PRIMARY NEWS
BookTrust finds fewer primary school children reading for pleasure
New research from UK children’s reading charity BookTrust has revealed that childhood reading enjoyment declines as children progress through primary school.
The findings from BookTrust’s family survey data published this week, found that while 33 percent of seven-year-olds say they ‘love’ reading, this drops to 29% at age 10 and further declines to just a quarter (25 percent) by age 11.
The survey results come shortly after it has been revealed that reading achievement for school pupils in England is higher than the international average but, shockingly, ranks in the bottom third of countries worldwide for childhood reading enjoyment.
Almost 3000 primary school teachers in England were also surveyed by BookTrust. The survey found that teachers’ concern about levels of reading enjoyment among their pupils increases as children progress through primary school. Around 48% of Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 teachers express concern over reading enjoyment levels in their class, this continues to rise to 63% of Key Stage 2 teachers. BookTrust research shows that children who enjoy reading tend to read by choice more often, for longer, and become more skilled readers and that focusing solely on functional literacy risks depriving children of the wider benefits of reading.
Children who read regularly experience a wide range of immediate and lifelong benefits. These include improved speech and language skills, higher academic achievement, better mental well-being, enhanced social skills, and stronger relationships. Reading also fosters imagination, empathy, and creativity, it’s therefore vital that strategies to promote children’s reading enjoyment are prioritised.
Sustainability programme set to inspire primary pupils in West Yorkshire
The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, has invested in a brand- new sustainability programme designed to ‘inspire thousands of young people’ across West Yorkshire.
The Green Innovators primary programme is designed to engage, inspire and educate young people about future career opportunities within the green economy, as well as enhance their confidence and attitudes to learning. It will encourage participants to develop their sustainability knowledge, taking part in projects designed to inspire new and exciting ideas to help the planet.
The programme will bring together 100 educators and more than 120 volunteers from key businesses to inspire and engage over 4,000 primary school students aged 7-11 from 30 different schools across the region. Parental and carer involvement is also highly encouraged to help embed learning throughout the school ecosystem.
Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) specialist Ahead Partnership has designed this collaborative programme with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to feed into its wider ‘Growing Talent Greener Futures’ programme, a multi-year scheme which aims to connect secondary school students with the green agenda.
As well as boosting interest in careers that will support a greener future, the aim of the Green Innovators primary initiative is to break down gender and social stereotypes and provide engaging activities which connect young people to opportunities. It will launch this academic year and will run until March 2026.
Ahead Partnership and the Combined Authority are currently encouraging businesses from all areas of West Yorkshire’s sustainability sector to get involved by putting forward volunteers for the programme.
Discovery Education unveils learning resources to support dyslexic pupils
Global edtech leader Discovery Education has unveiled a collection of high- quality digital resources and learning tools to support teachers and pupils during this month’s Dyslexia
Awareness Week (7-13 October) and beyond.
Available via Discovery Education’s award-winning DoodleLearning app and daily learning platform Espresso, the tools and resources include special features to engage and support pupils with dyslexia while raising awareness of neurodiversity.
Dyslexia Awareness Week is an annual event organised by the British Dyslexia Association. The 2024 theme, ‘What’s Your Story?’, invites people to share their experiences of dyslexia – to raise awareness and challenge misconceptions.
Discovery Education has provided primary schools with a range of high-quality resources within Espresso, including:
• New Dyslexia Awareness Week Lessons: exploring how dyslexia affects young people
• Classroom Activities: helping children see dyslexia differently • Discussion Prompts: deepening pupils’ understanding of dyslexia
Additional high-quality digital resources from Discovery Education that support learners with dyslexia include:
• DoodleLearning by Discovery Education, with a range of features to remove barriers to learning. The award-winning apps use visual explanations to explore topics in Maths and English. DoodleLearning gives each child a personalised programme of work, perfectly pitched to their individual needs.
• Espresso by Discovery Education, with multiple accessibility features, including an immersive reader tool. Bite-sized video content helps pupils access learning in different ways, while audio dictation lifts learning off the page for learners with dyslexia.
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www.education-today.co.uk October 2024
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