Reading Schools in Additional Support Needs Settings

Reading Schools is an accreditation programme for all schools that are committed to building a culture around reading for pleasure for their learners, staff and communities. Research shows that reading for pleasure is central to supporting equity and wellbeing, positively impacting learners' attainment across the curriculum, critical thinking, creativity, empathy, and resilience.

Reading Schools is open to all schools in Scotland, mapped to (this will open in a new window)How Good is Our School 4, and flexible to a wide variety of settings and situations. The accreditation process is a journey, supported by resources and tools that will help you draw out the best impact for your learners and community. The friendly Scottish Book Trust team are also on hand to help you navigate any aspects that you are unsure how to approach in your individual setting.

Reading Schools looks for a school to be nurturing the enjoyment of reading in individuals, allowing staff and learners to explore their own reading personalities, display likes and dislikes and make confident choices. To discover and develop these, a school will seek to deliver a variety of reading experiences including exploring different formats of texts (such as audiobooks, non-fiction, magazines, newspapers, comics or tactile or braille books) as well as social experiences such as being read to, peer reading or engaging in sensory storytelling. Through these experiences, practitioners seek to offer inspiring, engaging and pleasurable reading activities and engagement to those for whom traditional print is inaccessible.

The Reading Schools Framework is fully flexible for ASN schools and settings and can be adapted to suit the individual needs of your learners. Explore more about the positive impact Reading Schools could have in your school or setting in (this will open in a new window)our independent programme evaluation.

Some examples of Reading Schools activity from our ASN schools are:

• Exploring the (this will open in a new window)Bookbug Song and Rhymes Library
• Using the (this will open in a new window)PAMIS ‘Imagination Toolkit’ to explore ways for staff to share stories and explore challenging feelings and emotions through narrative
• Adapting sensory stories with personalised props and inserting individual learners' names into the narrative for more meaningful connection with the audience
• Developing individual book boxes and audiobook libraries personalised to a learner's needs, interests and experiences
• Running weekly book groups where learners share a story from home
• Hosting sensory storytelling events and workshops with families and the wider community, inviting parents, carers and siblings to share in a story in the school environment

Related resources:

(this will open in a new window)1.2.5 Staff knowledge of contemporary children’s literature

• Challenge yourself to (this will open in a new window)explore representation of neurodiverse and disabled characters on your bookshelves
• Explore book lists for inclusive (this will open in a new window)picture books, (this will open in a new window)chapter novels, and (this will open in a new window)books for older readers.

(this will open in a new window)1.3.2 School environment

• Our guide to (this will open in a new window)Establishing a reading routine with children with additional support needs contains tips and information for creating a positive reading environment

(this will open in a new window)2.2.1 – Regular opportunities to read for pleasure

• (this will open in a new window)Getting started with sensory stories
• (this will open in a new window)Request tactile books for children with additional support needs

(this will open in a new window)2.2.2 Interdisciplinary book projects

• (this will open in a new window)LOUD! Sensory storytelling learning resource
• (this will open in a new window)Let there be dragons: a tactile and sensory art project
• (this will open in a new window)A Kind of Spark learning resource

(this will open in a new window)2.3.1 – Modelling reading behaviours

• (this will open in a new window)Explore (this will open in a new window)films of families enjoying our tactile books
• (this will open in a new window)Turning picture books into sensory stories
• Discover our range of (this will open in a new window)BSL storytelling with Bookbug

(this will open in a new window)2.3.5 Access to authors

• Engage with our (this will open in a new window)Sensory Storytelling project for online and in-person inclusive and empowering author events

Find more (this will open in a new window)resources designed to support disabled and neurodiverse readers and writers on the Scottish Book Trust website. 

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss ideas for adapting the (this will open in a new window)Reading Schools Framework to your particular setting with the team.

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