At Ridgeway Education Trust, we are passionate about encouraging a love of reading in pupils by ensuring access to a wide range of books as well as cultivating book-related experiences to entertain and inspire them. The rationale for this is the plethora of research that shows far-reaching benefits of Reading for Pleasure, including:

1. Research from the National Literacy Trust has shown us that children and young people who like to read are three times more likely to have better mental health than those who don’t. In fact, reading for just 6 minutes has been shown to reduce stress by up to 68%, making it one of the most effective way to ease tension in the body and the mind!
2. Children who read are more likely to do better at school and make more progress across the curriculum.
3. Children who read are more likely to develop empathy and creativity.
4. Reading for pleasure is a more powerful factor in life achievement than socio-economic background.

Our Reading for Pleasure lead for the Ridgeway Education Trust is Leoni Barnes and the strategy for encouraging our pupils to develop and maintain a love of reading includes author visits, mentoring from older students and participation in local and national book awards. You can read more about this in the Reading Round Up: 

Edition 1 

Edition 2 

Edition 3

Edition 4

Edition 5

Edition 6

Our half-termly Reading Newsletter is full of tips, competitions and opportunities to get your child excited about reading:

​September Reading Newsletter.pdf

Primary Patron of Reading

Hello everyone,

I’m Sophie Kirtley and I’m very proud to say that I’m your brand new Patron of Reading. I’ve been a children’s author for nearly ten years and I write wild, adventurous, big-hearted books for children of all ages. I believe that the books we read when we’re young really matter; often these are the stories that stick with us all through our lives. Reading can bring such joy and I’m so excited to share my love of books and stories with all the children, teachers and families in the RET community.

So what does a Patron of Reading do? My main role is to be a cheerleader for reading and I can’t wait to get stuck in. Over the next two years I’ll visit each school in person for a day of exciting, interactive bookish activities. Whether you’re a bookworm or someone who finds reading tricky, my visits will include something for everyone and will focus on inspiration and fun for all.

Even when I’m not in school in person I’ll be sending regular videos and newsletter updates to chat about the stories I’ve been writing and the brilliant books I’ve been reading. I love sharing book recommendations so I’ll be hoping to hear lots of great reading ideas from pupils too. More than anything my aim is to open conversations about stories and to help make reading something we can all share and celebrate together.

Happy reading one and all!

Sophie Kirtley

You can read more about Sophie and her books on her website: Sophie Kirtley, Author, Children's Books, The Wild Way Home,