By Mrs Broadis – Head of English

There has been some shocking news this week, news that has been reported in all media outlets in the UK, which has sent shock waves through various government departments, and has provoked numerous commentators to add their opinions on social media. It has since been eclipsed by the election of Trump as President of the USA, yet on Tuesday, the findings from the National Literacy Trust’s annual reading survey were all over the nation’s newspapers.

According to national data collected by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) – to which we, here at Edge Grove, contributed – reading for pleasure by children aged 8 to 18 has hit an all-time low.  The NLT began collecting data 19 years ago in 2005, and has seen the biggest drop-off this year with a decline of 8.8 percentage points; now in 2024, only 1 in 3 children enjoy reading in their spare time. 

I am pleased to report that data collected by the NLT from Edge Grove bucks the national trend, with over 76% of Year 3 and 4 children finding significant enjoyment in reading and over 62% of children in Years 5 to 8.  In fact, fewer than 5% of pupils here at Edge Grove don’t like reading at all – a figure that I am constantly working on!

Years 3 and 4

Years 5 to 8

Years 5 to 8 were also asked how long they spent reading (this was not a question on the Y3/4 survey), and I was delighted to see that about 80% of pupils are reading for a period of time that will have a real impact on their understanding, progress and wellbeing.

I raised one of those children in the 1-10 minute category, and when a child is not keen on reading, it usually means the cognitive load that reading demands, outweighs the pleasure they get from the activity.  That being said, I have never met a child who doesn’t like a story, and so with my eldest son, I had to read to him – for years! Reading to children (even those who are fluent readers), is essential; as adults, we can share texts that lie beyond a child’s ability to read, but not their ability to understand, and so we can help them meet challenging literature that adds new words to their vocabulary, and new content for them to draw on in their own creative work.

It is easy to worry as a parent about our children’s reading; it is after all fundamental to making good academic progress.  I read a wonderful poem in a recently published poetry anthology by Sarah Ziman (which I thoroughly recommend), which reminds us that the wealth of reading material modern children can access has never been broader. We can grow children’s confidence in reading by acknowledging that there is value in reading all sorts of different things: magazines, graphic novels, websites, even the back of the cereal packet! 

You Are A Reader by Sarah Ziman

Barack Obama, whose erudition we will no doubt miss in the years to come, said that reading is the gateway to all other learning. In order to support your children’s reading journeys, I will be in the Sports Hall at the FOEG Christmas event on Friday 6th December selling new books at discounted prices. Mrs B’s Book Stall promises to be bigger and better than ever!  I look forward to seeing you there!