Stories and storytelling are not just for Book Week

Jo Townsend, Deputy Head (Pastoral) at Broomwood Hall in London, extols the virtues of a good book...

Every year, in March, schools across the country celebrate World Book Day. Whilst it generally involves some dressing-up and a lot of fun, the more serious message is to encourage children to share their favourite books and give them the message that “reading is power”.

The importance of reading – or rather being read to – is underlined by some recent reports which show that a decline in “story time” affects pupil wellbeing.

The first, from Egmont, a leading children’s publisher, highlights that only 32% of British children are read to daily by an adult for pleasure. The research shows that the number of children who receive story time sessions has fallen by 4 percentage points since 2012. It warns that the “steep decline signals a significant threat to children’s wellbeing, with potential longer-term social impact,” and has called for parents and government to take action by making ‘storytime’ sessions in primary schools an intrinsic part of the day. Whilst reading to children is a very effective way to encourage them to read independently, many parents simply don’t know what a great impact they could have on their children’s lives if they read to them daily.

Egmont’s research shows that reading for pleasure has a four-times greater impact on academic success than a parent having a degree. However in another survey (Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer), Renaissance UK revealed that only a quarter of school aged children get recommended reading for pleasure time and that only 19% of 8 to 10-year-old pupils have books read to them by an adult daily, down 3 percentage points since last year across all socioeconomic groups, irrespective of parents’ education, household income or social grade class. The figure is even lower for boys at just 14% (contrasted with 24% of girls).

War Horse author and former children’s laureate, Michael Morpurgo has supported this call to action with a poem (https://youtu.be/9MtgulsBQJE) written especially for this cause, saying, “It is vital that children, young people and all of us have access to stories which give us the knowledge, empathy and understanding we need to negotiate life. But, just as importantly, we need to give children and their teachers and parents time to read.”

At Broomwood Hall, reading is high on the agenda from Reception to Year 8. The children have many opportunities to read for pleasure and have stories and passages read to them for their enjoyment as well as their understanding and analysis. Libraries on each site allow the children freedom to choose books with guidance and knowledge from staff who are dedicated and passionate about their subject.

To further support reading and to help bring books to life, we encourage children to read, write and perform poetry from the moment they join our school by organising competitions and giving them the opportunity to act out some of their favourites. As well as these annual poetry competitions, there are also plenty of other opportunities for children to learn and appreciate the value of story-telling with reading aloud competitions, visits from authors, workshops and regular theatre trips and visits to senior schools to take part in drama activity days or watch productions.

Children also write stories for magazines – two girls were published in last year’s King’s Canterbury’s ‘Mind’s Eye’ magazine and regularly win storywriting competitions. We also encourage children to write and perform their own stories, whether that’s our 5- and 6-year olds bringing their stories to life through animation or our 12 and 13-year-old leavers writing and performing their own Revue.

During Book Week, we encourage older children to read aloud to younger pupils so that they can recognise the value and mutual pleasure gained on both sides.

At a time when there is so much concern about our children’s mental health and wellbeing, it’s worth remembering the value of a good book and the shared pleasure of a good story, well told.

I urge you to remember that there’s no age limit when it comes to the enjoyment of hearing someone reading aloud – and that the pleasure of taking time out to read together is something that is always worth making time for.

This article first appeared in Which London School? & the South-East 2019/20, which can be read below: