More parents are reading for pleasure with their children, but teachers say more can be done

The recent report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) entitled 'What can parents do to help their children succeed in school?' highlights the substantial positive impact of regular book sharing at home. The report looked at 14 countries where data was available and found that fifteen-year-old students whose parents often read books with them during their first year of primary school showed markedly higher scores in the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) evaluations than students whose parents read with them infrequently or not at all.

The average difference made to PISA scores across the 14 countries was an extraordinary 25 points - equivalent to well over half a school year.

Findings from a recent piece of research carried out for the Booktime programme, run by Booktrust and the learning company Pearson, back up the OECD report. The research was commissioned to mark Booktime's sixth year of delivering a free book pack to every reception-aged child in England.

Over 1,000 parents and carers and over 200 primary school teachers were asked questions about their opinions and habits around reading for pleasure. One of the clear findings was how much importance and value teachers place on reading for pleasure in the home. Teachers identified benefits not only to a child's reading ability (72% of teachers stated that children are more advanced readers), but also to their use of language (72% attribute more advanced language skills), confidence in the classroom (30% say they tend to be the first to put their hand up when asked all-class questions) and behaviour (23% say that children are better behaved), as a result of regular shared reading for pleasure outside of the classroom.

It's not only teachers who are singing the praises of reading for pleasure; more and more parents and carers are taking time to regularly bond over a book with their child. Despite the stress and time pressures many parents now face with their own children, the Booktime research indicates that daily reading rates have actually increased rather than decreased.

23% of today's parents say that they were read to on a daily basis when they were growing up compared to the 60% of parents who say they now read for pleasure with their child on a daily basis. Although teachers naturally focus on the educational benefits of shared book time, parents are relishing the enjoyment that is to be had, with 64% of them revealing that reading books with their own parents is a treasured childhood memory and 71% stating that reading with their child is always or usually one of the highlights of the day.

Why then, if reading at home is on the increase, are the teachers surveyed claiming that 41% of children are not sharing books enough in the home? One reason seems to be that teachers are recognising more and more how important regular parental reading time is for creating confident and happy child readers. This not only makes the teacher's job that bit easier but, crucially, also makes the child's school reading experience more enjoyable.

The OECD findings show that different types of parent-child activities were found to have different relationships with reading performance. The score point difference in reading is largest when parents read a book with their child and when they tell stories to their children.

Therefore what research has shown us time and time again is that the amount children read for enjoyment is critical to their reading achievement. if early book associations are positive, and children come to school knowing how books and shared reading works, then they are set up for positive school based reading and learning experiences. If shared reading for pleasure in the home continues after a child starts school, and children continue to enjoy the reading experience, this can only have benefits for a child's language and literacy development.

Read the full report