A new research study by Farshore has shown there are many key benefits of daily storytime in the classroom, including a leap in the reading age of many pupils who participated, and teachers are calling for it to become mandatory.

The Storytime in School study, which looked at 3,000 pupils in years 3-5 across twenty English primary schools, set out to test the impact of daily storytime at school on children’s interest in reading and their motivations to read for pleasure. Based on evidence of the transformational power of being read to at home (children who are read to are much more likely to read independently), the hypothesis was: Daily storytime in school can change the atmosphere around reading if there is no formal teaching attached to it, no pressure and there are no expectations. With the focus on enjoyment, children will start to think of reading as something pleasurable and aspirational. It will become something that they will choose to do.

Eighty-six teachers participating in the experiment allocated twenty minutes to storytime every day during the spring term 2023 with absolutely no ‘teaching’ attached.

In conclusion the study found:

  • Increased enthusiasm and positivity towards books and reading
  • Despite only 24% of children being read to daily at school, 77% of children want daily storytime in the classroom to continue
  • 44% of children say they are reading more as a result of experiencing daily storytime
  • All teachers reported seeing a positive impact on children’s enjoyment
  • Increased attainment in both reading and comprehension
  • In year 4 there was an average gain in reading age of just under 12 months whilst 36% gained more than 13 months on their pre-trial reading age and 49% were ‘well above average/excellent’ for comprehension at the start, rising to 60% at the end.
  • Improved wellbeing among children and their teachers
  • New books and having input in reading choices help build excitement and interest in reading 
  • 91% of teachers plan to continue with storytime and 88% would like it to be a curriculum requirement

“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.” - Alison David, reading for pleasure expert and Consumer Insight Director, Farshore

“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.” - Professor Teresa Cremin, Co-Director, Literacy and Social Justice Centre, The Open University

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.”

For inspiration, check out our Reading for Pleasure reading list, Great Books to Read Aloud to Key Stage 2

We also have Reading Lists by Age Group for every year from Reception right up to Year 10, which include a selection of books especially selected for children in each school year.

Read the highlights paper here.
Read the full research paper here. 

@FarshoreBooks