Core framework

Key Area 1.2.1 – Reading Leadership Group

Form a reading leadership group who input into your action plan and meet regularly to discuss progress and ideas, ensuring learners are at the heart of your Reading Schools development, all year groups have some sort or representation, staff and learners work together to discuss and implement changes.

The leadership group must:

• Include learners and the school librarian, if the school has one. It can also include teachers, support staff and Senior Management Team

• Meet regularly to discuss and implement plans

Key Area 1.2.2 – Learner role modelling

Learners visibly sharing reading with each other, peers supporting each other to develop their reading identities, peers sharing reading recommendations.

Learners should act as reading role models in one of the below ways, or in another way that suits their setting:

• Wearing ‘Ask me what I’m reading’ badges / lanyards

• Talking about reading materials they’ve read in assembly / at whole-school occasions

• Creating learner-led recommendation lists for display

• Making learner-led shelf labels or signs

• Putting recommendation notes / bookmarks in reading materials

• Making recommendation videos

• Making book trailers / vlogs

• Making learner-led reading materials lists for staff

Key Area 1.2.3 – Staff being seen as readers themselves

Staff sharing the things they enjoy reading, staff across the school demonstrate how they are readers themselves, the normalisation of reading for pleasure as an activity for everyone.

Staff should act as reading role models in one of the below ways, or in another way that suits their setting:

• Displaying signs

• Wearing lanyards or badges

• Talking about reading materials they’ve read in assembly / at whole-school occasions / in a weekly class session

• Giving learners opportunities to see them reading

• Having 'guess the reader' displays with photos of staff favourite reading materials or bookshelves

• Taking part in social media reading challenges, eg. 'post a photo of your reading lunch'

• Sharing reading materials recommendation videos

Key Area 1.2.4 – Staff development

Ensuring staff across the school understand why reading for pleasure is important, building staff skill in supporting reading for pleasure initiatives.

Schools should support staff development by completing both of the below mandatory actions:

• Key contact attending a Reading Schools CLPL session / webinar

• Staff are using Scottish Book Trust resources to widen knowledge around reading for pleasure

Key Area 1.2.5 – Staff knowledge of contemporary children’s literature

Developing staff across the school’s knowledge of contemporary children literature, helping staff to be able to recommend and discuss a range of reading materials relevant to the needs, interests and experiences of all their learners.

Schools should make staff aware of contemporary children’s literature by completing the below mandatory action:

• Sharing new book lists and other appropriate resources
  

Key Area 1.3.1 – Whole-school action plan

Submitting an action plan detailing the aims for progressing the reading culture, giving a structure to your Reading Schools development, ensuring learners are fully involved in the choices made, monitoring progress against chosen areas.

The action plan must:

• Be agreed by the reading leadership group

• Confirm that reading for pleasure is a school wide priority, e.g. adding it to the school improvement plan

• Include plans to check progress

Key Area 1.3.2 – School environment

Creating pleasurable and relaxed areas for reading enjoyment in partnership with learners, demonstrating visually that reading for pleasure has high status in the school.

Schools should provide appealing and relaxing reading areas in collaboration with learners, and use displays to promote reading in one of the below ways, or in another way that suits their setting:

• Having appealing reading areas throughout the school, eg. in shared spaces / corridors / within your school library area

• Creating classroom book corners / reading areas designed by learners (possibly as part of an enterprise project)

• Providing learners with cushions / encouraging them to turn over their chairs and relax when they're reading

• Creating themed displays of reading materials

• Displaying new reading material suggestions, eg. 'Hot Books' / 'Bookflix'

• Having displays about the power of reading

Key Area 1.5.1 – Access to high-quality books

Ensuring learners have access to a wide variety of up-to-date reading materials relevant to their needs, interests and experiences, encouraging learners to try new things and gathering learners' opinions about the types of reading materials they would like to see in the school.

Schools should make sure that learners have access to contemporary and diverse reading materials relevant to their needs, interests and experiences by completing the below four mandatory actions:

• Providing learners with access to a school or public library ­­– this could take the form of class / group book boxes or a 'personal shopping experience' using library catalogues

• Involving learners in the auditing and selection of books and other reading materials

• Regularly updating reading materials to ensure they are contemporary, diverse and relevant to the needs, interests, languages, cultural identity and experiences of learners

• Encouraging learners to broaden their reading experience through a wide variety of genres (you could use Bookzilla App on iPads)

Key Area 2.2.1 – Regular opportunities to read for pleasure

Ensuring that regular reading for pleasure takes place, reading is integrated into the school day/week and not just used to fill time or to reward good work, demonstrating that reading is considered important within the school.

Schools should ensure that all learners have regular time to read texts of their own choosing in one of the below ways, or in another way that suits their setting:

• Having regular reading at registration / transition times / other times as appropriate

• Holding spontaneous DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read)

• Including reading for pleasure time in home learning

Key Area 2.2.2 – Interdisciplinary book projects

Ensuring that readers are able to respond to books in creative and cross-curricular ways, and demonstrating to learners that reading for pleasure is relevant and useful outside of literacy / English.

Schools should use book projects to inspire classes to read by completing the below mandatory action:

• Primary – ensuring every learner does one interdisciplinary project per year

• Secondary – ensuring every learner in S1–3 does one project per year (this can be in English lessons)

Key Area 2.3.1 – Modelling reading behaviours

Facilitating opportunities for learners to hear stories being read aloud, modelling of reading mechanics for inexperienced readers and allowing access to texts currently beyond their reading level, group immersion in great stories/texts and opportunities for discussion and new book discovery.

At primary level schools should complete the below mandatory action:

• Class teachers to be routinely reading aloud to their class
  

At secondary level we recognise that it may be logistically difficult for staff to routinely read aloud to learners, but would like to see evidence of staff supporting learners to access the joy of reading and stories in one of the below ways, or in another way that suits their setting:

• Teachers reading aloud to learners when possible

• Sharing stories / reading aloud to learners online

• Providing access to audiobooks, videos etc.

• Holding special storytelling events

Key Area 2.3.2 – Staff led meaningful conversations around books

Getting to know learners reading habits and preferences, ensuring staff are able to recommend a range of relevant reading, developing staff-learner book- centred dialogue, encouraging learners to try new things.

Staff should ensure they know about learners' interests and have regular conversations with them about their personal reading in one of the below ways, or in another way that suits their setting:

• Chatting with individual learners during whole-class reading time / other times as appropriate

• Supporting individual learners with strategies for choosing a book they might like during library periods

• Providing regular reading recommendations for individual learners in line with their interests

Key Area 2.3.3 – Creating learner social networks

Developing peer-to-peer reading chat, encouraging learners to discuss and evaluate texts amongst themselves, developing individual reading identities and helping learners to share reading materials they enjoy.

Schools should allocate time for all learners to chat about reading materials with each other in one of the below ways, or in another way that suits their setting:

• Having a set time for peer discussion following ERIC time / other times as appropriate

• Introducing book speed-dating

• Playing Book Jenga to spark conversations around books

• Pairing up learners to chat about what they are currently reading – this could include famous character duo cards to randomise pairings

Key Area 2.3.4 – Opportunities for learners to respond to what they’re reading

Allowing learners to express and share what they think about their reading and creative expression of individual reading identities.

Schools should allow all learners to respond to what they’re reading in a variety of engaging ways that best suit their needs in one of the below ways, or in another way that suits their setting:

• Reading journal or drawing

• Blog, vlog or book trailer

• Social media post

• Book review or recommendation for school newspaper or website

• Creative writing piece

• Use of expressive arts, eg. drama, music, dance etc.

• Enterprise project, eg. creating a school recipe book based on favourite books

Key Area 2.5.1 – Raising the profile of reading with families

Family engagement, encouraging reading at home, helping parents to see the value of reading for pleasure, offering access to books at home.

Schools should engage with learners’ families to promote reading for pleasure by completing the below three mandatory actions:

• Providing access to books to take home / encouraging families to join their local library for access to books, other reading materials, eBooks and audiobooks

• Engaging with families about the school’s reading projects and incorporating fun reading activities into home learning as appropriate

• Primary only – making the most of the P1 Bookbug Family Bag and Read Write Count with the First Minister initiatives by sharing resources and encouraging the use of the bags at home

Key Area 3.2.1 – Rewarding progress and recognising personal achievements

Generating excitement around reading for pleasure, demonstrating to learners that ‘success’ is different for each person, highlighting the quality and diversity rather than the quantity of reading, ensuring learners feel valued.

Schools should reward the progress of individual learners in one of the below ways, or in another way that suits their setting:

• Presenting certificates

• Awarding small prizes such as bookmarks, stickers etc.

• Awarding points through the school's individual rewards system

• Having class / school awards to recognise effort, eg. 'reader of the week' or 'reader who has made the most recommendations' etc.

Key Area 3.2.2 – Monitoring progress

Gathering meaningful starting point data so you can compare changes later, gathering data about the impact of the initiatives, gathering learners, staff and parental viewpoints, monitoring and adapting activities.

Schools should track their progress by completing the below three mandatory actions:

• Using the Reading Schools attitude surveys to assess and monitor learners’ interests, engagement and confidence within reading for pleasure

• Monitoring the impact of your Reading Schools programme in ways most suited to your setting and activities

• Taking part in Scottish Book Trust evaluation, which will be sent to you once your accreditation has been confirmed