Reading for Pleasure at Home

Reading for Pleasure at School

• Every child takes home a library book which they can read themselves or have read to by a family member (younger children).
• Every child takes home a book which is appropriately matches to their reading capabilities. This will either be a RWI Phonics Book or a Banded Book.
• Every child has Reading Diary which family members are encouraged to make a comment in three times weekly (as part of their homework)
• Reading is incentivised through a Star Reader being chosen each week in each phase. They are a awarded a certificate and a token for the book vending machine in library. This is also put into the weekly newsletter.
• Book recommendations are placed on school newsletters and shared with parents on the school website.
• A yearly Book Fair is hosted to coincide with World Book Day so families can purchase books using their WBD discount vouchers.

• An organised and well-stocked library is a central hub for our school. It is accessible to pupils with an adult or by themselves (older children). New books are regularly placed into the library.
• Book awards, notable authors and the Children’s Laureate for Reading are celebrated in the library with dedicated shelves and front facing book displays.
• Appealing and well-stocked class book corners which pupils can access when reading for pleasure.
• Recommendations and reviews of books evidence in class book corners.
• Playground zones where pupils can read outside during their break times.
• Reading for pleasure opportunities during Reading Lessons.
• Timetabled reading for pleasure opportunities throughout the school day.
• Teachers reading aloud to their pupils at end of each day and during English and Reading Lessons.
• Timetabled ‘Book Club’ each Friday where teachers and adults share book recommendations, what their reading and can discuss their reading preferences with their class.

Using Book Club to Promote Books (taken from DfE Reading Framework, 2023)

Teacher as influencers:

• Know the books you want to promote, the pupils’ interests and the books they like.
• Recommend books with similar themes, settings and characters: ‘If you liked this book, you might also like ...’
• Find series of books by the same author or illustrator.
• Promote other teachers’ and the headteacher’s suggestions.
• Display your own pupils’ reading selection in a ‘story suitcase’ or a ‘reading wall/river’.
• Read a teaser from a book that will be arriving soon.
• Remind pupils of the books that you have read in story times.
• Invite pupils to register to read a book, such as one that has just been read to them, e.g. signing up on a list or reserving that book for later. This can initiate conversations about the book between peers who have read the same text
• Encourage anticipation for the book club. Show excitement about and interest in the books you are going to share
• Choose those that are appropriate for pupils at different reading levels and that might interest different children.
• Reveal the cover, author and illustrator.
• Introduce the type of book commenting on whether it is a short or long read
• Describe the setting or a few key characters.
• Read part of the opening, at least to a point where pupils would want to carry on reading by themselves.
• Read some dialogue aloud to introduce characters and bring them alive.
• Read intriguing extracts that might be key to the plot, without giving too much away

Peers as influencers:

• Check what pupils are enjoying, so they can recommend books to each other.
• Use Book Club time for pupils to share books they have read, placing them on a display or dedicated shelf for other pupils to enjoy.
• Involve pupils in writing book reviews for the school newsletter or website.
• Pupils could read and share poems aloud to the class.
• Advertise what others have enjoyed through classroom displays, signs and sticky notes in the books themselves: ‘Pupils who read this book also enjoyed...’
• Ask pupils to provide a two- or three-word book review and offer them vocabulary suggestions: ‘page-turner’, ‘fascinating’, ‘engrossing’, ‘intriguing’, ‘hilarious’, ‘ridiculous’, ‘heart-wrenching’, ‘excellent characters’, ‘scary and sad’, ‘made me angry’, ‘tedious’ (rather than ‘boring’). These can be done on post-it notes and placed on the cover of the book.
• Set up a pupils’ noticeboard for their own notes about books, and photos of themselves reading the books at home.
• Maintain ‘Top Ten’ lists of fiction and non-fiction.

Sacred Heart Reading for Pleasure Strategy (CLPE, 2015)

1. A Strong Ethos and Environment

• Regular updating of book stock which involves pupil librarians
• School library is organised into shorter and longer reads and genres
• Recommended reads are displayed by pupil librarians
• Class book corners
• Reading for Pleasure timetabled throughout school day and in Reading lessons

2. A Community of Readers who Share Responses and Opinions

• Book Club time every Friday for teachers and pupils to share books (DfE, 2022)
• Reading lessons provide opportunities for discussion and sharing of views based on reading whole class texts and reading for pleasure books
• Celebration of books and reading through special events throughout the year such as World Book Day
• Sharing and reading of books in school assemblies 
• Sharing of book recommendations in newsletters

3. Reading Aloud

• Teachers read aloud to their class during English and Reading lessons
• Teachers read to their class at the end of every day
• Teachers share poems with their class
• Books are read during assembly times
• Quality books are shared for their literary value
• Reading aloud during Reading lessons and Phonics

4. High Quality Texts and a Range of Texts

• Books chosen for their literary value with support of known associations, consultants and suppliers of children’s books
• Books chosen to reflect our pupils lived experiences and our diverse and inclusive school culture
• Whole school Reading Spine organised around values and themes we wish to promote and instill
• English and Reading lessons provide opportunities to meaningfully engage and respond to quality texts

5. Teachers who are Knowledgeable about Children’s Literature

• Teachers are sign-posted to known associations such as the CLPE, UKLA, NLT and Book Trust
• Training from consultants and experts
• Awareness of recommended books, book awards and high-quality texts
• Teachers have opportunities to read and select books that they would like to share to their class

6. Understand Importance of Illustration in Reading

• A range of picture books are available for children to read from school library, book corners and banded book stock
• Teachers share picture books across the whole school, not just in EYFS and KS1
• Pupils are given opportunities to develop inference and critical thinking skills by reading illustrations closely