The Open University and the UKLA Student Teacher Reading for Pleasure Ambassador scheme supports student teachers across the UK to raise their peers’ understanding and awareness of the value of choice-led reading in childhood.
What are Student Teacher Ambassadors?
The RfP Ambassadors are trainee Primary Teachers usually in their 2nd or 3rd year of teacher training. Their role is to inspire and support student teachers to widen their knowledge of children’s texts and to develop RfP pedagogy in practice during school placements. Over the last 2 years of the scheme, they have started new online book clubs, student newsletters and padlets for reading recommendations and book swaps, to name just a few. Some have worked with librarians and tutors to set up displays and reading areas that will encourage student teachers as readers.
‘The huge benefit of being an RfP ambassador was the bringing together of some wonderful and creative ideas from across the country about what fellow reading lovers are doing to spread the word on the importance of RfP.’
How are they selected?
HEI partners across the UK are invited to nominate two or three students for a place on the scheme once a year, usually in March/ April, with the Ambassador role commencing in the autumn term. The HEI tutor role is to support the Ambassadors with their planning, access to resources and awareness raising/ communication with their peers. To support their professional development further, Ambassadors must join the UKLA as part of their role.
For further information on the scheme please email Helen Hendry at: wels-reading-for-pleasure@open.ac.uk
‘Being an RfP ambassador has given me so many benefits. My knowledge of RfP pedagogy &
how to implement this has increased so much, giving me a real in depth understanding of the
different layers of RfP, and a specialist knowledge that I otherwise would not have had.’
Ambassador benefits
- Free OU RfP professional development sessions from September- July 2024 (evenings online)
- Support with selecting from a range of ideas and ways to champion reading for pleasure in their year group
- Sharing ideas with other Student Ambassadors nationally
- Mentoring to develop an example of practice to be shared on the OURfP website
- Widening their knowledge of RfP research, pedagogy and children’s literature
- Invitations to associated OU and UKLA events
- Adding this professional development role to their CV and portfolio