Essa Primary School pupils see literacy standards rise

Since the opening of the Community Hub at the start of the academic year, Essa Primary School in Great Lever has invited tens of thousands of pounds in new books, which its pupils are busy reading their way through.

And as result literacy levels have spiked.

The Community Hub is for families and children and features a new library as well as breakout areas and a performance space, where children are able to build confidence by reading to their peers.

The range of new books that school invested in includes a broad range of fiction, non-fiction and picture books, including the full collections of four diverse authors - Joseph Coelho, Vashti Harrison, Kate Pankhurst and Ibtihaj Muhammed.

Diversity and representation have been a key part of this investment, with books offering aspirational messages to children of all backgrounds and ethnicities within the school.

Essa Primary School (Image: Essa Primary School)Principal Peter Stewart, said: “Reading is central to everything we do at Essa Primary.

“We want children to adopt a love for reading the second they walk through our doors.

“Our investment ensures that children have a fantastic range of engaging books and will have for years to come.

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“Children have loved reading the brand-new texts, it's been great to see their engagement in reading spike!”

In addition, every child starting school receives a copy of Here we Are, the critically acclaimed book by Oliver Jeffers.

Mr Stewart added: “'Here We Are' by Oliver Jeffers is particularly special to us at Essa. We wanted to select one particular book that aligns with our ethos and values, and 'Here We Are' is the perfect book for us.”

Principal Peter Stewart (Image: Essa Primary School)

Governors at Essa Primary say they have been thrilled by the results of this investment, and particularly the school’s commitment to improving literacy levels amongst new readers, as well as older children affected by the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.

Essa Primary is an Ofsted-rated Good school and will hold open days for new students later this year.

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