Reading volunteers – How they can transform children’s attitudes
Reading volunteers don’t just help with decoding and fluency – they can transform children’s attitudes to books and bring precious peace of mind for teachers…
- by Tori Watts
- Former teacher & operations coordinator for Schoolreaders Visit website
For me, the introduction of a reading volunteer into my classroom was a game-changer.
I imagine you know it well – the common situation of having 30 children to teach, making it difficult to spend meaningful one-to-one time with each one, let alone providing additional support to those who need it most.
Even with the support of a teaching assistant and daily whole-class reading sessions, hearing every child read individually is still a particular challenge.
I knew getting a reading volunteer was the right decision when one of my reluctant readers started to use new, expressive words in their writing. Such a small change in the classroom; such a huge difference.
Making the most of reading volunteers
Every week, those ten-minute sessions with the reading volunteer would be filled with patience, encouragement and a dictionary to hand.
They empowered children who had often struggled to broaden their vocabularies and find the confidence to put them into practice. This made me incredibly proud and reassured; I would heartily recommend trying it.
But how?, you ask. Well, first you need to get organised. I’m aware how tough that can be when time is scarce, but you will thank yourself later when you are truly reaping the benefits of having a reading volunteer.
A clear induction process, including the teacher, the reading volunteer and the pupils, is key. That means, for example, taking the time to clearly communicate expectations and provide the volunteer with information on how to handle different situations.
It is important to reassure the reading volunteer and create an open environment for feedback, which in turn will allow you to make the most of their time.
Introducing the reading volunteer to the pupils is equally essential in establishing their role and making everyone feel comfortable, particularly for children who will be directly supported.
I created a list of the children who were going to benefit most from one-to-one sessions every week, prioritising those needing extra help with confidence and fluency.
I also explained to the children why they were receiving extra reading time. This equipped them to have a better understanding of the situation, and made the sessions run more smoothly.
For many of the less confident children, reading wasn’t their favourite activity. But once these sessions became a regular part of the school week, they began seeing their time with the reading volunteer as a ‘treat’.
They valued the one-to-one attention of an adult, something to which they didn’t always have access.
Practical considerations
Practical planning also made the process smoother. Having the reading volunteer come at the same time every week, for the same amount of time, and using a designated area like the library to keep distractions to a minimum helped enormously.
Using the library allowed for informal catch-up time, too, helping the children to settle before reading.
Situating the volunteer in the library also helped when pupils, more often than not, had forgotten their book.
I asked the children to collect the next reader after their session, reducing interruptions and keeping my class’s excitement in check.
No pressure
The main challenge I found was getting feedback from the reading volunteer. With most sessions occurring on teaching days, conversations often felt rushed.
I addressed this by setting up dedicated feedback time between the reading volunteer and another member of staff, ensuring they didn’t have to wait or interrupt my teaching.
The reading volunteer nurtured a genuine love for reading among my class. By listening rather than teaching, they removed the pressure often associated with reading at school and helped children to see it as a fun, life-enriching activity.
It also gave pupils space to discuss the stories and ask questions. Volunteers definitely have more time for those ‘silly’ conversations, where children can let their imaginations run wild. This massively improved pupils’ conversational skills and confidence.
Beyond reading, the volunteer became a valued part of our school family, helping out on Roman Day and school trips.
They offered a new perspective – and above all, gave me the peace of mind that children who needed extra support were receiving it.
Tori Watts is a former primary school teacher, and is now operations coordinator for national reading charity, Schoolreaders.
