First steps

Action plans for developing a reading culture will vary for each school and will be dependent on each school's circumstances, as well as the progress that has already been made in promoting reading for pleasure. The following steps are therefore simply guidelines for embarking on developing the Reading Connects approach in your school and will need to be adapted for each establishment.

1. Form a small focus group of about 4-5 staff members (this will vary according to the size of your school). Be sure to include real enthusiasts in your group, who will run with the idea of embedding reading for pleasure across the whole-school community. Make sure that there is at least one member of senior management (if possible the headteacher) in your team, as this will be vital in overcoming potential barriers.

2. Completing the Reading Connects getting the whole-school reading audit. This self-evaluation will allow your focus group to look at the school's current reading for pleasure provision and see which areas need development. The audit can be found on the middle two pages of the introductory booklet. Fill out the online audit - primary audit or secondary audit

3. Getting the rest of the staff on board. A whole-school commitment to moving forward with the Reading Connects approach will be essential. If you are looking for recruitment tools to use for staff meetings, INSET etc, the following Connects resources will prove useful:
the Reading Connects films showcase the winning Reading Connects primary and secondary schools of 2005. Both films are 5-6 minutes long and great examples of how developing a whole-school reading community has impacted on achievement within the school.
The Reading Connects powerpoint presentations are useful as a visual aid during a presentation to staff to explain about the benefits of using the Reading Connects approach.
National Literacy Trust (NLT) survey : Children's and young people's reading habits and preferences: The who, what, why, where and when The NLT conducted a survey for Reading Connects in 2005 to collect evidence about children's and young people's reading preferences and reading behaviours. The evidence of this research can be used to support teachers and other literacy professionals in promoting wider reading.

4. Making reading for pleasure as visible as possible in school
The reading promotion section of this website includes some great ideas for raising the visible profile of reading in the school. The Reading Champions posters are a good way to use famous reading role models to promote reading. Alternatively a Get Caught Reading or extreme reading poster campaign can be very effective. As well as the school corridors, classrooms and school foyer, it is also a good idea to make reading for pleasure visible in places where pupils might not expect to see reading promotions - the PE changing rooms or the dining hall for example.

5. Focussing on further areas to strengthen your promotion
When you are happy with the visual profile that reading for pleasure has in your school, you may like to think about focussing on further areas. You can refer back to the results of the getting the whole-school reading audit to decide which areas to concentrate on. Certainly, engaging pupils' families in promoting reading in the home will be an important area to consider. The practical ideas section of this website is a good place to get ideas for other areas of focus, such as getting the boys on board, linking up with the public library, organising events and book groups.

6. Using the Reading Connects blog
Each Reading Connects school has its own blog and future events notice board. Schools can use the blog to report on the reading activity and promotions that have taken place in the school. The blogging facility is a way to showcase and celebrate successes and lessons learnt by schools as they develop their reading culture. It also helps the Reading Connects team to identify examples of best practice. In addition, each school has its own future events notice board. This gives schools the opportunity to advertise the activities that they have got coming up. To locate a school’s blog or future events notice board, click on search Reading Connects in your area and follow the prompts on screen.

7. Exploring the Reading Connects network in your area
By clicking on the Search Connects in your area link on the left hand menu of this website you will be able to identify which schools in your area have also signed up to the initiative and which members of the local authority team have signed up as Reading Connects partners. We encourage schools and local authority teams to use this facility to strengthen links within the local area. This facility could provide an opportunity to share ideas and resources or may be a forum to organise a cluster project with a group of schools to promote reading for pleasure. If you are using this networking facility or organising a cluster project, we would like to hear from you. Please email sarah.osborne@literacytrust.org.uk.

8. Sharing your good practice with us
We are always really keen to hear about your experiences of developing a reading for pleasure culture, so that we can share your good practice and experiences with other schools and authorities. If you would like to write a case study for the website please send your text of about 400-800 words to sarah.osborne@literacytrust.org.uk along with any images of the work you are doing. Visit the areas of focus sections to see examples of the great work going on in schools around the country.