Shared Practice: Encouraging Pupil Voice (November 2025 recording)

This shared practice webinar provides ideas for ways you can ensure pupil voice is at the heart of your Reading Schools journey, and how you might acknowledge the rights, voice and choice of children and young people in your setting through the Reading Schools programme.

Children and young people offer unique perspectives on what it is like to be a pupil at their school; involving them in decision-making can create meaningful change and facilitate a sense of empowerment and inclusion. Using the Reading Schools framework as a guide, in this webinar we share different approaches to embedding pupil participation and hear from guest speakers with experience encouraging pupil voice in their settings.

This webinar relates to all areas of the Reading Schools framework, with particular relevance to: 1.2.1 Reading leadership group; 1.2.2 Learner Role Modelling; 2.3.3 Creating Learner Social Networks; 2.3.4 Opportunities for Learners to Respond; and 1.3.2 School Environment. 

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Shared Practice: Encouraging Pupil Voice

Introduction and in-practice examples (1) (17mins 7secs)

Emily Ilett and Clara Owen from Scottish Book Trust share two research frameworks for reflecting on and integrating pupil voice and participation. They make connections to the Reading Schools framework, then share in-practice examples from schools across Scotland on the themes of Reading Leadership Groups, and grants and initiatives. 

Guest speaker: Clodagh McDermot (10 mins 42 secs)

Clodagh McDermot shares her experience of supporting her P6 Reading Ambassadors to create a successful Reading Schools Grant application in 2024, discussing the leadership skills developed and the impact of listening to pupil voice and choice.

Research and in-practice examples (2) (11mins 23secs)

Scottish Book Trust’s Emily Ilett shares research and in-practice examples from schools across Scotland on the themes of: choosing and auditing books; spaces and displays; and book talk.

Guest speaker: Irene Lumsden (7mins 22secs)

Irene Lumsden is the librarian at Armadale Academy in Aberdeenshire. The Reading Leadership Group at Armadale created a brilliant video about how they needed more manga in their school library for our Reading Schools Fund application in 2024. In this presentation, Irene shares more about this process and the positive impact it had.

Guest speaker: Jennifer Mackay (16mins 21secs)

Jennifer Mackay is Principal Teacher of Pedagogy and Literacy Development in South Ayrshire. She is part of the South Ayrshire Reads team and the lead on reading for enjoyment. Last year, Jennifer completed the Scottish Book Trust year-long course on Developing and Sustaining a Reading for Pleasure culture(this will open in a new window), which culminated in a practitioner enquiry. Here, she presents her process and reflections on supporting the facilitation of a pupil-led book group.