Report: Teachers lack time to share books

More than half of primary school pupils in the UK don’t have enough time to talk about books in the classroom, according to research released today (16th June) by Oxford University Press (OUP).

According to a ‘Reading for Pleasure’ survey of 349 teachers, 92% believe that reading for pleasure is essential to a pupil’s future success but 56% don’t have enough time to effectively encourage children to enjoy books.

When asked what would make the biggest difference in helping promote a love of reading, 36% of teachers said having more time to dedicate to books, whilst 33% said greater parental involvement and 17% said having access to a wide range of books.

Only 7% of teachers said all or most of their class read outside school lessons, whilst 32% said only half of their pupils read for pleasure at home.

However, 46% of participants said they are spending more class time talking about books compared to five years ago. Just over a third (35%) said they are spending less time talking about books. 

Jane Harley, strategy director of education at OUP, said: “This research shows that teachers are concerned about children missing out on the chance to be inspired by reading in the classroom. There is clear evidence that the primary school years are crucial for children, whatever their social or cultural background to develop their love of reading.  It is vital that teachers are able to dedicate the time to helping their pupils engage with stories in the classroom and to create more space for quality conversations about books.”

OUP conducted the survey to coincide with the release of its ‘Greatest Stories’ collection of classic stories, chosen by Michael Morpurgo, including Peter and the Wolf and Tales from Ovid, so the publisher also quizzed teachers about the importance of classic novels. Nearly all (93%) said it is either very important or quite important that children have access to classic stories.

When asked which books they most like teaching, the most popular responses were fairy tales, Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler and The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis.