How clubs ignite children's passion for reading
Emily Rogers
Monday, August 31, 2015
Chatterbooks scheme improves outcomes for primary school children by boosting their confidence in reading and enjoyment of books.
PROJECT
Chatterbooks West Midlands Schools Project
FUNDING
£16,000, including £10,000 from The Mercers' Charitable Foundation to run the pilot. Training costs for schools are £150 for a staff member to deliver a reading club and £25 for a toolkit
BACKGROUND
The best way to turn children into confident readers is to instil in them a passion for reading, according to Department for Education (DfE) guidance published this spring.
The Reading Agency's Chatterbooks scheme sets out to do just that. The charity started running reading groups for children in libraries in 2001. At the end of 2013, it decided to test the approach in schools with funding from The Mercers' Charitable Foundation.
ACTION
The pilot involved 13 West Midlands schools: four in Sandwell, four in Walsall and five in Telford & Wrekin.
Teachers and school library staff received training. Teachers selected children who were either reluctant readers, below average reading ability or disadvantaged, and schools got their groups up and running by the end of the summer term. Schools ran two clubs each for a total of about 25 children, usually in year 5. The clubs were generally run weekly by teaching assistants after school or during lunch break.
Sessions involve children sharing details about the books they have been reading, followed by a creative activity. The group leader or a child then reads out a section of a book to stimulate discussion. Children choose more books to take home.
The Reading Agency provided a monthly themed activity pack, including book suggestions and activity ideas. School library services put together crates of books for children to select from.
The Reading Agency has now been contracted by the DfE to establish Chatterbooks clubs for 4,000 Key Stage 2 children in 200 primaries over this academic year. All primaries can access free online resources to set up their own clubs. "This will have a lasting impact on children's attitudes to reading," predicts Chatterbooks programme manager Lynne Taylor.
OUTCOME
A survey devised by Coventry University's Centre for Research in Psychology, Behaviour and Achievement found a significant increase in pupils' reading motivation. Participants' average total score increased by 49 points over the year of the programme from 111 among 227 children in May last year to 160 among 168 children 12 months later.
In response to the statement: "I would read even if I didn't have to for school", children scored an average of 2.2 points out of five before the programme, which rose to 4.2 afterwards.
More children also reported enjoying reading books, being excited by reading and feeling motivated to read more.
If you think your project is worthy of inclusion, email supporting data to derren.hayes@markallengroup.com
