Transcript

NICK:

So getting students and staff involved in the promotion of reading can be very powerful, and it can motivate even the most reluctant readers to pick up a book, especially if they're not the usual suspects. So PE teachers can be great reading role models, but there might be others in school as well that students might not expect, perhaps maths or science teachers.

Students can be good role models for their peers as well. So you might think about including sports captains or students with SEN as your reading champions. It needs to be visible as well. You can get students to help make posters, take part in reading assemblies, or make videos that you can put on your library management system or on your website.

You can get teachers to put pictures of the books that they're currently reading on their classroom door or encourage them to put an "I am currently reading" on the bottom of their emails. But whatever you do, you need to keep things fresh to keep the profile high. So think about having weekly updates from your reading role models, keep updating posters and signs, promote new books when you get them in, perhaps tie into a film or a TV show that's out, and maybe even have a champion reader of the week as an incentive.

Once you've done the hard work of getting everyone on board with reading, it really is worth the investment. The library will then be a busy, active space at the heart of the school.