Reading for Pleasure

At St Peter at Gowts CE Primary School, we aspire that pupils are fluent, confident and able readers, who can access a range of texts for pleasure and enjoyment, as well as use their reading skills to unlock learning and all areas of the curriculum.

We firmly believe that reading is the gateway to the learning and the key to unlocking all learning and so the impact of our reading curriculum goes beyond the results of the statutory assessments.

More information about how we promote and encourage Reading for Pleasure (RfP) can be found in the reading section.

At St Peter at Gowts, we aim to build a culture and social reading spaces that create, develop and nurture a RfP pedagogy for our children.

We aim to:

• Ensure that children have a wide range of high quality books; fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics and magazines to choose from.
• Ensure that every child is regularly read to.
• Ensure that, as a staff, we are passionate and knwoedge about children’s literature and have a good knowledge of the children’s reading practices.
• Further develop reading communities within our school between staff, children and their families.

How do we approach Reading for Pleasure?

We develop staff knowledge on the RfP pedagogy using professional development time. Staff regularly share book recommendations amongst one another, both formally and informally.

Children are read aloud to every day in every classroom. Class teachers prioritise RfP within their timetables.  Book talk is encouraged and valued.

Parents and carers at home play a vital role in promoting reading for pleasure.

If parents and carers can encourage their child to read for pleasure, they will really reap the benefits. It might not seem like a particularly important task, but actually, research shows that reading for pleasure can be directly linked to children’s success throughout their time at school and even into adulthood.

Reading for pleasure opens up new worlds for children. It gives them the opportunity to use their imagination to explore new ideas, visit new places and meet new characters. Interestingly, reading for pleasure also improves children’s well-being and empathy. It helps them to understand their own identity, and gives them an insight into the world and the views of others.

Taken from: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-for-pleasure/

We love the BooksForTopics website, especially their Branching Out booklists. They have shared lots of book recommendations for children who have been hooked by a particular series or author and are ready to branch out.

BooksForTopics are passionate about helping readers of all ages discover new children’s books and authors they will love. Whether it’s newly independent readers who need more early chapter books after reading Isadora Moon or graphic novel fans looking for what to read after Dog Man. Their Branching Out booklists and posters are designed to help readers find their next favourite read after finishing a particular series or children’s book they love. From books for fans of Harry Potter and more books like Tom Gates to books similar to Rainbow Magic and books for fans of the Wimpy Kid series, they’ve got it covered with their Branching Out booklists and posters.