Our Reader Leader mentoring programme for primary and secondary schools helps to support a culture of reading across a school.
We know that when young children close their literacy gap, they become more confident, more resilient and more ambitious for themselves. All our experience shows that once a child successfully closes their literacy gap, this progress can have a profound and positive impact on the rest of their learning.
“I have learnt that praising the Reader is so important because it makes them feel more confident.”
“Reader Leader has motivated me to read more interesting and enjoyable books. It’s a great start to the day.”
“Asking the Reader comprehension questions has improved my own comprehension and the way that I think about the books that I read,”
The Reader Leader training can be delivered in both primary and secondary schools. We recommend that the Leaders are Year 10 or Year 12 in secondary school and Year 5 or Year 6 in primary schools. The training is a full day for secondary students and a morning for primary students. Once set up, the programme usually runs for 18 weeks or more and is managed by the school.
The Leaders learn how to be reading mentors and gain knowledge in phonics, word knowledge and the reading process as well as understanding barriers to learning and how to be an effective mentor. The training is fully supported with information packs and resources.
Teachers say Reader Leader helps to embed a culture of reading across a school: giving older students invaluable skills and raising literacy levels for younger pupils, allowing them to engage more effectively with their studies.