We have had a wonderful start to the 2026 National Year of Reading Campaign!

Every half term, we will be promoting the ‘Pleasure of Reading’ with new ideas and activities.

To start, we have seen the launch of three new Seaside Story Rucksacks for our Reception and Key Stage 1 children to enjoy. This week also saw the opening of our Starbooks pop-up café for our Key Stage 2 children, complete with biscuits and hot chocolate to enjoy alongside a good book!

 

Staff have been busy collecting children’s views on the books they would most like to read, matched to their interests. This has generated quite the shopping list! As you can see from the picture, we now have a fantastic collection of books for both libraries based on the children’s interests. The range includes graphic novels, chapter books for our younger readers, and books on quad bikes, monster trucks, Anne Frank, inventions, David Attenborough, caves, camping, skiing, movie-making, and much more. As the National Year of Reading says, ‘Go All In!’ — and we certainly have!

 

In Spring 2, we enjoyed even more exciting events and activities !

Year 5 took part in a live poetry event, which inspired the children to create their own poetic raps. These were entered into a competition for the chance to have their work performed by a professional rapper and storyteller, Alim Kamara, as well as published in a book—so watch this space, and fingers crossed!

We have also launched our paired buddy reading initiative, where children from Key Stage 2 meet with Year 2 pupils to share books and take part in activities centered around high-quality book discussions. This has already proven to be a wonderful way to build confidence and a love of reading across year groups.

Our teachers have also had the opportunity to enhance their reading teaching skills through a fantastic workshop led by English consultant Jane Branson, who shared her expertise along with valuable book recommendations.

Another highlight was a visit from the West Sussex Mobile Library Bus. This gave children from each class the opportunity to explore a wide range of books and select some to bring back and enjoy in their classrooms.

In addition, we celebrated World Book Day in style! Each year group focused on a different author, learning about their lives and how they became writers and illustrators. The children enjoyed reading recommended texts, attending live author workshops, and taking part in a range of fun activities. We were even featured in the local newspaper! If you would like to see photos from the day, please visit the Gallery section of our website.

In Summer 1, we continued celebrating reading across our school! As part of the National Year of Reading, we have loved seeing children immerse themselves in stories, recommend books to one another and share the joy of reading together.

One of the highlights of the final week of term has been our much-loved Star Books Cafe sessions. Children have thoroughly enjoyed settling down with a good book, sharing stories with friends and enjoying a delicious hot chocolate together. It has been fantastic to see so many happy readers discussing their favourite characters and exciting storylines!

We are also excited to introduce our brand-new Seaside Primary Story Trolleys. These special trolleys head out onto the playground at lunchtime, giving children the opportunity to pick up a book, relax and read with friends during the school day. The trolleys have already proved very popular and are helping to make reading a fun and social part of lunchtime.

Another exciting project coming soon is our staff storytelling videos! Members of staff have been busy recording themselves reading some of their favourite stories, and these videos will soon be available on the school website for children and families to enjoy together at home.

 

In Summer 2, we are continuing to promote a love of reading across our school. Our focus is on book talk and the importance of reading role models.

We have launched our new initiative: “Ask Me What I’m Reading!” This initiative will encourage children to talk about books, recommend stories to one another and celebrate reading conversations across the school community. We can’t wait to hear all the brilliant book recommendations shared by our pupils!

We know that talking about books and recommending favourite reads helps children develop their communication skills, broaden their reading interests and share the enjoyment that reading can bring. We have asked all the adults to encourage the children to talk about the book they are currently reading by looking at their badge and asking, “What are you reading?” But, don’t forget to share what you are reading too! As role models, we all have an important part to play in fostering a love of reading and showing our children that reading is something to be enjoyed throughout life.

Alongside the badges, children have also seen posters displayed around the school featuring members of staff at Seaside sharing what they enjoy reading and why. We hope these will inspire conversations about books and encourage children to discover new authors, genres and texts.

Take a look at some of these...