Reading at SJF & World Book Day
Reading at SJF
Next Thursday 5th March is World Book Day. The event was created by UNESCO in 1995 to celebrate authors, illustrators, and books worldwide, with the first UK celebration occurring in 1997. It is now celebrated in over one hundred countries.
Reading for pleasure changes lives. Research shows the long-term benefits for children who read for pleasure as being even more influential on a child’s life chances than backgrounds and personal circumstances.
Reading for pleasure has been shown to boost a child’s academic performance, enhance empathy, and improve mental wellbeing. It builds vocabulary, fosters imagination, and promotes a lifelong love of learning, reducing stress and helping children understand and appreciate their world. Research shows that reading to and with your child, every day, even if it is just for just 10-15 minutes, will help them enormously.
At St John Fisher we work hard to support and encourage our children to be happy and confident readers. We have a robust phonics programme that equips our children with the skills to decode and read words, and an approach to reading that aims to engage and excite our children, building fluency and comprehension. We are supported by a dedicated team of wonderful volunteers who listen to readers each week. If you would like to join their numbers, we would welcome you, subject to all the necessary checks.
With the support of our wonderful PTFA we created the Marie Kerley Library and developed reading nooks throughout school – wonderful reading-rich spaces where children love to be. Spaces that always impress visitors too! We publish an annual book list and continue to prioritise the investment in books and reading resources in spite of relentless financial pressures, and we celebrate two of these books each week in the newsletter, click here.
World Book Day 2026
World Book Day is a special even that in its own way also highlights the tremendous and daily collective effort that goes in to promoting books and supporting every SJF pupil to be a confident reader.
On Thursday, the children are invited to either dress up as a book character, or dress down and wear something they like to wear, and we ask for a donation of £1 to help support our continued investment in reading resources and spaces around school. On the day, donations can be left on the gate at the start and end of the school day, and when the children are dropped off and collected from breakfast and after-school clubs.
During the day, there will be lots of storytelling, buddy-time reading and other related activities. There will also be a book sale on Friday 6th March 2026 after school. Donations of good quality books you no longer want at home are welcomed, and can be left with our school office team.
