Best Practice

Reading for pleasure: Ideas and approaches

Literacy and numeracy
One of the most important tasks facing primary schools is to instil a love of reading in their pupils. Lucy Neath looks at how schools across the Mowbray Education Trust have approached this often challenging job
Image: Adobe Stock -

For many children and even adults, sitting down with a good book is perhaps one of the most enjoyable activities in their daily lives.

However, concerningly we are seeing a decrease in reading frequency and enjoyment among children in England, with National Literacy Trust survey data showing that just 28% of pupils read every day and less than half report that they enjoy reading (Clark et al, 2023).

As the trust lead for reading at the Mowbray Education Trust and a long-time reading advocate, these figures are deeply worrying to me. Throughout my career as an educator, I have seen first-hand how important reading is for young people. Not only does it help develop strong literacy skills, but it ignites the imagination and encourages pupils to explore new and exciting topics, often beyond subject boundaries.

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