Reflection on Reading

Do you love reading?

I do – Whether it is Shakespeare, Stephen King or Anna Seward, reading has given me access to hours of pleasure as well as new worlds. Many people today are proficient at reading ?- but having a love of reading instilled in me in my childhood was a gift.

In our schools, reading has never had a higher profile. Our libraries are well stocked with new and vibrant authors alongside the writers of the classics that are handed from one generation to the next.

But, the fact remains that in our modern world with so much technology available all the time on our phones, devices and consoles, reading has to be encouraged and nurtured in school, but also at home.

Encouragement

In schools, we read with our children daily, we listen to them read, we introduce different genres to them and we encourage them through activities such as “Strive for Five” where regular reading is rewarded. As educators we know that if a spark is lit so that children love books and reading, then it will last them a lifetime.

Breed confidence in pupils

As educators we know that such a key skill as being able to read fluently can also breed confidence within pupils, enabling them to succeed in other subject areas and other parts of their life. Reading becomes a tool for success and allows them access a wider world. In the future, this will open doors for them into jobs and careers that will enable them to live happy and fulfilling adult lives.

The challenge

And yet, there are too many children who leave primary school not being able to read fluently. Current figures nationally in 2023 were that 25%, a quarter of children, aren’t working at age related expectations when they leave Year Six. For context, 10 years ago the percentage not reaching national expectations in reading was 14%. This decline isn’t good enough for our children. As teachers and educators, and as parents and carers, we all have a shared responsibility – to improve reading, and in doing so, improve the life chances for our children.

We all know someone who will say they haven’t got time, that they are a working parent, that the curriculum is too bus or that this should have been done earlier. These answers don’t solve the problem for a single child. The old saying is that if something is worth doing, then it is worth doing well. But how?

How can we all help?

It’s true that we have a crowded curriculum with many important priorities, but surely we can work smarter? Are we creating regular opportunities for pupils to read subject specific material in different curriculum areas? Do we balance teacher and pupil led reading? ?Do we communicate to children how important the skill of reading is in the world of work – in every job? Most importantly, do we sometimes allow them the time to get lost in the world created by a great story?

J.K Rowling once said “If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.”

Whilst this is often true, wouldn’t it be a tragedy for our children if the right book reached them, and they didn’t yet have the skills to access it.

Perhaps our goal should be to engender the love of reading as well as create proficient readers who use the lifelong skill of reading to create their own happy endings.