We know that a love for reading has a direct impact on our pupils’ ability to go on to enjoy lives of choice and opportunity. Pupil exam results and social skills are positively impacted by having confidence in reading and writing.

At Reach Academy Hanworth Park, we have made space for the intentional celebration of reading and opportunities for enjoyable pupil-led discussion. This leads to pupil accountability – key to success in and out of the classroom.

Morning Meet

Every week, we run an English ‘Morning Meet’. Pupils and teachers come to the front of the room to recommend books they have read and enjoyed; the children are keen to be selected to do this and it has itself served as a reward for those who are actively talking to others about what they are reading (we are always listening out for this!).

The rest of the session involves a quiz and discussion based on the chapters of the book from our reading scheme (most recently Pig Heart Boy) which the pupils have read at home that week. We choose questions which I know will encourage debate and our Reach non-verbal hand signals (a Reach post for another time…) provide a way for the whole year group to engage when someone is sharing their opinion. The enthusiastic book talk taking place in these sessions has been joyous to watch and pupils regularly continue these discussions amongst themselves at breaktime.

Family Dining

Family dining, a family-style lunch where pupils practice key social skills while eating together, provides another opportunity to hold pupils accountable for the reading they do. Every week during lunch, pupils are asked to share the non-fiction reading they have done with their table. Pupils know they need to share the title of their reading alongside a specific fact – some of our pupils even bring the magazine or newspaper article into school. Teachers then invite pupils to share with the whole year group at the end of lunchtime. This routine has meant pupils are motivated to complete their non-fiction reading weekly in time for this lunchtime discussion. 

Year 7 are encouraged to hold themselves accountable for the reading they do. We tell all pupils the benefits of reading outside of school. Children have created their own weekly timetable where they decide which days and times they will read each text type. They keep these timetables at home and we ask families to refer back to them regularly. 

While many of our pupils have internalised this and really (re)discovered the joy of reading, there is no doubt that some are reading because they are told to. This is okay too – for now. 

We will continue to develop an appreciation for reading through our Reading expectations, schedule and family engagement.