Best Practice

Choosing to read – what the evidence tells us...

Literacy and numeracy
Literacy and numeracy are critical skills for pupils to develop if they are to reach their potential and achieve rewarding outcomes during and after education. Liz Twist highlights the evidence showing why reading – including reading out loud – must be at the heart of the curriculum in the primary years

Children who enjoy reading tend to read more frequently than those who don’t – and they are better at it.

There’s nothing unexpected in that statement and nothing to disagree with. We can always find exceptions but, yes, it’s a virtuous circle. Reading is generally accepted to be “a good thing”, and each time a child chooses to curl up with a book, they are practising and improving their reading skills.

The national curriculum in England is explicit: “All pupils must be encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum.” (DfE, 2014)

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