Reading for pleasure is the single most important indicator of a child’s success (OECD 2002)

We value reading for pleasure highly and work hard as a school to grow our Reading for Pleasure pedagogy.

Our highly qualified librarian (Mrs Harris) supports children daily in making choices with their reading and her passion for reading is infectious.  Mrs HArris has engaged in research at Bishop Gilpin to support reading for pleasure, you can read it here, or via www.greatschoollibraries.org.uk

Mrs Harris carefully selects texts for our library and children are supported to choose books to read at home and in school. 

Some of the ways we support reading for pleasure:

• We read to children every day. We choose these books carefully as we want children to experience a wide range of books, including books that reflect the children at Bishop Gilpin and our local community as well as books that open windows into other worlds and cultures.
• Every classroom has an inviting book corner that encourages a love for reading. We curate these books and talk about them to entice children to read a wide range of books
• In Nursery/Reception, children have access to the reading corner every day in their free flow time and the books are continually refreshed
• Children from Nursery/Reception onwards have a home reading record where parents/carers records comments to share with the adults in school. School adults will keep a record of the books children are reading in school, and will contact parents if there is a concern regarding a child’s reading
• As the children progress through the school, they are encouraged to write their own comments and keep a list of the books/authors that they have read
• The school library is made available for classes to use and 
• We use 1:1 reading mentors to support children 
• Children across the school have regular opportunities to engage with a wide range of Reading for Pleasure events (e.g. World Book Day, author visits and workshops, Wimbledon BookFest).

View more detail in our children's reading experiences by year group.

An overview of which authors, books and texts are covered in each year group can be found on our Reading Curriculum Overview.

Parents/carers can learn more about supporting reading at home through our presentation to parents.  If you would like to watch videos to learn about how to support your child with reading, please visit the Little Wandle YouTube channel.

 ‘The will influences the skill and vice versa.’ (OECD 2010)