CHILDREN need to be given great access to a wider selection of books if reading rates among students are to improve, the chief executive of an education charity has said.
Earlier this month, a report into the reading habits of primary and secondary school students’ revealed that Jersey students had a worryingly “high degree of ambivalence” towards reading.
A total of 39.7% of primary school students and 38.7% of KS3 secondary school students reported enjoying reading. A slightly larger proportion describe reading as ‘ok’ and, when combined with a fifth of students who “don’t like reading”, 60% of KS2 and 61.3% of KS3 do not report the experience of reading as enjoyable.
And, of the more than 2,000 secondary-school-age children surveyed, 26.1% of students said they had no school librarian.
Cris Lakeman, chief executive of Every Child our Future, said: “I think we need to consider whether every school in Jersey should have a library that is well-stocked with carefully chosen books.
“In addition to that, they should have someone in the library who is able to recommend books.”
The report asked pupils what could help to improve reading cultures within schools, with the most frequent suggestion being access to a library or librarian.
One student quoted in the report said: “We need a proper library than a tiny book nook.”
While Ms Lakeman said schools had become “quite good” at teaching reading, she argued that greater emphasis on promoting “just kicking back and reading” was needed.
She said: “I think there is a strong emphasis on reading skills, but actually it’s about discovering the intrinsic feeling of ‘wow. This feels good. I’m enjoying this’. I think we’ve got to enable children to feel that it’s not just something you’re told to do, have to do, or it’s good for you. None of those things need to be in the mix, it’s just something that’s pleasurable for you.”
Ms Lakeman said that having a range of books across multiple genres, forms and languages is important to achieve that.
While 18.5% of children reported not having the time to read, Ms Lakeman said: “I think we find time for the things we love, and we don’t always love things that are prescribed for us.”
