squirrell, who has just completed her two years as an ECT, pointed out that knowing what to do in theory can be very different from knowing how to successfully put it into practice on a daily basis.

‘When I first started at Moorlands, I didn’t know where to start. I had so many ideas but found it difficult to know how to make them work in the classroom. Taking a step back and trying not to get overwhelmed was an important step. I love reading children’s books but there is no way anyone can read everything. One thing I soon realised is that you can keep reasonably up to date without spending every moment reading, as much as you may want to. Social media recommendations, book awards and book reviews are a few ways to quickly get current and high-quality books into your classroom.

Further to this, I tried to spend as much time as possible observing good practice in other classrooms, as this is incredibly beneficial. Each teacher will structure their class story time, independent reading and book talk slightly differently, so ensure you get the chance to visit a range of classrooms to pick up lots of helpful tips. Finally, one of the ideas that successfully developed within my classroom was displaying our class reading journey across the year. I always dedicate a display board for reading where I can stick the front cover of each book as we read it together. This is a lovely way to see the progress and range of the different books we have read and a useful starting point for any book talk, especially towards the end of the year when you are reflecting back and talking about the class reading journey.’

Developing a classroom reading culture can sometimes feel like another huge responsibility to add to an already long list, particularly when you are new to teaching. But there is no need to do everything at once. Make time for reading and introduce new ideas gradually. A strong reading culture is not created overnight. It develops slowly through the small, consistent things that show children that reading matters.

Tim Redgrave, and I are delighted to be relaunching the Patron of Reading initiative. Already, 50 authors, poets, storytellers and illustrators have signed up as potential patrons, ready to work alongside schools across the UK.

The main goal of a patron is to promote reading for pleasure by encouraging and inspiring a love of reading. The patron develops a sustained relationship with a school, usually over one to three years, working alongside staff and children to develop and strengthen its reading culture.

It could include storytelling sessions, book recommendations, discussions, writing and drama workshops, poetry events, blogs, book trailers and visits. The possibilities are pretty much endless, with every relationship being different.

If you’re interested in finding out more and having a look at the potential patrons who have already signed up, the list is here: https://padlet.com/mar.../patron-of-reading-wnj0ld4wwe6a1a8t

Provocation

Do schools really prioritise empathy? Or, in many cases, do we just go through the motions?

We put up posters about kindness and do the whole ‘treat others as you want to be treated’ thing. We have Anti-Bullying Week, Empathy Day, Refugee Week, and a whole host of other important events.

But what do we actually assess? We look at test scores and all kinds of progress measures. Of course, those things matter and need to be measured. But what we choose to focus on beyond that tells us a lot about what we really value. Perhaps we need to go deeper and consider what’s harder to assess.

When a child is upset in class, our first response should be to ask them what’s wrong. And in most cases, it is. But there’s often an awkward ‘they need to get back on track, they’ve got work to do’ conversation just around the corner.

Schools can be set up to treat emotions and feelings as distractions from the ‘important stuff’ that happens in classrooms, the learning. But surely, emotions are learning.

We know empathy isn’t a soft skill. It’s not just a ‘nice thing to have’. It’s one of the foundations on which safe, secure and nurturing classrooms are built.

But we still separate academic success from emotional literacy. We teach maths but not how to resolve an argument in the playground. We teach the skills of reading but not the skills of reading people.

Do our pupils really see empathy modelled by the adults in the school through the way they interact with and talk to colleagues and pupils?

Do we prioritise time and space for listening? Real, deep listening, even if what’s being said can be difficult to hear.

Do we treat pupils as whole people or just as data that needs improving? Working towards, greater depth, key marginals, accelerated progress and all the other phrases we hear every day.

Children learn empathy from how they’re treated every day, not from worksheets and one-off activities. If their voices aren’t heard, they won’t bother speaking. If they’re only seen when they succeed, they’ll hide the fact that they’re struggling.

So, what if empathy was treated with the same importance as curriculum subjects? What would we change? Where would we start? And are we brave enough to do it?

A few months ago, I was delighted to receive a visit from my teacher when I was in Year 4, or Upper Juniors as it was called then, Mr Mike Ramsay. We’d been planning to meet up for a while, but ill health had delayed things. It was the first time we’d seen each other in over 40 years, and it was wonderful to reminisce about our memories of life at Leiston Primary School. We talked about playing Pirates on the ropes and climbing apparatus in the hall, something that would never be allowed now, and the ridiculous levels of excitement when the school television was wheeled into the classroom on a Monday morning so we could watch You and Me.

However, one of my fondest memories was of when we spent what felt like an entire term reading Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. I can only assume it was a children’s version, as I can’t imagine the language in the original is hugely accessible to eight-year-olds. He didn’t particularly remember reading it, because, as he said, ‘I read lots of stories’, but I certainly remembered listening to it. I also have vivid memories of making endless Lilliputians from clay and using them to surround a life-size, papier-mâché model of Gulliver. For some long-forgotten reason, most of my figures were based on the Arsenal goalkeeper at the time, Pat Jennings.

Mr Ramsay was a fantastic storyteller when I was a pupil and an even better one when I was an adult. Hearing his anecdotes again made me reflect upon all the fantastic teachers that I’d had on my journey through the school system and how much they’d all influenced my decision to become a teacher. So many reading memories came back to me: daily story time on the carpet, being trusted to go to the school library by myself for the first time, a teacher lending me fantasy novels from his own shelves because he knew how much I loved playing Dungeons & Dragons, helping out at an after-school book sale and being one of the first in my infant class to choose the weekly story. The more I thought back, the more I started to realise the long-term impact of those relationships on me as a reader.

It almost felt like the wheel had turned full circle when, only a couple of days after meeting Mr Ramsay, I received a message from an ex-pupil who wanted to tell me that she’d just finished her English Literature degree and wanted to say thank you for helping her find so many books to read when she was in my class. I clearly remember her passion for reading during her time in Year 6 and how she was one of my very first Reading Champions. The fact that she associated her success in some small way with what had happened in the classroom ten years previously meant a lot.

The two events made me reflect on how we measure the impact of reading for pleasure in schools. It’s not something that can be assessed every few weeks or at the end of a unit, as such short-term quantitative data has minimal value. Last week, David read 114 pages and this week he read 121, so his enjoyment of reading has grown by 6.1%…

Its impact can only really be measured many years down the line, when the children we invested all that time and effort in have become adults. We trust that the work we put in pays off because the evidence and research tell us it does. Occasionally, we might find out something concrete, through an email or conversation, but quite often we’ll never see them again after they leave. If our legacy as teachers, when we retire or, increasingly, walk away from the job, is that we’ve sent our pupils into the world with a lifelong love of reading in all its forms, we can be quietly confident we’ve done a good job. Whether or not we see them again doesn’t alter the reading relationship we’ve built or the start we’ve given them. That’s a legacy I’m more than happy with.

Although it takes time, culling the bookshelves is something that needs to be done regularly. Pretty much every year, there’s still at least one or two copies of a book called Stranger Danger, written by a certain ‘70s TV presenter, turning up in a school library somewhere in the UK. This is something that just shouldn’t be happening and could potentially be quite traumatic. At a wider level, our children deserve access to the best books that are available. If those titles are squashed between a science book called Will Humans Ever Visit the Moon? (it exists, we had a copy in the school where I was an NQT) and a battered copy of The Industrial Revolution, which pulls off the trick of appearing as if it was actually published during the Industrial Revolution, they’re not going to be easy to find.

Over recent years, I’ve tried to include our pupils in this sorting process. Each half-term, we put out three large sheets of paper on the floor, labelled with the titles Amazing, Hmmm… and Goodbye (or something similar). The children then look through a couple of classroom shelves and add the books to what they believe is the most relevant pile.

The books that end up on the Amazing pile are the ones they feel should be promoted more in the classroom, books that there’s a real classroom buzz about or that they think everyone should be aware of; the Hmmm… books are the ones that could come off the shelves for a while and go into storage, either because they’ve already been enjoyed by the majority of the class or because they’re no longer being read regularly; and the Goodbye books are the ones they think we should lose, perhaps because they’re in poor condition or because nobody has read them over the past few months.

Before the shelves get refilled, the selections are discussed with the rest of the class to make sure they agree. Each time we do a cull, I try to involve the more vulnerable readers alongside our Reading Champions so that they all have ownership over the books in their classroom. It’s important that these children have a say in the books we have available, as they are often the ones who need the right book to help them reconnect with reading. As an aside, I wouldn’t recommend sorting all the books in the classroom at the same time; I tried it once and it quickly disintegrated into chaos. Year 5/6 pupils also visit other classes further down the school to help them organise their books. Again, we ensure our less engaged readers are part of the process.

I’m always impressed by how well-informed the pupils are. They seem to know exactly what’s hot and what’s not, with comments such as ‘Well, nobody has picked this one up all year’ and ‘We need a set of these for the other classes, they’ll love them as much as we do’. It’s not a perfect system and is certainly no substitute for an experienced librarian who could curate the books effectively, but it helps me keep track of what books and authors are currently popular and provides a clear idea of where we need to improve the reading offer for our pupils. Just don’t try and sort all the books at once. Please.

Each year, we provide work experience opportunities for students from one of the local secondary schools. This year, we were fortunate enough to be visited by a Year 10 pupil, Ella, an extremely passionate reader. Upon her arrival, she immediately started engaging in conversations about books and reading with children in my class, and helped some of them put together that week’s Pupil Recommendation Shelf. Several children also asked her about books she enjoyed reading when she was younger.

I realised how interested my class were in listening to her and how keen they were to find out about her as a reader. It felt as if they had a lot in common, being of similar ages. I asked if she would be willing to talk to the class about some books that had meant a lot to her when she was at primary school. The next day, she came in with a bag full of her favourite books, having written short reviews on their front covers, which was far more than I had expected or hoped for.

She talked to the class about each book, giving a brief summary of the plot and explaining why she had enjoyed it, for almost twenty minutes. She then answered questions from the class about them and about her reading in general. The pupils were extremely engaged throughout, with several of them writing down the books mentioned.

Later that day, she kindly offered to leave the books in school for a couple of weeks so my pupils could borrow them. By the end of the day, the vast majority of the books had been borrowed and were being read with enormous enthusiasm.

After she had left, I asked Ella (via her mum) for her views on the experience:

“I’ve always loved reading; I love how it allows me to escape to a different world, especially when it’s so easy to get caught up in the stresses of being a teenager within today’s society. That’s why, when I found that I was lucky enough to be doing my work experience at Moorlands, I knew I was in for an enjoyable week.

When I arrived, some students explained to me what the ‘recommendations shelf’ was and, after speaking to Mr Biddle, this inspired me to bring my own recommendations into school the following day.

As an older student, further along in my journey of reading for pleasure, I was honoured to share some of the stories that had made me laugh, cry and everything in between. It was so lovely to see the value that the students based on my recommendations, knowing that I had been in their position only a few years ago.

The book that I most wanted to recommend to the students was ‘Windrush Child’ by Benjamin Zephaniah. A few of the students told me how they had heard of the Windrush generation before but weren’t too sure of what it was or what happened during this time. Lots of them noted down the title of this book and instantly became intrigued by the history hidden within this story. When I read it, this tale brought me to tears and I wanted the students to experience the hold that brilliant books can have over us.

One tip that I would give to other students doing something similar is to be honest. Choose books that touched your core and inspired you when you read them. Choose books that you connected with and not what you think others may view as ‘cooler’ than the rest. The chances are that if you connected with a book, then others will be able to do the same.”

Although the idea had taken place almost organically, it was obvious that it had been an enormous success, both for my Year 5/6 pupils and also for Ella. As a result, I contacted the English lead at our local secondary to suggest that we try and repeat the idea and roll it out to other primary schools. It’s a simple, but highly effective, way to build bridges between primaries and secondaries, and to get children reading and talking about books with their peers.

Dear Deer Class,

As you’re leaving Moorlands soon and moving on to the next exciting stage of your life, there’s something really important I need to tell you. Do you realise you’re all readers now, every single one of you? I don’t mean that you all can read, because you’ve been able to do that for a long time. I mean you’re all readers; real, genuine, passionate readers. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it over the past few days and I’m pretty sure I’m right.

How do I know? Because the evidence is everywhere.

Because you start getting ready for story time and moving the cushions to the floor before I’ve even noticed. Because you make wonderful recommendations to each other and talk about books and comics all the time. Because you remind me about Poem of the Day whenever I forget it (which is pretty often) and keep it going when I’m not there. Because you have the confidence to read books by a wide range of authors.

Because you loiter around the desk whenever you see a new brown parcel arrive, just in case it’s a new book (and, let’s be honest, it usually is). Because you come into class early to tell me about the books you’ve read over the weekend or during the holidays. Because you give up your lunchtimes to help keep the school library and Reading Shed running. Because you’re all so keen to have your turn organising the Pupil Recommendations Shelf.

Because you understand that reading is far more than books, and that magazines, newspapers, riddles and jokes all count. Because I can hear you talking about books and making recommendations on the way to assembly, even though I pretend I can’t. Because you’re all so helpful when we’re visited by children from classes further down the school who want a book recommendation. Because the first conversation I have with most of you each morning is about what you’ve read the previous evening. Because whenever I walk past the library on the way to the staffroom, I see you reading stories and poems with younger pupils.

In fact, now I’ve started, let me be even more specific…

Amelie, you’re a reader because you’ve read every single book in the classroom that mentions horse and ponies… and you’ve loved them all. I always enjoy watching your reaction when we get to an emotional part in our class book.

Sorayah, you’re a reader because you know everything there is to know about our class collection of graphic novels. You’ve enjoyed so many over the year. Just as impressively, you always seem to know who else is reading them, how far they’ve got and what their opinions are. Your enthusiasm for New Kid inspired lots of your friends to read it. Thank you for helping keep my book bill down!

Max, you’re a reader because everyone respects your views about books. You’re always so keen to share your recommendations. The way you think so carefully about which books you’re going to read to your reading buddy continually impresses me.

Tianna, you’re a reader because you have an opinion on virtually every book that’s in the classroom and you make me work really hard whenever you want a book recommended to you that you haven’t already read. You’ve also pointed me in the direction of some fantastic books over the year.

Izabella, you’re a reader because your recommendations are outstanding. You have such great empathy and match books to readers so well. You’ve encouraged lots of other Y6 children to read the Can You See Me? series. Thank you.

Riley, you’re a reader because you read the books you enjoy and you don’t mind what other people think about them. You read the Mr Wolf’s Class graphic novel series and you loved them. And then you read them again. And then you read them again. And that’s absolutely fine.

Charlie, you’re a reader because you can remember exactly what happened on page 264 of Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief (and on any page of any other Percy Jackson book). It’s so clear how much you love the series. You’re always keen to help out in the library whenever someone is absent, which is enormously appreciated.

Jude, you’re a reader because you were really keen to continue with the Once series after we read the first one. The fact that you were so honest about how much you enjoyed them and how emotional they made you really impressed me. I’m glad the ones you read lived up to your expectations.

Isla, you’re a reader because you’re incredibly passionate about poetry. I love how you’re always keen to fill the gap whenever there’s a blank day. You’ve also started to widen the range of books you read lately by listening to recommendations from your friends.

Billy, you’re a reader because you just didn’t give up. It took a while, but you found the type of books you love in the end. Keep with it! Your contributions to our class discussions about books are always worth listening to.

Hannah, you’re a reader because you’ve single-handedly kept the Reading Shed going this year. You’re always happy to open it, tidy it up and organise the books in there because you know other people enjoy using it. You love reading and you want others to as well.

Scarlett, you’re a reader because you’re our resident manga expert. So many other children have started reading manga because of your passion and expertise. It’s wonderful that you’re always keen to share the latest series you’ve discovered. You’re definitely an influencer!

Jacob, you’re a reader because the excitement in your face when you found out there was going to be a third Aveline Jones book will always stay with me. You’ve never once forgotten when it’s time to go and read to the younger children.

Megan, you’re a reader because you seek me out every break and lunchtime to tell me all about your latest book. You read widely and with such enthusiasm! You always have a reading plan… this is what I’m reading next and then this is what I’m reading after that.

Lily, you’re a reader because you think very carefully about which picture book you’re going to share with the children in Reception at story time. You’ve done so much to help promote reading around the school over the year and that’s amazing.

Flynn, you’re a reader because you have such a strong individual reading identity. You were one of the first to read the Heartstopper series and, because of that, lots of other people read them too. You’re a brave reader. I love how you want to try new books.

Isaac, you’re a reader because you got so emotionally involved when we read A Street Dog Named Pup together. The way you listened so intensely was amazing. The enthusiasm you have for Poem of the Day has spread to everyone around the class.

Olive, you’re a reader because you live and breathe books. You’ve been a wonderful Reading Champion this year, you’ve given up your Thursdays to open the library and you seem to have read every book in school. Just as importantly, you’ve recommended as many books to me as I have to you over the past few years.

I could go on for a lot longer Deer Class but I won’t. I’ve made my point. Also, the summer holidays are almost upon us and we’ve all got a lot of reading to be getting on with. Have a wonderful break and enjoy your time at secondary school. Find the library, make friends with the librarian, keep reading books, and make the most of every single minute. I’ll miss you all.

Mr Biddle

At a time when the number of children choosing to read is in decline, they offer an alternative route into reading for pupils and staff. Recent books such as Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher and The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow are incredibly popular with primary pupils. For secondary readers, Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence and Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann provide thought-provoking, engaging experiences. Verse novels look different on the page, with the text appearing far less intimidating. There’s white space, breathing room, time to think. For many children, the reduced amount of text makes reading feel possible. At last, here’s a book I might be able to finish! A few years ago, I taught a boy who would often give up on books after a couple of chapters. One afternoon, he picked up Zombierella by Joseph Coelho (which had somehow magically appeared at his desk during lunchtime) as it ‘didn’t look too long’. Within a week, he’d finished the book and was asking for the next in the series.

Verse novels are also very powerful when read aloud, which is one of the reasons why we get through so many. The rhythm of the words lends itself to performance and allows teachers to model fluency and expression. My pupils understand why I might pause, emphasise certain words or read at a different volume or tempo. Seeing the text, either in front of them or on the whiteboard, can quickly help build confidence around reading aloud.

The fact that verse novels contain fewer words certainly doesn’t make them easier texts. They can contain a huge range of emotions and demand that readers – or listeners, if you’re sharing one with a class – pause, think and infer. The conversations we had about The Crossover by Kwame Alexander last year were incredibly thoughtful and reflective. One of my pupils even said, after a tragic event towards the end of the book, “There was more to talk about in that poem than some stories have in a whole chapter.” As the year goes on, there’s an increased shared understanding that one line, sometimes even one word, can mean so many different things and regularly provokes passionate debate.

The majority of verse novels are written in the first person, often from perspectives that are underrepresented in children’s books, and encourage reflection. For pupils developing empathy and exploring their own identity, this can help them realise that they’re not alone and that others share similar worries and fears. They are also valuable from a writing perspective, showing pupils that writing doesn’t have to be long to be effective. Precision and word choice matter.

Marie Zarro, English lead at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and a passionate advocate of verse novels, recently said, “Verse novels can make reading feel easy, with the narrative momentum of a novel and the imagery, rhythm, and emotional depth of poetry. Children can have the satisfaction of finishing a whole book whilst still keeping up with the complexities of the plot. It’s a lovely feeling to read a book from cover to cover and to feel the deep emotional journey of a character.”

A healthy reading diet is about balance and, for me, verse novels sit alongside picturebooks, graphic novels and prose texts, each offering something different and unique. It’s worth trying to find at least one verse novel to share with your class next year. They really come alive when they’re heard and offer children something different and exciting, a new way to think about the impact of a story and the power of words.

As a slight aside, a few months ago, Marie and I decided to set up a pupil-judged verse novel award, with both primary and secondary categories. We were very fortunate to receive sponsorship from both The Literacy Tree and Badger Learning. The interest from schools was overwhelming, with almost 150 applying to take part in the judging process. We’ve currently shortlisted the books which will be sent to schools in September, with the winning books being announced at an online awards ceremony

The headline for this piececomes from my favourite TV show, Firefly, which was cruelly axed after one season. The full quote is ‘No power in the ‘verse can stop me’, which doesn’t quite work. But I was determined to try and squeeze it in somehow.

Having talked to several secondary school librarians and English teachers, I’ve found that there is clearly an enormous amount of outstanding work already happening. There is also widespread acknowledgement that, although using form time for reading and talking about books is a valuable starting point, more is needed.

A functioning school library is crucial. It is often referred to as the heart of the school and as a ‘welcoming, inclusive space for pupils who need a listening ear’, as well as being somewhere to host breakfast and after-school clubs for children who might otherwise lack access to reading material. Many libraries are open at break and lunch times for book clubs and independent reading time, which also provide children with a great opportunity to form new friendships.

Holding departmental meetings in the library and giving the librarian a regular slot to talk about relevant books is an effective strategy to increase staff awareness of what is on offer. When it is the turn of the art department, the librarian could share biographies of famous artists and books about art techniques, with teachers taking them back to their classrooms to introduce to pupils. This would allow a culture of recommendations to develop more widely across the school and not just be the responsibility of a few staff.

Most secondary schools are aware of the value of visits from authors, poets and illustrators, and try to budget for at least one each year. However, effective communication between different departments is essential in order to make them successful. If the school has organised a visit from a writer who specialises in historical fiction, the history department needs to be informed about it well in advance so they can support with publicising the event and following it up afterwards. It is no good pinging them a quick email on the morning of the event. Providing a copy of their latest book to staff across the school and encouraging it to be used and referred to in a range of subjects is a simple way to raise the profile of a visit.

Finding a few minutes every couple of weeks to read and talk about relevant books in all subjects helps get the message through that reading is essential to success in education as a whole and not just in English. The pressure of the curriculum is an obvious barrier here, but it could be as simple as sharing book lists (with cover photos), creating a display of relevant books or talking to the pupils about what they’re currently reading.

A lot of secondary schools use form time for reading and give the pupils ownership over what they read. Graphic novels, manga, contemporary poetry, magazines and lightweight non-fiction are all popular so making a couple of boxes of these available in the classroom is an easy win.

Ensuring there is a Reading for Pleasure section in the school newsletter allows parents to stay informed about what is happening in the library and across the school. A combination of book recommendations and details about events, alongside an occasional piece of evidence about the importance of reading, provides roughly the right balance. If there is also a staff newsletter, links to good examples of research-informed practice about reading help keep everyone up-to-date.

It almost goes without saying - but I’m saying it - that a librarian is critical to the success of all this. Their role must be genuinely valued, with unwavering support from the leadership team. The librarian needs to be one of the members of staff that Year 6 children meet on their transition days as the librarian will be a central figure on their secondary school journey.

For secondary schools looking to embed Reading for Pleasure even further, the Open University RfP team run a successful Building a Culture of Reading programme for KS3, aligned to the National Curriculum, the DfE Reading Framework and the Education Endowment Foundation school improvement process. Full details here: https://ourfp.org/schools-teachers/rsp-ks3-jan-2025-new.

Thank you to Julianne Coggan (Priory Pembroke Academy), Rebecca Rouillard (Kingston Educational Trust) and Valerie Dewhurst (Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School) for their help with this article. Their knowledge of how RfP works in secondary schools is far superior to mine.

Esther Brown, teacher and English lead at Hawes Primary School, suggests carrying out an occasional audit. This involves looking at the reading opportunities that take place in a normal week - if such a thing exists in schools anymore. It’s worth carrying out as an English lead, and particularly valuable when undertaken alongside a handful of children from each class.

I’ve done this a couple of times over the academic year and have always found the results interesting. Most recently, I discussed it with pupils from our three Y5/6 classes to get their views.

First, they were happy that we were reading two books simultaneously as a class, and that there was a link between them. The Final Year, by Matt Goodfellow, is our class novel, and Skellig, by David Almond, is the text we’re studying in English. They talked about connections between the books and speculated about whether the authors had exchanged ideas.

We then looked at some of the wider reading we’d done across the curriculum that week, including the language used by estate agents when writing adverts in English, and a variety of non-fiction texts about big cats in Science. They specifically mentioned that they preferred to read whole books rather than just extracts, as it ‘makes more sense’. This gave a broader picture of how reading threads through our curriculum.

Our daily routines, such as independent reading and Poem of the Day, were also discussed, with some children saying that they enjoy getting out the cushions and beanbags, finding a cosy spot in the classroom to read. Despite the pressures of KS2 assessment, I was particularly pleased that this routine had remained in place.

Once we’d talked about the reading that happens every day, we discussed what else had been going on. Several children had worked on updating the song lyrics folder, which has rapidly become the most popular reading material in class, and another group had updated the pupil recommendations shelf. Some had also been coming in at lunchtime to select books to take down and read in the KS1 playground, as well as to refresh the stock in the KS2 Reading Shed.

As always, one of our weekly assemblies is based around a picturebook. This time, it was My Blood, Your Blood by Laura Henry-Allain MBE, which tells the moving story of a young girl with sickle cell. We also shared it with families in an attempt to raise awareness of the importance of donating blood.

Much of this is child led. In terms of my role as an English lead, I delivered a short training session to our team of Year 5/6 Reading Buddies, where I provided them with a few empathy-based questions they could use with their partners. I organised this term’s rota of staff volunteers to read a story in our after-school library slot. At the start of the year, we were only getting two or three pupils to attend; we’re now getting about twenty. I also sorted out and distributed a generous donation of magazines from a parent, which included back issues of The Phoenix and The Week Junior, both of which are very popular in school, and contacted our local library about a visit from our Year 1 pupils.

What had initially felt like a quiet week turned out to be anything but. Looking back, there was a lot more going on than I realised. However, most of what was happening was driven by the pupils. It was all based around routines that are sustainable, manageable and firmly embedded in the life of the school.

Time is always short in schools but, if you can, do try and spend five minutes thinking about your school’s reading culture at least a couple of times over the academic year. It’s important to reflect on and celebrate the progress made, as well as consider the next steps in a strategic way.

As an aside, I recently read a review copy of the verse novel When the Birds Wake Up by Jessica Mary Ellis (illustrated by Sophie Burrows). It’s incredibly good - perhaps one of the most emotionally powerful children’s books of the past few years.

There are several simple but effective ways to ‘drip feed’ knowledge of children’s books to parents. As a starting point, it is worth asking pupils for potential strategies, as they understand their parents best. For example, this year our Reading Champions came up with the idea of recording a short video where they each talked about a couple of favourite books because ‘my mum watches loads of TikTok’. They included poetry, graphic novels, picturebooks, non-fiction and novels, and showed where the books could be found in the school library. The video was then shared with parents and added to the school’s online platforms. We included links to where the books could be purchased, to make getting hold of a copy as easy as possible. They were also put on display in the reception area at the front of the school, along with a comment on a sticky note from one of the pupils, again to make them easy to track down.

In our Friday celebration assembly, to which parents and carers are invited, we always ensure that we find the time for at least one book recommendation. It is usually from a pupil (who is introduced by our Reading Champions), but sometimes a member of staff discovers a new book that they’re keen to talk about. Importantly, the recommendation is not always from a child who is necessarily a keen reader, as all our pupils need to have the opportunity to contribute.

We regularly share books on our school Facebook page as we know that it is often the first port of call for families. When we learned that The Wild Robot was being made into a film, it seemed like the ideal time to let parents know that we already had several copies in the school library.

Recently, we have started to run an occasional book giveaway, where we promote a book that we know will be popular with pupils, write a short summary of it and then give parents the chance to win a copy by liking and commenting on the post. We have learned that, once they are aware of it, some will pick up a copy of the book from the local library or occasionally buy one - we send a link to local bookshops rather than Amazon. It is a simple and effective way to share recommendations. There is obviously a small cost but if it is only done every few weeks, it should be manageable (although hearing about the desperate state of some school budgets this year, maybe not). There is the enormous added benefit of increasing book ownership among pupils. This is something we know is an increasing issue, not just at our school but across the country. In a 2025 study by the National Literacy Trust, 10% of children did not own a book of their own, with the figure rising to 16% for children receiving free school meals, figures that become bleaker every year. This is a societal issue, rather than a school issue, but if we can help get more books into the hands of our pupils, we have a duty, both professional and moral, to do so.

School WhatsApp groups can sometimes cause huge problems (insert your own horror story here, as I am sure we all have at least one) but they can also have a really positive impact. We set up a Moorlands Reading Group a couple of years ago that is still going strong. We put in place a few ground rules, which were basically around keeping the conversation to books and reading, and we moderate it from our school mobile. Although the group only has about 20 members and most of them are parents who are already quite engaged with their children’s reading, we have had a few people join who want ideas about how they can help their child with their reading. The fact that the majority of the suggestions come from other parents, rather than teachers, makes it more collaborative and less threatening. It is lovely to be able to take a back seat and let them engage with each other, especially when they offer to lend books and organise visits to the local library.

It’s important to remember that almost all parents do want their children to enjoy reading but often lack confidence in their own knowledge of children’s books, which is completely understandable. After all, it might have been twenty years since they read their last children’s story! If schools can make it slightly easier for them, suggesting and guiding them towards books we think their children will enjoy, but also providing valuable opportunities for them to interact with other parents, the potential benefits are immense.

I’m writing this article soon after after the NEU annual conference in Harrogate, where I delivered a lunchtime session on building a classroom reading culture. It was a privilege to be in the company of so many passionate and dedicated educators, and I thoroughly enjoyed every conversation I had. We swapped book recommendations and talked about the numerous challenges that schools are currently facing.

A couple of months ago, I came across a thought-provoking article from Alice Reedy and David Reedy about the different factors that influence children’s book choices. These included familiarity with the text, representation, genre and perception of themselves of readers.

The link to their article is here: https://collins.co.uk/blogs/the-book-squad-blog/what-influences-children-s-choices-when-they-read-for-pleasure

It made me reflect on how the pupils in my class select books. Although we talk regularly about what we’re all reading, we don’t spend as long sharing the reasons behind our choices, and I felt it would be a valuable conversation to have.

I started by explaining a few things I take into consideration when deciding what to read. I talked about how I enjoy the familiarity of reading work from authors I already know and featuring characters I’ve already met. At this point I went off at a slight tangent about how the Jack Reacher series is like a grown-up version of The Famous Five, where the plot in each book is almost interchangeable. Books recommended by friends and colleagues were also high on my list, with some people’s recommendations perhaps carrying more weight, depending on how similar I felt our reading interests were. Other factors such as online reviews, social media and the kind of mood I’m in play a part, and I emphasised that there are often numerous, and simultaneous, considerations affecting my choices.

At this point, I asked the pupils to share in small groups what was important to them when selecting texts, with each group feeding back to the class. It was fascinating to hear what they had to say.

The influence of peers was clearly a major factor. Some children said that if they saw several of their friends reading the same book, it was probably going to be one they’d enjoy. Amulet, the graphic novel series, was referred to repeatedly; there are nine in the series and there have been multiple times over recent years when they’ve all been off the shelves. The influence of individual children was also apparent; “I have a look at what Josh is reading as we like the same things”. The idea of ‘fitting in’ was brought up several times. One child explained that if they read the same books as other pupils, building friendships might be easier.

‘If the characters are like me’ was something else that was mentioned frequently, which reinforces how essential it is for all children to be able to see themselves reflected in what they read. A lot of my pupils enjoy contemporary books set in school (The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow, New Kid by Jerry Craft and Can You See Me? by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott, for example) where they could be a character in the story. The importance of the blurb, the front cover and ‘flicking through the pages’ also came up. After discussing it further, one pupil said, “I don’t actually choose a book because of just one thing, there’s loads of things I think about.” which a lot of the pupils agreed with.

Taking all this into account, there are several implications for practice. Classroom shelves need to include books by writers that the children are already familiar with and books that are part of a series. Having multiple copies of popular books - a huge financial challenge - is important as it helps build a shared reading community. Genuine representation, with diverse characters, stories and perspectives that reflect the different experiences of individuals and communities, is absolutely essential. Many teachers understand that reading is a social activity which can be enhanced by interactions with others. Independent reading time has increasingly moved away from the ‘everyone sit in silence and read’ model, which was common when I started teaching. Children are encouraged to move around the room, sit with friends and talk about what they’re reading.

It’s impossible for educators to be aware of all the amazing children’s books being published so ‘teachers need support in order to find the time and space to widen their reading repertoires and enrich their knowledge base’ (Cremin et al, Teachers as Readers, 2009). We can, and do, support each other already, but improving teacher knowledge of children’s literature needs to be recognised as a critical part of ongoing professional development.

Finding time to learn about how the children you teach choose their books is definitely worth doing, and something I’ll be prioritising when I meet my new class in September.

It’s something that I’m passionate about and something I believe in. The recent report from the House of Commons Education Select Committee has made a number of recommendations that mean the work schools do to make reading a central part of school life will become even more important over the next few years.

I’ll still continue to share lots of free ideas, articles and resources, as I always have done. Alongside this, from August, I’m going to start sending a monthly Reading for Pleasure toolkit to subscribers, sharing practical ideas and strategies that schools can use. It will include:

• one short Reading for Pleasure audit – for example, Time to Read

• one staff meeting idea

• one research summary, plus links to useful articles and resources

• one practical classroom suggestion

• one book list – for example, Verse Novels for KS2

• occasional interviews about Reading for Pleasure with teachers, librarians, researchers, authors and booksellers

My hope is that each toolkit will give you something to think about, something to discuss with colleagues and, most importantly, something to take away and use in your own school. Over the course of a year, it will build into a valuable collection of reosurces and strategies. I’m aiming to keep it simple, practical and affordable, at £5 a month.

If nothing else, it will give me another deadline to worry about.

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