For those students who struggle with reading, the transition to secondary school can see a rapid decline in engagement and enjoyment.
By Heather Grainger – Secondary School Librarian of the Year
It represents a change when children no longer have to read daily or weekly and they no longer have teachers checking their reading record – when it comes to picking up a book, from Year 7, they can largely be doing this on their own. It is therefore crucial that all students are encouraged to read from the moment they step through the door.
The work we do at Weatherhead High School aims to encourage students to see themselves as readers and help them develop a love of reading. We now have many students, including our less-able learners, who can’t wait to visit the library and pick up a book.
We’ve developed six key priorities that can help others experience the same success:
Create a student-focused safe space
First and foremost, students must feel safe and included before they can start to engage with reading. Our library provides a different atmosphere to a classroom, with curved tables and a selection of different chairs, and is open to students outside of lesson times, helping to establish it as a relaxing and fun space.
For all of our students, but especially for those who are less-able or less positive readers, it has been hugely beneficial to use the library for activities that go beyond just books and reading. We hold frequent free lunchtime and after-school events, with everything from crafts and games to fancy dress competitions and animal encounters. This allows our struggling readers to feel excited about the space and encourages them to participate in more reading-focused activities as well.
An example is our ‘Poetry Slam’, where students perform poems aloud. This excites students of all abilities as there is never the question of whether a student is allowed or able to participate. This is mirrored in our writing competitions, where every age and ability is represented in the winners’ lists.
Also, it is important to ensure the staff who are in the library have the time to talk. I am honoured to be the school librarian. My role is very different to that of a teacher, and time spent in the library can hopefully feel free from tests and targets.
Whether your school has a dedicated librarian or not, having interested and sympathetic adults in the library helps to create a sense of inclusion and safety. Students can chat with staff more informally, speaking passionately about their interests, and sharing their triumphs and disasters.
Address specific needs
As we all recognise, it is essential to address any specific needs of individual students that might be creating barriers to reading so working closely with the SEND department is crucial. We have a whole-school database, which includes SEND, medical and EAL information, as well as links to general and student-specific advice.
Our teaching groups are arranged by ability, so it is possible to differentiate the format of our library lessons. This might mean focusing more on a class read, allowing modelled fluent reading or clarification in comprehension.
The time can also be used to highlight books that might be more suitable, encouraging books that will not be unmanageable and addressing any needs that require specific consideration.
Provide and curate choices
Choice is so important for reading for pleasure, and taking ownership of reading is vital for students. However, for our less able learners, making those decisions can feel overwhelming. Part of the librarian’s job is to ensure that there are suitable and engaging books for all abilities and that these books can be seen and found.
When curating displays, I include a variety of books – fiction and non-fiction, HiLo books and quick reads, short stories, graphic novels, ‘as-seen-on-screen’ etc. This means any student can hopefully find something that not only interests them, but that is manageable.
The library houses a large collection of HiLo and quick read books for our lower reading ages, and easy but popular nonfiction which helps engage our less-able readers. Induction lessons provide students with the skills to find these books for themselves, but having a knowledgeable librarian means help is always at hand.
Acknowledge barriers and build confidence
One induction lesson that has a great impact is ‘the beginner-to-expert pathway’. We compare a simple piece of piano music to a more interesting but complex piece, discussing how a new player would progress from one to the other.
Students realise that developing a skill takes time, patience and practice and that small steps are needed rather than huge jumps. We then map this onto reading and share ideas about different barriers to enjoying reading e.g. time constraints, lack of space, unsuitable books, and how we can overcome them together.
It’s also important to constantly build students’ confidence. Celebrating all reading helps to encourage more reading, and all students need to be reminded that they are readers and that all reading is positive.
This ties in with the importance of choice, and means that students are never negatively judged for the reading they enjoy. We work with students to find books that interest them, which are also at a level they can read independently, and then make suggestions for future reading to stretch them further.
This support is crucial, as reading confidence can easily be damaged by constantly attempting books that are too challenging, but it can easily grow with the sense of achievement that comes from successful reading.
Highlight the social aspects of reading
Reading can often feel very lonely, in a world that increasingly values social engagement. It is important to make sure our young people still see a social value in reading, especially for those who are reluctant to read or who find reading challenging.
By placing reading alongside other recreational activities, it can help them to feel more positively about books, and more likely to choose to read.
Finding time to talk about books, share thoughts and opinions, and discuss new books is an essential part of our library lessons. We talk about books from childhood, and so many of our less-able readers take great delight in sharing the books they loved when they were younger. Reading together with a friend can also be a valuable experience, and we still encourage reading with adults at home, as well as reading to younger siblings.
The internet and social media also play a part in encouraging reading, with trends like ‘BookTok’ driving more teenagers to read, and creating communities that celebrate books and associated films/TV shows. Engaging with these trends is important for staff to understand the interests of our students and help to provide books that might tap into these interests.
Ensure all students know where the library is!
Finally, ensure everyone knows where the library is! All our Year 7 classes have weekly lessons in the library and at the start of the school year. These times are used to provide a full induction, so that students know how to use the space and the resources available, and can ask questions and explore.
New students are also offered opportunities to visit the library, and older students often have start-of-year refresher sessions to remind them of what is on offer.
In addition to all the work and research that is being done to help increase literacy across all subjects, it is still so important that there is a focus on developing our young people as ‘readers’ in a more general sense.
If our least-able students can engage with reading for pleasure, then they will start to see improvements in their reading ability right across the curriculum, as well as ultimately becoming more empathetic, knowledgeable, curious and confident adults.
Heather Grainger is the librarian at Weatherhead High School in Wallasey. Heather won Secondary School Librarian of the Year at the recent SLA (School Library Association) Awards. For further information visit: www.sla.org.uk/awards
