Cradle Hill Community Primary School

Reading for Pleasure

At Cradle Hill Community Primary School we believe that Reading for Pleasure is a fundamental entitlement for each and every child. Our aim is to develop and embed a strong reading culture within the school community to foster a lifelong love of reading in our pupils.

 

Benefits of Reading for Pleasure

 

  • Reading for pleasure has many non-literacy benefits and can increase empathy, improve relationships with others, reduce the symptoms of depression and improve wellbeing throughout life (The Reading Agency 2015).
  • Reading for pleasure has social benefits as well and can make people feel more connected to the wider community. Reading increases a person’s understanding of their own identity, improves empathy and gives them an insight into the world view of others (The Reading Agency 2015).
  • Students with more positive attitudes towards reading are more likely to read at or above the expected level for their age (Clark 2014).
  • There is a strong association between the amount of reading for pleasure students say they do and their reading achievement (Twist 2007).
  • Students who read for pleasure make significantly more progress in vocabulary, spelling and maths than children who read very little (Sullivan and Brown 2013).
  • Teachers who encourage students to read books of their choice for pleasure is a major contribution towards students developing a positive attitude towards reading and a life-long interest in reading. (International Reading Association, 2014).

(Points taken from the Book Trust website).

How we develop Reading for Pleasure

1.Each classroom has a broad variety of high quality texts for children to read and borrow in their book corners.

2.We have a rich curriculum which encourages extensive reading of high quality books and other kinds of texts.

3.Each classroom has an appealing book corner which is well organised and celebrates reading. There are additional displays celebrating reading along the corridors in our school.

4.There is a dedicated story time each day where class teachers read aloud uninterrupted.

5.Teachers/TAs have a wide and up-to-date knowledge of children’s literature and other texts. At staff meetings, teachers have the opportunity to share high quality texts surrounding a theme.  Teachers/TAs use this knowledge to give personalised recommendations to children.

6.Children are given dedicated time several times a week to read their own book in their classrooms. Time is also given to discuss books informally and share recommendations with their peers.

7.We hold special events to celebrate reading including, World Book Day, book swaps and author visits.

8.Each class has a ‘Reading Star’ where we reward children for reading regularly at home with an adult and getting a comment in their reading diary.

9.Teachers at Cradle Hill love reading themselves. Many of the teachers/ TAs are part of a staff Book Group where they read books and chat together.

 10. We also work in partnership with local libraries to promote reading events such as The Summer Reading Challenge. We also visit our local library and encourage children to do the same with their families.