The number of Tower Hamlets’ children reading for pleasure fell dramatically over the past five years, according to a recent survey.
In the 2022 Pupil Attitude Survey (PAS), only 39% of primary school children stated they had ‘read a book or article in the previous four weeks’, compared to 84% in the previous 2017 survey.
A notable, but smaller, decline was found among secondary school children, with 41% agreeing with the statement in 2022, compared to 64% in 2017.
Given the importance of children cultivating an early love of reading for broader educational and economic outcomes, the results are a cause for concern.
On seeing these results, it’s tempting to attribute such a precipitous drop in reading to the equally dramatic disruption caused by Covid-19 lockdowns.
This is reinforced by data from Tower Hamlets’ Local Authority.
Despite boasting an impressive number of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ primary schools, there was poorer post-lockdown attainment in reading for Key Stage 1 (KS1) pupils.
However, experts on the topic cautioned against such a simplistic interpretation of the issue and highlighted other barriers to improving post-lockdown reading levels.
The parental role
Liberty Venn, founder of the Children’s Book Project, a charity that coordinates the mass distribution of free books to children, stated that school can only do so much to instil a love of read in pupils.
She said: “It’s a lack of being surrounded by books that’s a big problem.
“Children need something in their context to encourage them to spontaneously, voluntarily read for pleasure.
“It needs to feel normal to a child to seek refuge in, and derive comfort from, a book – it can’t just be homework.”
While praising the work of library services and primary schools, she noted how important it is that parents lead the way toward integrating reading in home life.
She said: “It’s not their fault because everyone’s so busy right now, but there will be less parents modelling reading. Children are likely to be reading on their own.”
Research by the National Literacy Trust reflects this, with only half of parents reporting they read with their child every day during lockdown, compared with two thirds in 2019.
More worryingly, less parents were making time to talk with their child, with 25% reporting they didn’t chat daily with their child in 2021, up from just 10% in 2019.
The was echoed by Teresa Ward, English lead at Mayflower Primary school – this year’s Sunday Times’ Primary School of the Year.
She said: “Children often aren’t exposed to lots of talk, aren’t read to, they don’t hear how language should sound.”
This lack of parental input can create a vicious circle, leading to demotivation when when parents do attempt to engage with at-home reading.
Ward said: “Parents were struggling to feel positive when children were struggling, they found it difficult to keep going.”
After noticing this disconnect between children’s experience of at-home and school reading, Ward started an initiative involving children taking home copies of books assigned at school.
Using the same book boosted students at-home performance, enabling parents to capitalise on, and feel encouraged by, progress made in the classroom.
Better parent engagement was especially helpful during the pandemic, when Mayflower held daily reading lessons via Zoom.
They were able to join in the reading sessions and work directly with the teachers to support their children’s learning.
Ward said: “One thing that was lovely about this time was that we were able to develop a strong relationship with the parents.”
Phonics fiasco
Considering the disappointing PAS results, Ward thinks changes to the literacy curriculum could be hindering children’s engagement with language and reading.
She highlighted the encroachment of the government’s phonics testing on how children learn to read.
Phonics – the discreet syllables which make up words – have been isolated from general reading and writing practice, with separate lessons and standardised phonics tests included in the battery of KS1 exams seven-year-olds complete.
The tests, which require children to pronounce ‘nonsense words’ made up of random syllable combinations, remove reading from a real-world context.
Since Michael Gove introduced a phonics screening test in 2012, many teachers have reported dedicating to teaching phonics to the detriment of other literacy skills.
This pedagogical shift has been criticised in UCL research suggesting that the new phonics-based literacy curriculum is less effective at teaching children to read.
Ward echoed this sentiment: “Lots of schools are struggling in the face of this reading framework.
“It’s really frustrating – there’s no correlation between phonics scores and SAT scores, so why are they pushing it?
“Everything we do is balanced, inclusive and grounded in research.
“We think about the evidence behind something, we question it, and dig into the research behind each new initiative.
“I’m really lucky that the SLT team behind me is supportive and believes in what I’m doing.”
The support is clearly paying off, with Mayflower pupils performing above the Tower Hamlets and national average in KS1 and KS2 reading tests, suggesting a speedier recovery from lockdown setbacks.
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