In September 2018 Moreton School became a Reading School. We believe that reading cannot only help your child reach their full potential in school but research shows that people who read also have improved chances beyond school. We have spent the last academic year giving every opportunity we could to improve our students’ life chances and to open up the wonderful world of reading to them.
Research carried out by the Literacy Trust in 2018 shows that students who read have better mental health than those who don’t. Furthermore, those children who read for pleasure at home have a reading age – on average – 3 years above their peers who do not read in their own time.
With this in mind we knew we created a reading culture at Moreton School. We needed to give our student time, space and every opportunity we could to read. We introduced Curriculum Reading Time giving every student in year 7-9 a chance to read in a lesson once a week; as from September 2019 this is for all students’ year 7-10. This is such a lovely time for staff and students to read together, share recommendations, and discuss what they love (or hate) about the book they are reading.
One of the most successful strategies for engaging readers has been our Whole Year Reading days. Our days in September 2019 saw us read; The Boy at the Back of the Class, Flying Tips for Flightless Birds, Home Girl, and The Poet X. The students have loved making links from their books to their different subjects. We are already trying to find the perfect books for the next days!
We are committed to creating spaces for students to read and this has inspired the transformation of our school library. We also have a small library in reception and intend for reading spaces to grow throughout the school.
To achieve academic success, reading is a crucial, which is why encouraging reading at home, as well as school is so important. If you would like support with how to read to your child at home please do not hesitate to get in touch.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
You can read our first blog about why we became a reading school here.
In our second blog update we write about why our whole year reading days are so important for engaging students.
Our last blog update was about where the reading programme is one year later.
