A lot of this happens through our daily interactions and conversations with the children, and this is something that we must prioritise. It’s important to recognise that reading identities are fluid and constantly evolving (I’m a totally different reader from the one I was twenty years ago) and that anything we learn about a pupil’s reading preferences is only ever a snapshot of a specific moment in time.

In class, I’ve found that making reading identity posters is an effective way to get an overall view of their opinions about reading. The first thing I ask them to do is draw a portrait of me and then write down seven or eight things they know about me as a reader. We list two or three ideas together first, so that they all have a starting point. It’s always interesting to see how they view my reading identity. Examples of recent comments include, ‘he loves to recommend books to children and adults’, ‘children from other classes come and borrow his books’, ‘his favourite book to read aloud is The Outlaw Varjak Paw’, ‘he likes to know what books we are reading’ and ‘Mr Biddle doesn’t just like stories, he also likes poems’.

It becomes particularly revealing when the children start to reflect upon themselves as readers. I usually give them a few minutes to discuss some ideas with a partner first and then give examples of things I might expect to see (when do you like to read at home, what else do you read apart from books, what are you looking forward to reading in the future, etc.) which supports the children who don’t naturally view themselves as readers. They then create their own reading identity posters.

The real value in the task is when we share them with each other at the end. Despite the regular conversations we have, I would never have known that so many of my class enjoy reading manga online, that a certain child finds stories involving arguments between parents difficult, or which particular moment changed a pupil’s attitude to reading. The fact that a child was honest enough to put on their poster that they love reading but can’t read at home due to it being so noisy (they have several younger siblings) gave me the opportunity to make provision for their needs and provide them with a quiet reading space at school.

The posters also help us curate the classroom library. This year, I have a significant number of readers who enjoy books that feature horses, as well as several who love non-fiction texts about animals, so I try to take that into consideration.

Not only has creating reading identity posters given me more of an insight into their individual reading preferences, but it has helped them understand and appreciate each other more as readers. New friendships have been formed over a mutual love of manga or an appreciation of the Lottie Brooks series by Katie Kirby. Children have offered to bring in books from home for classmates they think might enjoy them based on what’s on their posters, and there’s been much passionate discussion about which is the best book they’ve ever read. All of this has made it a valuable and important classroom activity.

“I think there is a very significant message that goes out when you cannot see yourself at all in the books you are reading. I think it is saying ‘well, you may be here, but do you really belong?’”

- Malorie Blackman, former Children’s Laureate

Rudine Sims Bishop, professor emerita at Ohio State University and often referred to as ‘the mother of multicultural children’s literature’ in America, has talked about the importance of ‘windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors’ for the past thirty years. “Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books.”

Each year, the CLPE releases its Reflecting Realities report, which looks at ethnic representation in children’s literature in the UK. On the whole, the figures are encouraging; the percentage of children’s books featuring racially minoritised main characters increased from 1% in 2017 to 24% in 2024. After speaking to numerous teachers and librarians about representation, the challenge for schools remains getting these vital books into classrooms and libraries, as well as improving pupil and staff awareness of them. Budgets are tighter than ever (a phrase I seem to repeat regularly), but that can’t be an excuse not to invest in books that explore and celebrate the diversity we enjoy in our schools every day. All our children, without exception, deserve to see themselves represented in books.

It will take time, but it is definitely worth asking staff to carry out an audit of the books already on their classroom shelves. Whose lives and experiences are represented? Which voices are missing? Do the books offer children both mirrors and windows? This can help identify gaps and make sure that, when new books are purchased, they reflect the lives of your pupils as well as introducing them to experiences beyond their own.

My school is fortunate to have a supportive PTA who have helped us purchase diverse books over the past few years, and this has made an enormous difference. If you have one, talk to them about the importance of having representative literature in the school; even better, get the children to talk to them about it. We also created a wish list with a local bookshop that parents and carers can purchase from at Christmas or the end of the school year. It only adds a few books, but it all helps. There are also lots of recommendations of diverse books in our school newsletter and on our Facebook page, and our Reading Champions regularly share recommendations in our weekly celebration assembly.

It’s essential that diverse and inclusive books in schools are authentic, not tokenistic, and are created by writers and illustrators with a range of backgrounds who can paint characters and worlds with integrity. Darren Chetty and Karen Sands O’Connor write a regular column called Beyond the Secret Garden in Books for Keeps magazine, which is a great source of information about diverse children’s literature, and will help guide teachers and librarians in the right direction.

Children’s books can do so much, but of course they have their limits. They won’t stop hate, racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism or homophobia. However, they can help change our attitudes towards difference. As Rudine Sims Bishop says, far more articulately than I ever could, “When there are enough books available that can act as both mirrors and windows for all our children, they will see that we can celebrate both our differences and our similarities, because together they are what make us all human.”

If you haven’t already read it, please take a look at this thought-provoking article by Darren Chetty, ‘You Can’t Say That! Stories Have To Be About White People.’

February’s National Literacy Trust report, Teenage Reading: (Re)framing the Challenge, found that just under 50% of children aged 8-11 enjoyed reading, with this figure dropping to around 30% for those aged 11-14. In response, many primary and secondary schools have started to work more closely together to address this decline.

For the past four years, our pupils have read The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow as their final book in Year 6. Last year, its sequel, The First Year, was published. After discussions with English teachers and librarians at several local secondary schools, we agreed that they would read it with their Year 7 pupils. Because the two books follow the main character’s journey from primary to secondary, every child is able to relate to what he has to deal with and the challenges he faces. The shared reading experience helps create a sense of continuity, ensuring that pupils arrive in September with a familiar voice, character and narrative thread. We now share our entire reading spine with secondary colleagues, which strengthens that continuity even further.

Several secondary schools also take small groups of pupils, often library ambassadors or reading champions, into primary schools towards the end of the summer term to introduce them to the books they’ll experience in Year 7. Last year, three Year 8 pupils visited us and did exactly this. Because our children remembered them from their time at our school, they took their recommendations on board and asked them several thoughtful questions about books.

I recently talked about the move between primary and secondary with Amy Brookes, librarian at Manchester Enterprise Academy. She explained that pupils in many Manchester schools take part in a ‘transition read’ at the end of Year 6. They each receive a book to take home and read over the summer, which is then used in English lessons for the first few weeks of Year 7. This year’s title was Quiet Storm by Kimberly Whittam, with next year’s selection currently being finalised.

“We actually hand them the book on their first transition day with us. You can see the excitement straight away. For some pupils, it might be the first time they have a book of their own. I upload videos summarising each chapter and asking questions about the book, which they can watch during the holiday. We arrange for the author to visit early in the year and ensure as many of our children as possible get to meet them. It’s a great way to get them enthused about reading.”

Amy also explained how they provide additional sessions in the school library for more vulnerable students, which they call Library Detectives. Pupils are set mini-challenges around the library, such as finding the biggest book on the shelves, choosing a book they think their teacher would enjoy or selecting a book with a picture of an animal on the front. They complete the challenges in small groups and then sit together to talk about their choices.

“It shows them that the library is a calm and welcoming place, and that I’m someone they can turn to. It helps ensure their first memory of reading at secondary school is a successful one, which will hopefully lead to many more!”

What is important is that all this transition work is focused and deliberate. We can’t leave any of it to chance. We can’t simply hope that our pupils will carry their reading identities with them as they go through school. That won’t work. We have to support and guide them to do so. Shared texts, familiar characters, pupil ambassadors and trusted librarians all help ensure children are not starting again in September of Year 7, but continuing the reading journey that they’re already on.

Several factors have a direct influence on the success of storytime. One of the most important is the time of day when it takes place. Traditionally, it is often squeezed in at the end of the afternoon, and is regularly interrupted by a couple of students wandering off to collect the packed lunch trolleys or a message arriving from the office to let Phoebe know that she is going to be collected by her aunt at home time. Along with many other schools, we have moved ours to earlier in the day. Some classes read together straight after lunch and some at a convenient point during the morning session, but it’s always given priority. This helps ensure that it happens consistently in all classes.

Choosing the right book is essential. There are several modern classics that I am confident will always be successful with a class, including The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, Varjak Paw by SF Said, Cloud Busting by Malorie Blackman and Seven Ghosts by Chris Priestley. However, it is a great idea to hand the choice of text over to the class, by taking on board their recommendations, letting them vote on what they want to hear or picking up on what’s currently ‘hot’ in the classroom. Over the past year, we’ve read A Street Dog Named Pup by Gill Lewis because it was suggested by a pupil who loved it and organised a petition to make it our next book, and The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow because it won a landslide majority in a class vote. We’re currently reading Cringe Club by Emily-Jane Clark, which is one of those books that just takes off in a classroom by word of mouth. We also enjoy non-fiction texts, poetry, picturebooks and the occasional graphic novel (which work far better with a visualiser).

The more enthusiastic an adult is when reading aloud and the more of an event it becomes, the more the children get caught up in the excitement. We often have a flickering fire on the whiteboard behind the reader, with the pupils curled up on cushions or beanbags on the floor. Thinking in advance about the voices of the characters also helps. I remember the first time I read The Outlaw Varjak Paw to a class and Omar, one of the Orrible Twins, arrived on the scene. Because he was tough and streetwise, I decided to make him sound a bit like Ray Winstone after a big night out. I had totally forgotten that, a few paragraphs later, Ozzie, his much bigger and tougher twin brother, appeared. There was nowhere for me to go with his voice apart from trying to pull off an even more gravelly version of the voice, which felt almost painful. Luckily, he only has a few lines in the book. Like most teachers, I tend to rely on about four voices: my regular voice for the main character, an archvillain who, for some inexplicable reason, permanently speaks in a menacing whisper, a 95-year-old granny and an even more chirpy version of Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. They’re generally enough to get by.

Finally, leave the story on a cliffhanger, every single time. The collective groan as the book closes and the children realise they have to wait until tomorrow to find out what happens next is one of my favourite classroom moments. It means they are emotionally engaged and are living the story through their imaginations. It means they are going to talk about the book with their friends and seek out similar stories. Just as importantly, it means that they know there is something to look forward to tomorrow and, for some children, the value of that is incalculable.

1. Don’t model reading in class. Ever. During quiet reading time, make sure you’re either inputting data on your school’s pupil tracking system or tidying up a Geography display.

2. Have posters round the school displaying the books that various members of staff are reading. Make sure that they show the same book all year and are never updated. Even better, keep up the posters of staff who left the school a couple of years ago.

3. If you’re lucky enough to have an author, poet, illustrator or storyteller visit the school, make sure at least half the pupils are unable to attend the sessions because they’re doing a GPS assessment.

4. Always find a reason to cancel class story time. Tidy the cloakrooms, hand out letters and search for missing packed lunchboxes.

5. When ‘reading for pleasure’, children must always make some kind of record of it in their reading journals. After all, that’s what proper readers do.

6. Never allow a child any time to select a book. Explain to them that you’ll count down from five and whatever they’re holding when you get to zero is their reading book for the next week. At least.

7. Incomplete sets of books in the library and classroom are crucial. Having the Alex Rider series on the shelf with books 1, 3 and 8 missing is perfect. Point out that they were only bought fifteen years ago and really should have been looked after better.

8. If a child tells you that they spent an hour reading a wonderful book at home but forgot to sign their reading record, spend at least thirty seconds shaking your head in disapproval. Remember, it’s all about the evidence.

9. Always ensure that children are reading a book which is exactly the right level for them. They should not be reading books which are too simple or too challenging. This is an effective way to show a child how good they are at reading.

10. Do not engage with your Schools Library Service, your local library or any kind of children’s bookshop. Have as few people with a passion for reading visit the school as possible.

11. If you’re reading a class novel, make sure it’s the same one you’ve read for the past five years, especially if you worked in Year Six for that time and are now teaching in Year One.

12. Make it as difficult as possible for children to visit the school library by not having it open for most of the day. Children should be changing their books once a week and not more or less frequently. If they’ve finished a book before their library visit is due, then they must read it again. The library must never be accessible before school or after school.

13. Keep old, tatty and out-of-date books (Will Humans Ever Visit the Moon?) and try to spend the least amount possible on new reading material.

14. Ignore poetry completely. Explain to the children that it very rarely comes up in SATs papers these days.

15. When reading a shared book, don’t give out more than one copy for every four children (this includes tatty photocopies). The less time they spend in physical contact with a book, the better.

16. However big your classroom is, it certainly isn’t big enough for cushions, reading corners, author displays or recommendation shelves.

17. Occasionally tell the children that you really enjoy reading but never, ever be more specific. Don’t mention actual books, authors, illustrators and so on.

18. Continually reinforce the message that magazines, comics, newspapers and football programmes are not books and therefore not really proper reading.

19. If you’re teaching in Year Six, remember that the only independent reading the children can do after Christmas is past SATs papers.

20. Provide parents with a handy list of differentiated questions they can ask their children when reading at home. Most of them should contain the word ‘infer’.

21. Try to make sure that the library has as many other purposes as possible. Parent groups, one-to-one tuition (which obviously needs to be done in silence), storage of the iPad trollies, music lessons, anything you can think of. Be creative!

22. Independent reading time should be silent and as uncomfortable as possible. Have children sitting upright at their desks and don’t let them share books with friends or talk about them as they read.

23. It’s essential that pupils don’t have any ownership of reading in the school. No pupil librarians, no input into choosing books, no recommendations to their peers and no helping with displays.

24. Never hold special assemblies about just books. One every year on World Book Day is more than sufficient. A generic PowerPoint should do the trick.

25. Five minutes at the start of a staff meeting sharing a couple of books that the children have enjoyed (or that staff have enjoyed) is five minutes wasted.

The evidence is strong, but perhaps the more important question is what this really looks like in classrooms. Are we responding to what our pupils actually want to read? I spoke to my class last week about what they enjoy reading beyond traditional books. There was lots of discussion about song lyrics, reading related to video games and online manga sites, the joys of fan fiction featuring popular characters, and online news stories about favourite football teams and darts players.

A couple of years ago, we introduced Magazine Monday in class, where everyone (including me) spends ten minutes reading magazines, comics or children’s newspapers. My current class is obsessed with the Sudoku puzzle in First News, so I always have to print off extra copies of that page. Magazines and newspapers allow children to feel successful as readers. They can finish an article about something that interests them in a few minutes and then discuss it with a friend. They are ideal for dipping in and out of, and do not need to be read all the way through. Subscription costs are always a barrier, especially with the current financial climate, so we often buy copies from websites such as Vinted, where you can get hold of a dozen copies at a very reasonable price.

Although podcasts and audiobooks are not technically reading, they are still teaching children about narrative structure, widening their vocabulary and showing that stories are enjoyable. Podcasts are increasingly provided with a printed transcript, allowing children to read along, and these have been very popular in my class. There are also charities who provide access to audiobooks, including Calibre Audio and Listening Books.

Several schools have embraced audiobooks as part of their school reading culture. Marie Zarro, a teacher at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and an advocate of audiobooks, recently introduced The Tree of Comfort at her school. She explains, “We’ve invested heavily in audiobooks over the past few years as they’re a wonderful way to help remove anxiety around reading. The Tree of Comfort is simply a way to share QR codes that link to audiobooks. The pupils then gather together to listen to what they’ve selected. It’s deliberately inclusive, being designed to appeal to SEND and EAL pupils, as well as more vulnerable readers. It’s an idea that actively positions reading as something the children turn to, rather than something that’s enforced. They came up with the name The Tree of Comfort themselves, which beautifully illustrates what reading means to them. It’s a comfort, a place of safety and security.”

Without doubt, one of the most popular books in my class this year has been the collection of song lyrics that the pupils have created. Small groups often work together over lunchtime, either typing or handwriting the words to their favourite songs, which are then added to a display folder. This obviously needs to be monitored occasionally, as their choices have been known to push the boundaries. Songs by Harry Styles and BTS are the current favourites, with Radiohead being disappointingly rare.

A lot of children’s volitional reading nowadays is connected to narrative-driven video games, such as Stray and Spiritfarer. A recent study from the NLT showed that almost 80% of children who play video games read related materials at least once a month. This includes instruction manuals, character backstories and walkthroughs. We occasionally have a Save Point Shelf in the classroom, which features books that share similar themes or worlds with favourite video games. Recently, a group of pupils who were big fans of Minecraft put together a selection of books, which included Minecraft graphic novels and several texts about survival and exploration. Giving them responsibility for the shelves helps validate their reading choices and gives the classroom reading culture genuine authenticity.

With the new academic year now well underway, do have a conversation with your class, and your school colleagues, about what they view as reading. If we only celebrate and champion books, we are inevitably going to miss countless opportunities to create readers. We need every pupil, not just those who already view themselves that way, to understand that reading is for them too.

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Whatever we ultimately call it, the non-fiction being published for children today is incredibly good. As a child, I remember ploughing through enormous encyclopaedias that would consist of endless pages of tiny writing, occasionally interspersed with a minuscule black and white photo or an indecipherable map. Today’s books are visually appealing, hugely varied and engagingly written. They can even be very interactive, with flaps to lift, pages to unfold and buttons to press.

Perhaps most importantly, there are non-fiction books available on almost every subject imaginable and they can be an effective way of getting children to read. We have several books about the Titanic in our classroom that are rarely, if ever, on the shelves. Books such as Cats React to Science Facts by Izzi Howell, the Lifesize series by Sophy Henn and Andy Seed’s own Interview with a Panda are also incredibly popular. Laura Henry-Allain MBE’s My Skin, Your Skin is another great example of a non-fiction book tackling an important subject in an accessible and engaging way. In fact, so is anything that presents information in a fresh and unique format.

It is essential to include non-fiction as part of the regular read-aloud session in class. My pupils love hearing one of the amazing true stories in Survivors or Heroes by David Long. I usually give them a choice of three titles to select from and, the more outrageous the title, the more votes it receives. The Man Who Drank His Own Wee and The Woman Who Froze to Death – Yet Lived are consistently popular. If we ever have any new non-fiction arrive in the classroom, we will often select a page together to read and discuss, which is usually enough to guarantee that somebody will want to borrow it as soon as possible. It is worth remembering that non-fiction texts do have a limited shelf-life, as books featuring maps and scientific information can often become out of date, and that library organisations recommend they are replaced every ten years or so.

There are other simple ways to make non-fiction part of the classroom reading culture. I ensure we have dedicated non-fiction reading sessions each term and that they are always very relaxed and informal. Because non-fiction is often written to be dipped into rather than read from cover to cover, pupils will generally have access to three or four books on various subjects to browse through. They are allowed to sit where they like, which includes sprawling on the floor with friends. Several books also unfold to an enormous size so lots of space is definitely needed. Pens and paper are always available as they love having the opportunity to write down interesting facts they have learned about breakfast cereals or put together a list of the top ten deadliest sharks or order Premier League teams according to the size of their grounds or whatever else they’re interested in.

They might decide to create posters or even write their own non-fiction books based on what they are reading. Last year, for example, I had a pupil who wrote her own mini-book about big cats as she had been so inspired by Crazy About Cats by Owen Davey. I also ensure that time is prioritised for children to talk with each other about what they have learned and share their knowledge.

Ensuring pupils have access to high-quality non-fiction will nurture their curiosity and interest and help them discover issues they are passionate about and want to learn about beyond the limits of the school curriculum. That can only be a good thing; the more they care about something, the more they will want to read about it, which will ultimately lead to them wanting to take positive action and make their planet a more compassionate, empathetic and sustainable place to live.

The original idea was for them to promote the annual Summer Reading Challenge, which they did superbly, ensuring that we had our highest-ever number of pupils take part. Because they were so passionate about reading, we then explored ways for the role to be expanded.

We currently have a team of eight from Year 6, and four who shadow them in Year 5. We selected them for a variety of reasons: some because they loved reading; some because they didn’t love reading; some because they were ‘specialists’ in a certain area, such as graphic novels or manga; and some because we believed it would really help their self-confidence. It’s important to get the balance right. Having an entire group made up of pupils who all enjoy reading already won’t help bring any other pupils on board and certainly doesn’t feel inclusive.

We hold a Reading Champions meeting every few weeks to discuss ways to promote reading, and this is also open to any interested staff. We’ll sometimes talk about how to roll out ideas that have been successfully introduced in some classes, such as Reading Scrapbooks, Pupil Recommendations Shelves and Poem of the Day. Last year, we introduced boxes of books to be taken into the playground at lunchtime. They selected the texts, made sure they were rotated occasionally, and ensured the boxes were put away at the end of lunch. They’ve also chosen and displayed favourite books to put in the staffroom, which was very popular with busy staff.

They’re also keen to share their own ideas and suggestions. Several have been absolutely wonderful, such as putting reading blankets out on the field during the summer and becoming Reading Buddies with children in Reception; some, perhaps slightly less practical (although I do love the idea of unlimited bacon rolls for library helpers).

They’ve already organised and led reading assemblies this year. The most recent one was all about graphic novels; not only did they share some of their own favourites, they also put together a very convincing case about why graphic novels should feature in every classroom. They’re currently planning next term’s assembly, which is going to be about their current class reads.

Some of our Reading Champions visit classes in EYFS and KS1 to read picturebooks and poems with them. The thought and care that they put into their choices never fails to impress me, and it’s lovely to hear them practising reading aloud in the classroom at lunchtime before they read to the pupils.

They have full responsibility for one of our corridor display boards. It changes regularly and includes information about new books, a list of current class reads, reading recommendations, news about book awards and a ‘help’ area where pupils can ask for suggestions of books they might enjoy.

Two years ago, one of our Reading Champions decided he was going to organise a lunchtime poetry club for KS1 pupils to celebrate National Poetry Day. He was going to read them a couple of poems at the start and then share some poetry books with them. Before the first session, he was understandably nervous and worried that nobody would come, but at exactly 12:30 pm, a group of excited KS1 children came bundling into the classroom. Within about thirty seconds, they were all up and joining in. It was lovely to watch. The club was so successful that he decided to run it for the rest of the year. One day, he was absent from school due to illness and messaged one of his friends to see if they’d take over the session for him, which was a level of professionalism that I can only aspire to.

Occasionally, I like to set them a reading-related challenge. Last week, I gave them twenty minutes to all go and find two books for someone who says they don’t like reading and then display their recommendations on a table in the library. Next time, the challenge is going to be to find somewhere unusual around the school to read, which could have some interesting outcomes.

The most important role they have is that of being a reading role model for the rest of the school. We discuss all the different things that this could mean, and I find it interesting how the role evolves slightly every year. They understand the importance of modelling reading around the school (out on the field or in the playground, for example) and are happy to lead conversations about books and reading during break and lunch. They go into classrooms to recommend books and authors that aren’t very well known, and share their own journey as a reader with younger pupils. This is one reason why selecting pupils who haven’t always had a positive attitude towards reading can be extremely powerful. Being a reading role model means pupils don’t just do things for the school reading culture, they’re part of the school reading culture. A small, but crucial, distinction.

The fact that the children have increasing ownership over the direction of reading in their school is something they’re very proud of, and I’m continually surprised by how innovative and creative their ideas are. As well as promoting reading, the idea has created friendships and given certain children a wider sense of purpose in the school. Although I still have an overview of the work they do, it’s exciting to have reached the point where it’s virtually self-sustaining.

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They could well be temporary blips. We’ve all been through reading slumps where we just haven’t felt like reading. However, sometimes, it’s a longer-term issue. They’re not necessarily reluctant readers, a phrase that I’m glad is gradually disappearing. Perhaps emerging readers or vulnerable readers would be better ways to describe them. They might actually love reading but find it frustrating as they don’t yet have the decoding skills to access the texts they want to read. It might be because they come from an environment where access to books at home is limited and they lack reading role models. It could be because they’ve just not found the type of books they enjoy. Having said that, and although it’s almost painful to acknowledge, there are some children who simply don’t find reading an enjoyable experience. With children who feel this way, extrinsic motivation (stickers, certificates and various other bribes) can provide a short-term boost, but intrinsic motivation (reading because they want to) is significantly more powerful over a longer timeframe.

There are several ways to try and help a disengaged reader reconnect with reading. One of the most obvious is finding reading material on subjects that they’re interested in. I always think of a former pupil who loved fishing and would regularly get stuck into a copy of Carp World or Angling Times. When it was his turn for the Pupil Recommendations Shelf, he swamped the classroom with fishing magazines. His passion for them soon spread to his classmates. At one point, about a third of the class were reading them. I don’t think any of them ever went fishing, but if you wanted to know the perfect bait for catching perch or carp, they’d probably be able to tell you.

The more ownership children have over their reading choices, the more likely they are to persevere with them. It doesn’t matter if it’s a football programme, a comic or instructions on how to assemble a wardrobe. If that’s what they want to read, let them.

Pairing them up with a more engaged reader to go and read a picturebook or short poem to Nursery or Reception can also have dramatic results and help transform a child’s attitude. It allows them to be a successful reader in a non-threatening way. Giving them time to practise together is essential, as is helping them select a text that contains a few guaranteed laughs. If they’re not confident enough to read straight away, they can go and listen to other children model it first.

Reading also needs to be a physically comfortable experience. Sitting on a plastic chair behind a desk isn’t how I’d want to read the latest Jack Reacher novel, but that’s often what we expect of our pupils. Encouraging them to bring in a cushion (or getting hold of a few cheap ones), lie on the floor and turn their chair upside down can create a calm and purposeful reading environment. Over time, it’s lovely to watch them find their favourite classroom reading spot. A few years ago, I taught a child who would sit in our walk-in cupboard with the door open and read. I asked him why he chose to read there and it was simply because he never had the opportunity to read in a room by himself at home. It was his personal reading space and every other child understood that.

It’s always worth having a conversation with the class about what they think would help them enjoy reading more. Reading with a friend from elsewhere in the school was something that came up when I last did this, so once a week, the pupils took it in turns to go and read in each other’s classrooms. Sitting down with a pile of picturebooks to browse through, rather than choosing just one, was also suggested because it meant they wouldn’t have to get up and move around as often.

None of these suggestions are guaranteed to bring success. Some might work for a while and fizzle out; some may be more successful. It’s important to look at the class as a whole and compare their attitude now to their attitude a few weeks or months ago. Has there been an overall shift in how they feel about reading? Are they more positive towards it than they were before? Hopefully, the answer will be yes.

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If we want children to develop a genuine appreciation of poetry, to experience the joy of creating their own poems, dipping into a collection with a friend, or performing a poem to the class, we must embed it as part of a school’s reading culture. Poetry needs to be visible and celebrated every day.

At Moorlands, we have worked hard over the past few years to share the joy of poetry at every opportunity. We have had several amazing poets visit the school and taken part in numerous online sessions. Only a few weeks ago, poet Paul Jenkins came to spend the day with us. As well as delivering a fantastic assembly and three hugely entertaining workshops, he also found the time to open our new Reading Shed, even writing a poem especially for it.

Every class in the school ensures there is time for ‘Poem of the Day’. The children sign up to perform a poem, which can be from a book or one they have written themselves, and spend time practising it. I am generally out of class on Fridays and love walking down the corridor about fifteen minutes before the end of the day, when small groups of pupils are having a final run-through of their chosen poem. Teachers and support staff often join in too, so it genuinely feels like a whole-school routine.

There are always children who are reluctant to get involved, for a variety of reasons. We try simple ways to include them, such as reading out the name of the poem and the poet. More confident pupils often show great empathy, taking them under their wing and ensuring they are part of it, even if it is only to read one line.

We try to share the message that poetry can be created by everyone and that it is not meant to be forgotten in an exercise book. Children read poems to parents in our weekly celebration assembly, older pupils often create displays of their own poetry in classrooms and along the corridors, and we sometimes record short videos of pupils performing poetry to share with other classes. When they realise their work is going to be enjoyed by others, it gives them an authentic purpose for their writing.

Poetry is not just written in classrooms at Moorlands. We write it everywhere. Each term, we distribute a few exercise books around the school, to the library, our Reading Shed, the dining hall and so on, along with a selection of colourful pens and pencils. Pupils then have the opportunity to write poetry in the books during their free time. At the end of the term, the books are all displayed in the library for everyone to enjoy.

There are lots of annual poetry events that we enjoy taking part in. Each year, several pupils enter the Poetry by Heart competition. Over the past few months, some of our pupils have applied to take part in the NLT’s Young Poet Laureate programme. We shadow the CLiPPA each year and put a lot of thought into our National Poetry Day celebrations.

One of our most enjoyable school initiatives, which has now become an established part of village life, is delivering Poetry Post every year. The concept is extremely simple: pupils write out and decorate a favourite poem, put it in an envelope and then head out in classes to post them around the village. They love seeing the excitement their poetry causes, with the school receiving lovely messages from residents who have received a poem.

A few years ago, a poem was delivered to a retired English teacher. She was so moved by it that she decided to donate a collection of poetry books to the school. They still have pride of place in our library.

Leading from the front is enormously important, as enthusiasm for poetry is infectious. Staff can be spotted on duty in the playground with poetry books in their hands. Teachers might leave a new poetry book on a child’s desk with a few sticky notes highlighting favourite poems. We’ll regularly model writing poetry, often selecting fun titles such as ‘Ten Things My Class Would Never Say’. In response, pupils might write ‘Ten Things My Teacher Would Never Say’.

The three-minute poem is something that everyone enjoys. We provide a title and the only rule is that nobody can stop writing for three minutes, including staff.

Engaging with poetry also has a big impact on children’s literacy skills. They start choosing words more carefully and explore different ways to arrange them. They experiment with language, seeing how it can have an emotional impact on the reader, and notice how the rhythm of a piece can affect how it is read. Over time, pupils become more adventurous writers, in all kinds of writing, and start to enjoy taking risks with their work.

Everything we do helps get the message across that poetry can be exciting, powerful and enormous fun. Most importantly, it shows that it is for everyone. Children discover that poetry is not just an activity or a unit to tick off in the curriculum: it is a way of exploring, expressing and connecting.

An earlier version of this article originally appeared on the Children’s Poetry Summit blog, which I’d highly recommend subscribing to. A new article is published every Thursday. You can read the original article here.

You can subscribe to my Reading Culture Substack here.

Although every school is different, there are some underlying principles that ECTs should try to consider when developing a classroom reading culture. Among others, these include:

Make time for independent reading and story time

This is perhaps the most difficult to achieve but undoubtedly the most important. The primary timetable seems to get more squeezed every year, but finding time for reading is essential. If reading isn’t prioritised at home, then it needs to be given an even bigger focus in school. Story time is very easy to drop if it’s scheduled for the end of the day, especially when a lesson overruns by a few minutes, so consider timetabling it for straight after lunch to ensure it goes ahead.

Introduce new initiatives gradually

Although it is tempting to begin twenty new reading initiatives all at once, that is probably the best way to guarantee that none of them will be sustained beyond the second week. I would suggest introducing one new idea every few weeks and ensuring that it is almost self-sustaining before bringing in something else. Creating a Pupil Recommendations shelf, following it a few weeks later with Poem of the Day and then adding in a Reading Scrapbook at the start of the next half-term will help make sure they all become firmly embedded.

Be a reading role model and talk about what reading means to you

Do the children ever see you read in class? Every so often, read alongside them. There will always be data needing to be added to tracking systems and Geography displays to be tidied but the benefits for children of seeing an adult enjoying a book are enormous. It might be one of the only times they experience an adult reading for pleasure.

Keep the reading corner simple

The most important thing in the reading corner is the reading material on offer. Rows of flashing fairy lights and fluffy cushions will not inspire reading if the books and magazines available are not of interest. Try and ensure there is a range of chapter books, quick reads, poetry, graphic novels, non-fiction, magazines and comics by diverse writers and featuring diverse characters. Although it is tempting to spend a significant chunk of your salary on books, please avoid doing this; speak to the leadership team. There almost certainly won’t be enough money for books but there should be some.

One of my colleagues, Charlotte Squirrell, who has just completed her two years as an ECT, pointed out that knowing what to do in theory can be very different from knowing how to successfully put it into practice on a daily basis.

‘When I first started at Moorlands, I didn’t know where to start. I had so many ideas but found it difficult to know how to make them work in the classroom. Taking a step back and trying not to get overwhelmed was an important step. I love reading children’s books but there is no way anyone can read everything. One thing I soon realised is that you can keep reasonably up to date without spending every moment reading, as much as you may want to. Social media recommendations, book awards and book reviews are a few ways to quickly get current and high-quality books into your classroom.

Further to this, I tried to spend as much time as possible observing good practice in other classrooms, as this is incredibly beneficial. Each teacher will structure their class story time, independent reading and book talk slightly differently, so ensure you get the chance to visit a range of classrooms to pick up lots of helpful tips. Finally, one of the ideas that successfully developed within my classroom was displaying our class reading journey across the year. I always dedicate a display board for reading where I can stick the front cover of each book as we read it together. This is a lovely way to see the progress and range of the different books we have read and a useful starting point for any book talk, especially towards the end of the year when you are reflecting back and talking about the class reading journey.’

Developing a classroom reading culture can sometimes feel like another huge responsibility to add to an already long list, particularly when you are new to teaching. But there is no need to do everything at once. Make time for reading and introduce new ideas gradually. A strong reading culture is not created overnight. It develops slowly through the small, consistent things that show children that reading matters.

Tim Redgrave, and I are delighted to be relaunching the Patron of Reading initiative. Already, 50 authors, poets, storytellers and illustrators have signed up as potential patrons, ready to work alongside schools across the UK.

The main goal of a patron is to promote reading for pleasure by encouraging and inspiring a love of reading. The patron develops a sustained relationship with a school, usually over one to three years, working alongside staff and children to develop and strengthen its reading culture.

It could include storytelling sessions, book recommendations, discussions, writing and drama workshops, poetry events, blogs, book trailers and visits. The possibilities are pretty much endless, with every relationship being different.

If you’re interested in finding out more and having a look at the potential patrons who have already signed up, the list is here: https://padlet.com/mar.../patron-of-reading-wnj0ld4wwe6a1a8t

Provocation

Do schools really prioritise empathy? Or, in many cases, do we just go through the motions?

We put up posters about kindness and do the whole ‘treat others as you want to be treated’ thing. We have Anti-Bullying Week, Empathy Day, Refugee Week, and a whole host of other important events.

But what do we actually assess? We look at test scores and all kinds of progress measures. Of course, those things matter and need to be measured. But what we choose to focus on beyond that tells us a lot about what we really value. Perhaps we need to go deeper and consider what’s harder to assess.

When a child is upset in class, our first response should be to ask them what’s wrong. And in most cases, it is. But there’s often an awkward ‘they need to get back on track, they’ve got work to do’ conversation just around the corner.

Schools can be set up to treat emotions and feelings as distractions from the ‘important stuff’ that happens in classrooms, the learning. But surely, emotions are learning.

We know empathy isn’t a soft skill. It’s not just a ‘nice thing to have’. It’s one of the foundations on which safe, secure and nurturing classrooms are built.

But we still separate academic success from emotional literacy. We teach maths but not how to resolve an argument in the playground. We teach the skills of reading but not the skills of reading people.

Do our pupils really see empathy modelled by the adults in the school through the way they interact with and talk to colleagues and pupils?

Do we prioritise time and space for listening? Real, deep listening, even if what’s being said can be difficult to hear.

Do we treat pupils as whole people or just as data that needs improving? Working towards, greater depth, key marginals, accelerated progress and all the other phrases we hear every day.

Children learn empathy from how they’re treated every day, not from worksheets and one-off activities. If their voices aren’t heard, they won’t bother speaking. If they’re only seen when they succeed, they’ll hide the fact that they’re struggling.

So, what if empathy was treated with the same importance as curriculum subjects? What would we change? Where would we start? And are we brave enough to do it?

A few months ago, I was delighted to receive a visit from my teacher when I was in Year 4, or Upper Juniors as it was called then, Mr Mike Ramsay. We’d been planning to meet up for a while, but ill health had delayed things. It was the first time we’d seen each other in over 40 years, and it was wonderful to reminisce about our memories of life at Leiston Primary School. We talked about playing Pirates on the ropes and climbing apparatus in the hall, something that would never be allowed now, and the ridiculous levels of excitement when the school television was wheeled into the classroom on a Monday morning so we could watch You and Me.

However, one of my fondest memories was of when we spent what felt like an entire term reading Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. I can only assume it was a children’s version, as I can’t imagine the language in the original is hugely accessible to eight-year-olds. He didn’t particularly remember reading it, because, as he said, ‘I read lots of stories’, but I certainly remembered listening to it. I also have vivid memories of making endless Lilliputians from clay and using them to surround a life-size, papier-mâché model of Gulliver. For some long-forgotten reason, most of my figures were based on the Arsenal goalkeeper at the time, Pat Jennings.

Mr Ramsay was a fantastic storyteller when I was a pupil and an even better one when I was an adult. Hearing his anecdotes again made me reflect upon all the fantastic teachers that I’d had on my journey through the school system and how much they’d all influenced my decision to become a teacher. So many reading memories came back to me: daily story time on the carpet, being trusted to go to the school library by myself for the first time, a teacher lending me fantasy novels from his own shelves because he knew how much I loved playing Dungeons & Dragons, helping out at an after-school book sale and being one of the first in my infant class to choose the weekly story. The more I thought back, the more I started to realise the long-term impact of those relationships on me as a reader.

It almost felt like the wheel had turned full circle when, only a couple of days after meeting Mr Ramsay, I received a message from an ex-pupil who wanted to tell me that she’d just finished her English Literature degree and wanted to say thank you for helping her find so many books to read when she was in my class. I clearly remember her passion for reading during her time in Year 6 and how she was one of my very first Reading Champions. The fact that she associated her success in some small way with what had happened in the classroom ten years previously meant a lot.

The two events made me reflect on how we measure the impact of reading for pleasure in schools. It’s not something that can be assessed every few weeks or at the end of a unit, as such short-term quantitative data has minimal value. Last week, David read 114 pages and this week he read 121, so his enjoyment of reading has grown by 6.1%…

Its impact can only really be measured many years down the line, when the children we invested all that time and effort in have become adults. We trust that the work we put in pays off because the evidence and research tell us it does. Occasionally, we might find out something concrete, through an email or conversation, but quite often we’ll never see them again after they leave. If our legacy as teachers, when we retire or, increasingly, walk away from the job, is that we’ve sent our pupils into the world with a lifelong love of reading in all its forms, we can be quietly confident we’ve done a good job. Whether or not we see them again doesn’t alter the reading relationship we’ve built or the start we’ve given them. That’s a legacy I’m more than happy with.

Although it takes time, culling the bookshelves is something that needs to be done regularly. Pretty much every year, there’s still at least one or two copies of a book called Stranger Danger, written by a certain ‘70s TV presenter, turning up in a school library somewhere in the UK. This is something that just shouldn’t be happening and could potentially be quite traumatic. At a wider level, our children deserve access to the best books that are available. If those titles are squashed between a science book called Will Humans Ever Visit the Moon? (it exists, we had a copy in the school where I was an NQT) and a battered copy of The Industrial Revolution, which pulls off the trick of appearing as if it was actually published during the Industrial Revolution, they’re not going to be easy to find.

Over recent years, I’ve tried to include our pupils in this sorting process. Each half-term, we put out three large sheets of paper on the floor, labelled with the titles Amazing, Hmmm… and Goodbye (or something similar). The children then look through a couple of classroom shelves and add the books to what they believe is the most relevant pile.

The books that end up on the Amazing pile are the ones they feel should be promoted more in the classroom, books that there’s a real classroom buzz about or that they think everyone should be aware of; the Hmmm… books are the ones that could come off the shelves for a while and go into storage, either because they’ve already been enjoyed by the majority of the class or because they’re no longer being read regularly; and the Goodbye books are the ones they think we should lose, perhaps because they’re in poor condition or because nobody has read them over the past few months.

Before the shelves get refilled, the selections are discussed with the rest of the class to make sure they agree. Each time we do a cull, I try to involve the more vulnerable readers alongside our Reading Champions so that they all have ownership over the books in their classroom. It’s important that these children have a say in the books we have available, as they are often the ones who need the right book to help them reconnect with reading. As an aside, I wouldn’t recommend sorting all the books in the classroom at the same time; I tried it once and it quickly disintegrated into chaos. Year 5/6 pupils also visit other classes further down the school to help them organise their books. Again, we ensure our less engaged readers are part of the process.

I’m always impressed by how well-informed the pupils are. They seem to know exactly what’s hot and what’s not, with comments such as ‘Well, nobody has picked this one up all year’ and ‘We need a set of these for the other classes, they’ll love them as much as we do’. It’s not a perfect system and is certainly no substitute for an experienced librarian who could curate the books effectively, but it helps me keep track of what books and authors are currently popular and provides a clear idea of where we need to improve the reading offer for our pupils. Just don’t try and sort all the books at once. Please.

Each year, we provide work experience opportunities for students from one of the local secondary schools. This year, we were fortunate enough to be visited by a Year 10 pupil, Ella, an extremely passionate reader. Upon her arrival, she immediately started engaging in conversations about books and reading with children in my class, and helped some of them put together that week’s Pupil Recommendation Shelf. Several children also asked her about books she enjoyed reading when she was younger.

I realised how interested my class were in listening to her and how keen they were to find out about her as a reader. It felt as if they had a lot in common, being of similar ages. I asked if she would be willing to talk to the class about some books that had meant a lot to her when she was at primary school. The next day, she came in with a bag full of her favourite books, having written short reviews on their front covers, which was far more than I had expected or hoped for.

She talked to the class about each book, giving a brief summary of the plot and explaining why she had enjoyed it, for almost twenty minutes. She then answered questions from the class about them and about her reading in general. The pupils were extremely engaged throughout, with several of them writing down the books mentioned.

Later that day, she kindly offered to leave the books in school for a couple of weeks so my pupils could borrow them. By the end of the day, the vast majority of the books had been borrowed and were being read with enormous enthusiasm.

After she had left, I asked Ella (via her mum) for her views on the experience:

“I’ve always loved reading; I love how it allows me to escape to a different world, especially when it’s so easy to get caught up in the stresses of being a teenager within today’s society. That’s why, when I found that I was lucky enough to be doing my work experience at Moorlands, I knew I was in for an enjoyable week.

When I arrived, some students explained to me what the ‘recommendations shelf’ was and, after speaking to Mr Biddle, this inspired me to bring my own recommendations into school the following day.

As an older student, further along in my journey of reading for pleasure, I was honoured to share some of the stories that had made me laugh, cry and everything in between. It was so lovely to see the value that the students based on my recommendations, knowing that I had been in their position only a few years ago.

The book that I most wanted to recommend to the students was ‘Windrush Child’ by Benjamin Zephaniah. A few of the students told me how they had heard of the Windrush generation before but weren’t too sure of what it was or what happened during this time. Lots of them noted down the title of this book and instantly became intrigued by the history hidden within this story. When I read it, this tale brought me to tears and I wanted the students to experience the hold that brilliant books can have over us.

One tip that I would give to other students doing something similar is to be honest. Choose books that touched your core and inspired you when you read them. Choose books that you connected with and not what you think others may view as ‘cooler’ than the rest. The chances are that if you connected with a book, then others will be able to do the same.”

Although the idea had taken place almost organically, it was obvious that it had been an enormous success, both for my Year 5/6 pupils and also for Ella. As a result, I contacted the English lead at our local secondary to suggest that we try and repeat the idea and roll it out to other primary schools. It’s a simple, but highly effective, way to build bridges between primaries and secondaries, and to get children reading and talking about books with their peers.

Dear Deer Class,

As you’re leaving Moorlands soon and moving on to the next exciting stage of your life, there’s something really important I need to tell you. Do you realise you’re all readers now, every single one of you? I don’t mean that you all can read, because you’ve been able to do that for a long time. I mean you’re all readers; real, genuine, passionate readers. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it over the past few days and I’m pretty sure I’m right.

How do I know? Because the evidence is everywhere.

Because you start getting ready for story time and moving the cushions to the floor before I’ve even noticed. Because you make wonderful recommendations to each other and talk about books and comics all the time. Because you remind me about Poem of the Day whenever I forget it (which is pretty often) and keep it going when I’m not there. Because you have the confidence to read books by a wide range of authors.

Because you loiter around the desk whenever you see a new brown parcel arrive, just in case it’s a new book (and, let’s be honest, it usually is). Because you come into class early to tell me about the books you’ve read over the weekend or during the holidays. Because you give up your lunchtimes to help keep the school library and Reading Shed running. Because you’re all so keen to have your turn organising the Pupil Recommendations Shelf.

Because you understand that reading is far more than books, and that magazines, newspapers, riddles and jokes all count. Because I can hear you talking about books and making recommendations on the way to assembly, even though I pretend I can’t. Because you’re all so helpful when we’re visited by children from classes further down the school who want a book recommendation. Because the first conversation I have with most of you each morning is about what you’ve read the previous evening. Because whenever I walk past the library on the way to the staffroom, I see you reading stories and poems with younger pupils.

In fact, now I’ve started, let me be even more specific…

Amelie, you’re a reader because you’ve read every single book in the classroom that mentions horse and ponies… and you’ve loved them all. I always enjoy watching your reaction when we get to an emotional part in our class book.

Sorayah, you’re a reader because you know everything there is to know about our class collection of graphic novels. You’ve enjoyed so many over the year. Just as impressively, you always seem to know who else is reading them, how far they’ve got and what their opinions are. Your enthusiasm for New Kid inspired lots of your friends to read it. Thank you for helping keep my book bill down!

Max, you’re a reader because everyone respects your views about books. You’re always so keen to share your recommendations. The way you think so carefully about which books you’re going to read to your reading buddy continually impresses me.

Tianna, you’re a reader because you have an opinion on virtually every book that’s in the classroom and you make me work really hard whenever you want a book recommended to you that you haven’t already read. You’ve also pointed me in the direction of some fantastic books over the year.

Izabella, you’re a reader because your recommendations are outstanding. You have such great empathy and match books to readers so well. You’ve encouraged lots of other Y6 children to read the Can You See Me? series. Thank you.

Riley, you’re a reader because you read the books you enjoy and you don’t mind what other people think about them. You read the Mr Wolf’s Class graphic novel series and you loved them. And then you read them again. And then you read them again. And that’s absolutely fine.

Charlie, you’re a reader because you can remember exactly what happened on page 264 of Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief (and on any page of any other Percy Jackson book). It’s so clear how much you love the series. You’re always keen to help out in the library whenever someone is absent, which is enormously appreciated.

Jude, you’re a reader because you were really keen to continue with the Once series after we read the first one. The fact that you were so honest about how much you enjoyed them and how emotional they made you really impressed me. I’m glad the ones you read lived up to your expectations.

Isla, you’re a reader because you’re incredibly passionate about poetry. I love how you’re always keen to fill the gap whenever there’s a blank day. You’ve also started to widen the range of books you read lately by listening to recommendations from your friends.

Billy, you’re a reader because you just didn’t give up. It took a while, but you found the type of books you love in the end. Keep with it! Your contributions to our class discussions about books are always worth listening to.

Hannah, you’re a reader because you’ve single-handedly kept the Reading Shed going this year. You’re always happy to open it, tidy it up and organise the books in there because you know other people enjoy using it. You love reading and you want others to as well.

Scarlett, you’re a reader because you’re our resident manga expert. So many other children have started reading manga because of your passion and expertise. It’s wonderful that you’re always keen to share the latest series you’ve discovered. You’re definitely an influencer!

Jacob, you’re a reader because the excitement in your face when you found out there was going to be a third Aveline Jones book will always stay with me. You’ve never once forgotten when it’s time to go and read to the younger children.

Megan, you’re a reader because you seek me out every break and lunchtime to tell me all about your latest book. You read widely and with such enthusiasm! You always have a reading plan… this is what I’m reading next and then this is what I’m reading after that.

Lily, you’re a reader because you think very carefully about which picture book you’re going to share with the children in Reception at story time. You’ve done so much to help promote reading around the school over the year and that’s amazing.

Flynn, you’re a reader because you have such a strong individual reading identity. You were one of the first to read the Heartstopper series and, because of that, lots of other people read them too. You’re a brave reader. I love how you want to try new books.

Isaac, you’re a reader because you got so emotionally involved when we read A Street Dog Named Pup together. The way you listened so intensely was amazing. The enthusiasm you have for Poem of the Day has spread to everyone around the class.

Olive, you’re a reader because you live and breathe books. You’ve been a wonderful Reading Champion this year, you’ve given up your Thursdays to open the library and you seem to have read every book in school. Just as importantly, you’ve recommended as many books to me as I have to you over the past few years.

I could go on for a lot longer Deer Class but I won’t. I’ve made my point. Also, the summer holidays are almost upon us and we’ve all got a lot of reading to be getting on with. Have a wonderful break and enjoy your time at secondary school. Find the library, make friends with the librarian, keep reading books, and make the most of every single minute. I’ll miss you all.

Mr Biddle

At a time when the number of children choosing to read is in decline, they offer an alternative route into reading for pupils and staff. Recent books such as Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher and The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow are incredibly popular with primary pupils. For secondary readers, Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence and Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann provide thought-provoking, engaging experiences. Verse novels look different on the page, with the text appearing far less intimidating. There’s white space, breathing room, time to think. For many children, the reduced amount of text makes reading feel possible. At last, here’s a book I might be able to finish! A few years ago, I taught a boy who would often give up on books after a couple of chapters. One afternoon, he picked up Zombierella by Joseph Coelho (which had somehow magically appeared at his desk during lunchtime) as it ‘didn’t look too long’. Within a week, he’d finished the book and was asking for the next in the series.

Verse novels are also very powerful when read aloud, which is one of the reasons why we get through so many. The rhythm of the words lends itself to performance and allows teachers to model fluency and expression. My pupils understand why I might pause, emphasise certain words or read at a different volume or tempo. Seeing the text, either in front of them or on the whiteboard, can quickly help build confidence around reading aloud.

The fact that verse novels contain fewer words certainly doesn’t make them easier texts. They can contain a huge range of emotions and demand that readers – or listeners, if you’re sharing one with a class – pause, think and infer. The conversations we had about The Crossover by Kwame Alexander last year were incredibly thoughtful and reflective. One of my pupils even said, after a tragic event towards the end of the book, “There was more to talk about in that poem than some stories have in a whole chapter.” As the year goes on, there’s an increased shared understanding that one line, sometimes even one word, can mean so many different things and regularly provokes passionate debate.

The majority of verse novels are written in the first person, often from perspectives that are underrepresented in children’s books, and encourage reflection. For pupils developing empathy and exploring their own identity, this can help them realise that they’re not alone and that others share similar worries and fears. They are also valuable from a writing perspective, showing pupils that writing doesn’t have to be long to be effective. Precision and word choice matter.

Marie Zarro, English lead at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and a passionate advocate of verse novels, recently said, “Verse novels can make reading feel easy, with the narrative momentum of a novel and the imagery, rhythm, and emotional depth of poetry. Children can have the satisfaction of finishing a whole book whilst still keeping up with the complexities of the plot. It’s a lovely feeling to read a book from cover to cover and to feel the deep emotional journey of a character.”

A healthy reading diet is about balance and, for me, verse novels sit alongside picturebooks, graphic novels and prose texts, each offering something different and unique. It’s worth trying to find at least one verse novel to share with your class next year. They really come alive when they’re heard and offer children something different and exciting, a new way to think about the impact of a story and the power of words.

As a slight aside, a few months ago, Marie and I decided to set up a pupil-judged verse novel award, with both primary and secondary categories. We were very fortunate to receive sponsorship from both The Literacy Tree and Badger Learning. The interest from schools was overwhelming, with almost 150 applying to take part in the judging process. We’ve currently shortlisted the books which will be sent to schools in September, with the winning books being announced at an online awards ceremony

The headline for this piececomes from my favourite TV show, Firefly, which was cruelly axed after one season. The full quote is ‘No power in the ‘verse can stop me’, which doesn’t quite work. But I was determined to try and squeeze it in somehow.

Having talked to several secondary school librarians and English teachers, I’ve found that there is clearly an enormous amount of outstanding work already happening. There is also widespread acknowledgement that, although using form time for reading and talking about books is a valuable starting point, more is needed.

A functioning school library is crucial. It is often referred to as the heart of the school and as a ‘welcoming, inclusive space for pupils who need a listening ear’, as well as being somewhere to host breakfast and after-school clubs for children who might otherwise lack access to reading material. Many libraries are open at break and lunch times for book clubs and independent reading time, which also provide children with a great opportunity to form new friendships.

Holding departmental meetings in the library and giving the librarian a regular slot to talk about relevant books is an effective strategy to increase staff awareness of what is on offer. When it is the turn of the art department, the librarian could share biographies of famous artists and books about art techniques, with teachers taking them back to their classrooms to introduce to pupils. This would allow a culture of recommendations to develop more widely across the school and not just be the responsibility of a few staff.

Most secondary schools are aware of the value of visits from authors, poets and illustrators, and try to budget for at least one each year. However, effective communication between different departments is essential in order to make them successful. If the school has organised a visit from a writer who specialises in historical fiction, the history department needs to be informed about it well in advance so they can support with publicising the event and following it up afterwards. It is no good pinging them a quick email on the morning of the event. Providing a copy of their latest book to staff across the school and encouraging it to be used and referred to in a range of subjects is a simple way to raise the profile of a visit.

Finding a few minutes every couple of weeks to read and talk about relevant books in all subjects helps get the message through that reading is essential to success in education as a whole and not just in English. The pressure of the curriculum is an obvious barrier here, but it could be as simple as sharing book lists (with cover photos), creating a display of relevant books or talking to the pupils about what they’re currently reading.

A lot of secondary schools use form time for reading and give the pupils ownership over what they read. Graphic novels, manga, contemporary poetry, magazines and lightweight non-fiction are all popular so making a couple of boxes of these available in the classroom is an easy win.

Ensuring there is a Reading for Pleasure section in the school newsletter allows parents to stay informed about what is happening in the library and across the school. A combination of book recommendations and details about events, alongside an occasional piece of evidence about the importance of reading, provides roughly the right balance. If there is also a staff newsletter, links to good examples of research-informed practice about reading help keep everyone up-to-date.

It almost goes without saying - but I’m saying it - that a librarian is critical to the success of all this. Their role must be genuinely valued, with unwavering support from the leadership team. The librarian needs to be one of the members of staff that Year 6 children meet on their transition days as the librarian will be a central figure on their secondary school journey.

For secondary schools looking to embed Reading for Pleasure even further, the Open University RfP team run a successful Building a Culture of Reading programme for KS3, aligned to the National Curriculum, the DfE Reading Framework and the Education Endowment Foundation school improvement process. Full details here: https://ourfp.org/schools-teachers/rsp-ks3-jan-2025-new.

Thank you to Julianne Coggan (Priory Pembroke Academy), Rebecca Rouillard (Kingston Educational Trust) and Valerie Dewhurst (Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School) for their help with this article. Their knowledge of how RfP works in secondary schools is far superior to mine.