Our group is primarily made up of teachers and LSAs. During our sessions we really enjoy dipping into the shared practice area on the OU website and discussing theory from the online video clips and books such as Building Communities of Engaged Readers. Members found Teresa Cremin’s video clip on Teacher’s Knowledge of Children’s Literature particularly inspiring. This really helped them to reflect on themselves as readers.
Receiving the book box was a great kick start to our sessions. A definite favourite was One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson.
Based on the OU materials, we realised that there was a need for us all to develop the social aspect of reading and we decided to focus on book blether in the first instance. Everyone has experienced a positive shift in children’s attitudes to and enjoyment of reading as well as an increase in their reading stamina. Members report an excitement about reading with reading events better supported than ever, an example being a reading sleepover raising a phenomenal £800 to spend on books!
We are really proud of the progress we are all making towards developing RfP. We would be happy to welcome any newcomers to our group as we believe the sharing of good practice founded in research is key to sustained development of RfP.