At East Prescot Road, reading is at the heart of our curriculum.  We believe in the power of books!  There are so many reasons why books and storytelling are important, not least the impact on a child’s speech, language and communication.

There’s also the awe and wonder that books create, the imagination they inspire and the opportunity children to forget where they are and become immersed in the stories and the characters contained within the pages.

Children really enjoy sharing their own stories, too, and these could be the most powerful of all – providing children with the opportunity to use their voice, their vocabulary, and tell their stories in their own way. 

Our early years educators use dialogic reading as an approach to engage children with books and we encourage our families to use this approach at home.

Language and communication

It is well known that children who are considered disadvantaged will likely hear less language at home (up to 30 million words across their childhood according to some research).

So, stories are the main focus of our provision. They are an invaluable tool to support children to build on their vocabulary. Listening to stories provides children with the opportunity to hear new words in context and often with visual prompts which can support them to understand the meaning of these words as well as how to use them appropriately. Adults read with children often throughout the day.  Our children have access to a rich choice of texts, both indoors and outdoors.  Our Little Owl's Lending Library offers children the opportunity to loan books to take home and share with their families.

Emotional development

Stories support children to explore their emotions, helping them to understand how they feel, and why they might feel that way.  Finding a cosy space, sharing story with a trusted grown- up or a friend, and experiencing the magic of a story together is a powerful emotional experience for children, that develops feelings of attachment and security.  Children will often ask to hear the same favourite stories or rhymes read to them over and over again because it delivers a huge dosage of wellbeing and enjoyment.

Positive representation

Books build a child’s knowledge of the world and their understanding of different cultures, festivals, people, communities and ways of life.  They promote our values of inclusion and the British Values of respect, tolerance and diversity.

Representation matters. The power of books is that they provide positive representation to children of themselves and their families, and to explore cultures, festivals and communities that our children may not be exposed to in their daily life. 

Children really need to see themselves in what they read. We have a selection of stories containing positive images for children, and seeing a positive representation of themselves will strengthen a child’s self-esteem. These two go hand in hand. 

It’s crucial that children feel able to share their own stories too, supporting their communication and language, emotional development and self-esteem. For children to be given the platform to share their stories and for them to feel heard by both their peers and adults is so important for their self-confidence and for them feel valued.