Inspirational hub created to boost children’s reading for pleasure

According to the recent National Literacy Trust’s (NLT) annual survey, only 34.6% of 8 to 18-years-old read in their free time, revealing the lowest levels of enjoyment of reading and reading daily since 2005.

In addition, research conducted by Dr Emma Vardy, a senior lecturer in Psychology at NTU, and former NTU Master's student, Mary Scorer, revealed that parents feel children need greater access to books that reflect the multicultural society they live in. These books play a crucial role in helping children see themselves represented, fostering self-understanding and cultural awareness.

To tackle these concerns the Inspirational Reading Hub, created by BA Primary Education senior lecturers, Lizzie Greeley and Flick Allard, alongside technicians, Kath Earley and Katie Lonsdale, aims to provide access to a diverse range of authors and texts in a welcoming and accessible social space.

It features books from early years through to secondary school level and covers a range of genres including graphic novels, bi-lingual texts, poetry anthologies, wordless picture books, magazines, non-fiction/faction and books to support readers with dyslexic tendencies.

Zones have been created for different ages alongside curated themes such as bereavement and loss, societal issues, traditional tales re-imagined, feelings and emotions, and challenging stereotypes. Contemporary literature is showcased alongside classic texts.

The hub will initially be used by teacher trainees at the Nottingham Institute of Education, part of NTU’s School of Social Sciences, with plans to use it to support partnership schools, children and young people in the local community to engage in reading for pleasure.

Lizzie Greeley said: “Research by Professor Teresa Cremin from the Open University tells us that for teachers to develop the three Rs of reading for pleasure: responsibility, rigor and relevance, they must have a rich repertoire of contemporary and diverse children’s authors and texts in order to motivate, tempt and recommend appropriate reading material for each individual child.”

In view of this, Flick Allard added: “This reading hub provides a model of good practice and puts NTU students and graduates in a better place to support young readers when they enter the classroom.”

The books will be added to and regularly refreshed to accommodate readers’ changing identities over time. Themed collections will be curated and displayed on a monthly basis to reflect particular events such as Black History Month, International Women’s Day and Refugee Week.

The Inspirational Reading Hub has been dedicated to the memory of three NTU colleagues who shared the vision for the space – Sue Dymoke, Eli Power and Nicky-Jane Kerr-Gilbert.