Providing children with the basic skills that allow them to read with fluency and confidence is a crucial first step for them to develop an enthusiasm for reading. Our renewed primary literacy framework draws on the recommendations of Jim Rose’s review of the teaching of early reading, and the systematic use of phonics as the prime strategy for the teaching of reading, and will help improve reading levels amongst all pupils. The national roll-out of the “Every Child a Reader” initiative will help those children who experience difficulties in learning to read.
We recognise that reading for pleasure is critical to improving children's life chances and we are taking action on several fronts to promote this. This includes providing a range of materials to support teachers, school librarians and others to ensure that schools both provide high-quality teaching and learning in reading, and promote an environment which encourages children's enthusiasm for reading. We encourage schools to develop study support activities which focus on literacy, including reading and book clubs. Our “Playing for Success” study support centres which open out of school hours use sport as a theme in their reading activities to encourage children to read.
We continue to work with a number of partners to promote reading in schools and the wider community. This includes working with the National Literacy Trust to run the National Reading Campaign (NRC). Key strands are Reading Connects, which supports schools in building whole-school reading communities; and Reading Champions, which finds and celebrates positive male role models and seeks to change boys’ attitudes to reading. A third strand of work, the Family Reading Campaign, launched earlier this year, is working in partnership with key organisations to promote the benefits of reading in the home and show parents and other family members how easily they can support their children.
Our wider work to help to foster children’s enthusiasm for reading includes funding the delivery of the Bookstart programme which encourages parents and carers to read with their children from when they are babies and offers free books to every child and advice to every parent. In addition, the 2006 pre-Budget report announced funding to provide every child making the transition to both primary and secondary school—including all children entering schools in the independent sector, special schools, or any other kind of school—with a free book, from autumn 2007.