Help pupils catch the reading bug

Booking is now open for the phenomenally successful home reading scheme Buster’s Book Club, which is generating real excitement in classrooms across the county.

The 2018-19 figures revealed that 32,000 children at 110 participating schools collectively achieved 10 million minutes of reading - an increase of 1.5 million minutes on the previous academic year.

The initiative helps to improve child literacy by encouraging children and families to spend more time reading for pleasure at home. Each child is given a home reading target of a set number of minutes and then takes part in a series of challenges, including inter-class and inter-school, to enthuse them to meet or exceed their target.

Pupils can choose to read to themselves, to a parent, to listen to an audiobook, or a combination of all three. A parent or guardian must sign their special bookmark to confirm the child’s reading minutes which are then recorded by the school.

Participants compete for the weekly class of the week trophy while regular inter-school competitions offer prizes ranging from storyteller visits to free entry tickets to leisure attractions such as Leeds Castle, Wildwood and Historic Dockyard Chatham. Celebrity storytellers include Phil Gallagher, presenter of CBeebies’ Mister Maker, and award-winning children’s author Nick Butterworth, creator of the much-loved Percy the Park Keeper series.

Literacy coordinator Kay Devine said: “Buster’s Book Club is all about inspiring a love of reading that will last a lifetime. The competitive element has universal appeal, even amongst reluctant readers, and because prizes are awarded to the class as a whole, pupils naturally support each other to hit their reading targets. Added to this, it can provide rich opportunities for older pupils to mentor younger ones.

“We know from National Literacy Trust statistics that children who enjoy reading are five times more likely to have a higher reading ability than their reluctant peers. Reading for fun is ‘learning made effortless’ in areas ranging from vocabulary and language to imagination, knowledge and empathy.

She added: “Buster’s Book Club is a tried and tested programme with ready-made resources that engage pupils and involve parents in their children’s reading journey. It creates a buzz around reading for pleasure that reverberates in every classroom and is celebrated school-wide each week in assembly.”

Contact Details

Kay Devine
Telephone: 0844 264 0291
Email: kdevine@thekmgroup.co.uk