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How it works

Reading Schools is an accreditation programme for schools that are committing to building a reading culture for their learners and communities. Research proves that reading for pleasure is central in 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!

Reading Schools offers:

Step 1

Get your school ready

To help get your staff excited about taking part:

View our framework

Step 2

Decide which level you’d like to aim for

There are three levels of accreditation – Core, Silver and Gold. Use our handy quiz and our self-evaluation templates to help you decide which accreditation level best suits your school.

Take our level quiz

Step 3

Sign up and complete your action plan

Sign up to the Reading Schools website to access your school's application on the dashboard. Work with your Reading Leadership Group, using the framework, examples of practice and resources to help you to complete your action plan. Once you have completed the Action Plan, submit it for approval.

Step 4

Survey your learners and staff

Ask a selection of learners and staff members to fill out our attitude surveys to find out about their reading habits and views.

Step 5

Put your plans into action and collect your evidence

Your evidence plan will be available on your dashboard once your action plan is approved – we will ask for a combination of comments, quotes and photos against each key area. 

Collect your evidence as you go along, add to your dashboard and share your journey with us and the Reading Schools community at (this will open in a new window)#ReadingSchools on Twitter. You can also keep up to date with our (this will open in a new window)school programmes and events on the Scottish Book Trust website.

Step 6

Submit your evidence for accreditation

Once everything is ticked off and ready to go, you can submit your Evidence Plan to gain your national accreditation and celebrate all your hard work building a culture of reading at your school!

Deadlines

Reading Schools is a rolling programme so there are no fixed deadlines. We will aim to accept your Action Plan within five working days and your Evidence Plan within 15 working days.