The Book Squad blog

            
      December Reading: Festive Fun in the Classroom!
    
      December brings sparkly excitement to every primary school classroom, but it also presents unique challenges for maintaining reading momentum. Between festive preparations, nativity rehearsals, and holiday...
    
        4 min
      
        21/11/2025
      
      Reading for Pleasure Awards – the 2025 winners!
    
      The winners of The HarperCollins Reading for Pleasure Awards 2025, in association with the Open University and the UK Literacy Association (UKLA) were announced at the Open University Reading for Pleasure Conference on Saturday 18 October in Milton...
    
        4 min
      
        23/10/2025
      
      Social Book Clubs in Schools
    
      HarperCollins Children’s Books, Farshore and the School library Association have collaborated to create a toolkit for setting up social book clubs in school, based on the findings from their ‘Social Reading Spaces’ research. 
    
        2 min
      
        29/09/2025
      
      The Writing Framework
    
      Writing is one of the most challenging parts of the English curriculum for both teachers and learners. In acknowledgement of these difficulties, the DfE published its non-statutory writing framework in July 2025. It’s an extensive document of 149 pages broken...
    
        5 min
      
        22/09/2025
      
      Future of Books and Reading
    
      The Literacy Lab at the University of Edinburgh has today launched a new paper on children’s reading for pleasure, The Future of Books and Reading. This collaborative paper brings together expertise from across the higher education, literacy charity, library, education,...
    
        3 min
      
        22/09/2025
      
      Closing the Literacy Gap - Opening Doors
    
      Specialist programmes helping every child make progress and thrive.
Julie Taylor – Education Lead, The Children’s Literacy Charity
    
        7 min
      
        05/09/2025
      
      Transform Your Summer: Join the Teachers' Reading Challenge!
    
      Summer is a time for teachers to recharge after a demanding school year. But what if there was a way to enhance your teaching toolkit that feels like a treat rather than summer homework?
    
        4 min
      
        10/07/2025
      
      Sample email to parents to encourage reading over the summer holidays
    
      Want to encourage parents to keep your pupils hooked on books over summer? There are plenty of tips and tools on the Book Squad parents page where parents can get inspiration for how to maintain an enthusiasm for books and...
    
        2 min
      
        09/07/2025
      
      Love your local library over summer
    
      Stuck for things to do over the summer holiday? Want to try and keep your children engaged with reading over the summer over summer? You may find the perfect solution in the local library! Libraries are the perfect way of...
    
        5 min
      
        02/07/2025
      
      Breakfast with Barrington Stoke: free breakfast club activities to encourage reading for pleasure
    
      Breakfast clubs have always been a great way to get students excited about reading. They offer a relaxed, social space where picking up a book feels like a choice rather than a chore.  As specialists in engaging reluctant...
    
        3 min
      
        30/06/2025
      
      Encouraging reading for pleasure in SEND settings
    
      Much has been written about promoting reading for pleasure in mainstream settings, both at home and at school, but literacy skills and a love of books and reading plays an equally crucial role in SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities)...
    
        5 min
      
        20/06/2025
      
      Reading to children: the best part of the day or a chore?
    
      This blog appeared originally on <a class="Hyperlink...
    
        5 min
      
        11/06/2025