New data shows daily storytime in primary schools can improve reading age by 13 months
Findings from Farshore’s ‘Storytime in Schools’ research study with 3,000 primary school pupils in England demonstrates the life-changing benefits of daily storytime in the classroom:
- Despite only 24% of children being read to daily at school, 77% of children want daily story time in the classroom
- 91% of teachers want to continue daily storytime, and 88% would like it to be a curriculum requirement
- 44% of children chose to read more as a result of experiencing daily storytime
- Improved wellbeing in children as well as teachers
- Findings shine a light on what mandated daily storytime in schools could look like
Farshore is pleased to share the headline findings from its major new Storytime in Schools research project, which ran during the spring term 2023. Farshore data from a 2022 study suggests that, nationally, only 24% of children aged 7-10 years old are read to daily at school, purely for enjoyment yet the Storytime in Schools research project shows that daily story time in the classroom can improve a child’s reading age by 13 months in just one term, and 88% of teachers who took part in the trial think daily storytime should be statutory.
The Storytime in Schools research project was devised to test the impact of daily storytime on children’s attainment and attitudes to reading, and to see whether an emphasis on enjoyment would encourage children to think of reading as something pleasurable and aspirational.
20 schools from across the UK participated in the twelve-week study, with 3,000 children across Years 3, 4 and 5 experiencing a daily storytime for one term. Teachers read to children for at least 20 minutes each day, purely for enjoyment with no formal teaching attached, to measure the impact on children’s motivation to read for pleasure independently.
Based on this one term trial, it delivered quick, tangible wins for teachers and their pupils, evidenced through a range of positive outcomes. Findings from the research study show increased enthusiasm and positivity towards books and reading. Of the 3,000 children taking part, 77% of children want storytime to continue and 44% said they are reading for pleasure more independently as a result of the one term trial. Of the teachers who submitted post-trial questionnaires, 91% of teachers said that they would continue storytime in schools, with 88% favouring making it statutory for schools.
There was also a marked increase in both reading and comprehension attainment. The Year 4 children who took part in the study were evaluated using the Salford Test before and after the trial. 90% of the participating schools found the average reading attainment across the sample increased from ‘average/age appropriate’ to ‘well above average’, with 36% of the children gaining more than 13 months on their pre-trial reading age. The comprehension attainment data for Year 4 children also showed a shift towards ‘excellence’, with 49% of the sample measuring ‘well above average/excellent’ at the start of the trail, shooting up to 60% at the end of the trial. One school, with 59% pupil premium, went from 4% of their pupils to 52% scoring ‘excellent’. Another school with 31% pupil premium and 69% English as Additional Language, rose from 29% to 61% scoring ‘excellent’.
Teachers and pupils felt that storytime had boosted children’s mental wellbeing and supported the development of social skills, with storytime serving as a gateway for children to explore their own emotions, and boosting their empathy for their classmates. Several teachers said that they believed that their children were more emotionally literate by the end of the trial. Teachers observed the calming effect of being read to on the children, and that it helped children to focus. This was corroborated by the children’s self-reported feedback. When asked, at the end of the trial, whether they agreed that ‘storytime makes me feel calm’, 65% of boys and 76% of girls agreed. Teachers also shared the positive impact on their own mental health and bonding with the class.
Chris Soul, Year 4 Class Teacher, St John’s Church of England Primary School, said: "The impact of the Farshore Storytime in Schools project at Watford St John's CE Primary School has been huge. Daily Storytime has been at the heart of our developing Reading for Pleasure culture and has demonstrably improved children's interest in books, promoted a love of reading and had an impact on children's attainment, well-being and social skills. For children with special educational needs, in particular, Storytime has improved their listening skills, enthused them, sparked their imaginations, and taught them how to become more centred and still. Storytime has also created a buzz about books with children more likely to express opinions on their reading and share their interests with each other. As a teacher, Storytime is something primal, necessary and an antidote to the busyness of modern life. It is a portal to possibilities. It must be made statutory for every school."
Each participating school received 200 free books from Farshore and HarperCollins Children’s Books, curated by reading experts David Reedy, former President of the UK Literary Association and Professor Teresa Cremin and the Reading for Pleasure team at the Open University. Crucially, teachers were asked to allow the children to choose what was read to them. The new books, the children’s involvement through having the opportunity to choose what was read to them, the sense of agency this brought and the ‘down time’ of daily storytime all contributed to children having a wholly different idea about reading. As one teacher said, “reading for pleasure became significant and not incidental.”
The study was managed by Independent Education Market Researcher Melissa Mackinlay, with Dr Rebecca Coles of the Open University acting as consultant
Conclusion
As a strategy for boosting reading for pleasure it worked for most children. Across the trial, children and teachers enjoyed storytime, and felt it had made the classroom a calmer, happier place in which reading for pleasure was seen as a worthwhile and valuable activity.
The trial demonstrates how highly effective storytime is in encouraging a love of reading and raising standards when it is consistent, but it needs to happen every day. The case for reading aloud to children as part of a reading for pleasure culture is clearly stated in the Department for Education’s (DfE) recently published ‘The reading framework’ – but storytime is not mandated.
Alison David, reading for pleasure expert and Consumer Insight Director, Farshore, said: “Given the impact that reading for pleasure has on children’s outcomes, and that storytime can help turn children into readers, this is a must-have debate. As a simple intervention, it’s clear that storytime is a low cost, high value proposition. It requires little or no training. It has an astonishingly positive effect on children’s motivation to read, reading and comprehension attainment and wellbeing.”
Professor Teresa Cremin, Co-Director, Literacy and Social justice Centre, The Open University said: “What is particularly potent here is the professional flexibility offered within the set time, enabling teachers to be responsive to the interests and needs of their learners, and to sometimes read without discussion and at others to invite dialogue around the text. What is also very striking is the children’s accelerated progress in reading and comprehension, and the highly positive impact on their attitudes towards books, and their reading dispositions and behaviours.”
The highlights paper can be accessed here.
The full research paper can be accessed here.