Last week we shared our thoughts on positive improvements to the current curriculum and assessment system with the Curriculum and Assessment Review
Our comments can summarised in just a few words; we need to give children reasons to find reading fun.
As World Book Day’s purpose is to champion reading for fun, you won’t be surprised to know that this is what our response focused on.
But, since we’re experiencing a reading for pleasure crisis, with only 1 in 3 8 to 18-year-olds saying that they enjoy reading in their free time1, we believe this point is essential. And, it does a lot of heavy lifting for improvements across the curriculum, and in life.
The evidence shows that reading for pleasure leads to increased attainment in English, and improvements in educational attainment across the curriculum. It also supports cognitive and brain development, empathy and creativity and – vitally – it looks after the mental health and well-being of our young people.
World Book Day’s own research shows that children’s motivation to read is squashed by the pressure, expectations and judgement they feel. The current system prioritises skill, progression and functional reading, which can make it feel like something they have to do, not something they choose to do.
Children often tell us that they can only choose from a narrow range of books – until they have progressed. They’re being disempowered and demotivated as readers.
“I am in year 4 and can still only read books from the Blue Box. I don’t want to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar any more. ” World Book Day Focus group participant 2023.
Some simple changes could motivate and cultivate children’s intrinsic motivation to read
- Give all children the experience of being read to, within the school day.
- Extend into later key stages the EYFS learning goal for children to be able to identify favourite texts and discuss them.
- Provide a wide range of exciting and engaging reading materials for children to explore; a well-stocked library with trained teaching or support staff is transformative for many children. 2
- Support teachers to recognise and celebrate home reading (including reading in home languages) in a way that validates the child’s choice, and leads to more reading engagement.
- Support teachers to encourage skills like choosing a book and talking informally about books, outside of English lessons.
- Choose from a wide range of engaging texts, not curriculum texts, for whole class ‘reading aloud’.
- Describe texts which are appropriate for whole class teaching without suggesting that they are ‘higher quality’
We know children are more likely to read if they think they’ll enjoy it, so that’s why our charity’s work encourages more children to feel reading is something they want to do, because they can explore reading that meets their interests, supported and stimulated by a wide range of books, graphic books, comics and audiobooks that interest them.
“The teachers never usually talk about magazines or comic books it’s usually just massive thick books with lots of writing in.” – Boy, 12, Non-Reader
Children and families know that reading is important, but we’ve got more to do to cultivate reading enjoyment – as a foundation for English, to benefit children’s overall educational progress, and to support their development as happy, fulfilled adults, in work and in life.
Come and talk to us if you’d like to hear more about our response.
Cassie Chadderton, Chief Executive
Kate Sayer, Communities and Development Manager
Contact: [email protected]
1 National Literacy Trust, Children and young people’s reading in 2024, 2024 https://nlt.cdn.ngo/media/documents/Children_and_young_peoples_reading_in_2024_Report.pdf p7
2 National Literacy Trust, Exploring literacy related behaviours and feelings of pupils eligible for free school meals in relation to their use of and access to school libraries, 2020 https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/exploring-literacy-related-behaviours-and-feelings-pupils-eligible-free-school-meals-relation-their-use-and-access-school-libraries/
