Reading for pleasure
Reading for pleasure opens new worlds for children. It gives them the opportunity to use their imagination, explore new ideas, visit new places and meet new characters.
Reading for pleasure also supports children’s well‑being and empathy. It helps them develop their understanding of who they are, while gaining insight into the lives, experiences and viewpoints of others.
Research shows that reading for pleasure is strongly linked to children’s success throughout their time at school and beyond.
At Beverley St Nicholas Primary School, we strongly promote the importance of reading for pleasure and actively foster a genuine love of reading in all our children.
Daily Reading in Class
Daily Class Storytime is an essential part of our timetable. During these sessions, teachers model fluent, expressive reading using high‑quality texts selected from our Reading Spines.
Each year group has its own carefully chosen Reading Spine, made up of books selected to match the age, interests and developmental stage of the children. These books are kept within classrooms, where they are:
- Available for children to read independently
- Used by class teachers to read aloud to the children, often at the end of the school day
The Reading Spines consists of over 80 high‑quality texts that children will experience during their time at Beverley St Nicholas. They have been carefully designed to:
- Capture children’s imagination
- Develop rich vocabulary
- Expose children to a wide range of authors, genres and text types
- There is clear progression from Foundation Stage through to Year 6, and we believe this approach nurtures a lasting love of reading.
Whole Class Reading
- Reading is prioritised; writing is not the focus
- Talk is actively encouraged, allowing children to share ideas, make connections and express opinions
- Written responses take place 1–2 times per week within reading sessions, where appropriate
Reading Beyond the Classroom
- All children visit the school library weekly, giving them regular opportunities to explore and choose books independently
- The library includes a range of children’s magazines, supporting reading for pleasure in different formats
- Each classroom has an inviting book corner, promoting access to books throughout the day
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In EYFS, books are available in all areas of the classroom. For example, if shells are part of continuous provision, a non‑fiction book about shells may be available alongside them
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The St Nicks Swap Shop has books available for children to ‘buy’ with their dojo points further highlighting the importance we place on reading
Reading at Home
Enriching Reading Experiences
To further inspire our children, we host author visits each year, giving pupils the opportunity to meet real writers, hear stories first‑hand and develop excitement about books and storytelling.
Year Group Recommended Reading Lists
“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book yet.”
– J K Rowling
Our aim is to ensure that we put fantastic books in the hands of our children.
To support teachers, parents and children in making their book selections, we have put together a recommended reading list for each year group. We have endeavored to create an exciting and appealing list of books to appeal to many tastes.
The lists include a range of genres including fiction, poetry, graphic novels and a range of amazing non fiction books. When selecting these titles, we have looked to include a diverse range of newly released titles which reflect the interests of our children.
We have also included a number of titles to widen the reader choices of our children and have included recommendations to support our school drivers Aspirations, Global Citizenship and Health and Wellbeing.
