Building whole-school reading communities - National Literacy Trust

Daily Reader
West Thornton Primary
School is a reading school
10
Case studies
By sharing good
practice, we can build on
what other schools have
learnt and minimise
additional workload.
Spreading the word
about case studies and
good ideas offers the
chance to learn about
what has worked well in
one school and develop
activities to suit
your school.
Di Pumphrey, deputy
head at West Thornton
Primary School in
Croydon – Reading
Connects primary
school of the year
2006/2007 – explains
how making reading
more visible has had
a dramatic effect on
the school’s reading
culture.
When pupils come to
school and when parents
visit us, we want them
to know that we value
reading. The importance
of making reading for
enjoyment visible has
been one of the tenets
in developing our
reading culture.
In raising the profile
of West Thornton as
a reading school, we
find that it is often the
simplest things, and
those that have very
little financial demand,
that have the most
impact. For example,
the Get Caught Reading
campaign has been
an easy, fun way of
highlighting readers all
over the school. All staff,
including support, kitchen
and office staff and
the caretaker, feature
on posters around the
school with information
about their current read.
We also invite pupils
to recommend a book
to popular characters,
whose posters are all
over the school. The
toilet doors even have
popular book characters
painted on them!
We are confident that
our children and their
families recognise that
West Thornton is a
reading school; that
reading is not confined
to book corners but
at the heart of our
curriculum. We have
lit a spark amongst the
children, and are working
to ensure that it keeps
burning.
Practical ideas for raising the
profile of reading in school
Extreme reading
Bridge the reading gap during the holidays and challenge
pupils to have themselves photographed reading in the
most exotic or bizarre locations. Make a display of the
images in the school corridors or foyer.
Babysitting boxes
Create babysitting boxes that can be lent out to pupils
to encourage them to read with their younger siblings.
Fill the boxes with any unwanted children’s books that
families may have at home. Also include tips for pupils
on how to share rhymes and stories.
ICT
Use ICT to help promote reading – set homepages
to author websites and get pupils to design bookrelated
screensavers to spread the word about
recommended reads.
Name classrooms after authors or poets
Name each of the classrooms after well-known children’s
authors or poets. Encourage pupils to explore their
particular nominated author/poet and make displays and
act out their stories in assembly.
Real men read…
Use photographs of boys, male members of staff and men
from the local community reading, with quotes about
what they read and why. Use these materials to create a
‘real men read’ poster or calendar campaign.
www.readingconnects.org.uk