Wonderful words, I am sure you will agree! Children’s individual reading habits and abilities are all different and they cannot be easily pigeon holed into year groups; they should be ambitious though, as a love of reading and of books is by far and away the best way to improve skills in English.
Reading for pleasure lets children go on adventures, explore exciting ideas and meet new characters simply by opening a book and using their imagincations. We recognise that reading for pleasure also plays an important role in improving children’s well-being and empathy. It helps them to understand their own identity, and gives them an insight into the world and the views and experiences of others. We observe all these benefits and the strong correlation between reading for pleasure and academic success.
The Salvesen Library is at the heart of Upper School. Every morning one of our nursery classes visits for story time. At breaktime, the library is busy with children choosing books, playing chess and relaxing on the comfy sofas. Our Librarian, Mrs Bruce, is on duty to help children find new books. During the winter months a fire is lit making the library the perfect place to snuggle up with a good story. Class library reps help the librarian create new displays and order exciting new books.
The annual Cargilfield Book Festival is one of the highlights of our school year. Teachers and pupils dress up and we welcome authors, illustrators, poets and storytellers for a fantastic series of workshops interspersed with treasure hunts, quizzes and challenges. The longer school day at Cargilfield means that children can enjoy dedicated time each day for reading their library books or going to the library for lessons with our Librarian.
All children in Upper School are enrolled in the Accelerated Reader Programme. This provides teachers with valuable data on pupil progress while engaging quizzes and activities help hone childrens’ reading skills and give them encouraging feedback.