Film: Watch Great Malvern Primary School’s reading journey

Transcript

[Sarah Green] At our school, many of our children come from homes where they don't have access to reading materials.

Many of them come in with very poor oracy, low levels of vocabulary, so we need to develop and build their confidence in that area. So we focus on that right from the minute

they walk through our doors at age three, all the way until the time they leave.

[Cathy Spence] Premier League Reading Stars is a way

to inspire the children and motivate them to read. We needed an innovative approach,

we needed somebody who had a different relationship with the children,

that was not class-based. In our school Mr. Giles runs the club, he is our Sports Coach.

[Jack Giles] When Cathy first approached me regarding the Premier League Reading Stars, I was nervous because it was all new to me. I was a bit more reassured that I've already got a very strong connection with the lads.

[Pupil #1] I got pretty surprised when I saw you were reading books.

[Jack Giles] Was I just the sport guy?

[All pupils] Yeah!

[Cathy Spence] He's unique, I think, but I don't think that can't be replicated in other schools, in other ways. It's about finding that relationship, the relationship of trust, so that the children feel that they can express themselves about reading, and be involved in reading. It's really important.

[Pupil #2] I liked the part of the book where it was a teachers versus pupils match.

[Jack Giles] They are very, very happy and they are proud to be chosen and each week, when I provide the club, they're constantly talking about it, smiling, they're so passionate about it.

[Pupil #3] I felt really excited because when I went to the first one I was kind of sad at the ending, because it was really fun.

[Pupil #4] Ever since I have been joining this amazing club, I've been reading quite a lot.

[Cathy Spence] Premier League Reading Stars has exceeded our expectations so far. Of the boys that we have in the programme, three of whom are Year Sixes, they are all going to leave our school

at or above national expectation in reading, which is a fantastic result for children, who

up until now have not been reading at home.

[Sarah Green] Would we recommend it to other schools? Absolutely. It's a really easy win for us in terms of reading across the school.