How Bedtime Stories Can Transform Reading in Your School
Whether you want to raise the profile of reading in your school, increase reading for pleasure or build on an already successful reading curriculum; bedtime stories are a fantastic way to transform reading in our schools.
95% of families recognise the importance of reading with children but research carried out by the BookTrust tell us that only 42% of children aged 0-7 regularly share a bedtime story and 1 in 5 children aged 0-4 are read to less than once a month. It would be interesting to carry out the same research in your school and to the consider how we can encourage more families to share a story at bedtime and what impact this would have on our children’s love of reading.
What are the benefits of bedtime stories?
A love for reading is absolutely fundamental to our children’s future reading and academic success. Access to high quality books is the single most important intervention that can be put in place in any school. Children who read for pleasure are more academically successful, will have higher incomes than those who don’t and, most importantly, are happier. This is always the outcome regardless of a child’s family income and education. ‘Data shows that children from families with a low income who do well at the end of primary school are twice as likely to have been read to at home in their early years than their peers whose home experience did not include it.’ (Reading Rights Report 2025)
Books use a much greater diversity of language that any of us do in our everyday lives. Younger children learn from the repetition present in lots of picture books. For older children, as you read aloud to them, they are able to access language and stories that are beyond their independent ability. As well as boosting vocabulary and communication skills, shared reading also boost memory, focus and concentration. Encouraging a child to talk about the text, characters and repeat the words has a positive impact on speech and language skills which in turn result in better social skills and emotional wellbeing. Children who can talk about how they feel, make friends and solve conflicts are happier. Their reading habits reduce stress, enhance empathy and strengthen resilience.
Bedtime stories can increase deep sleep by establishing a consistent, calming routine that promotes relaxation and reduces stress. This is integral to learning as the brain enters a critical phase during deep sleep where the brain processes and replays the day’s learning. It also improves concentration and focus for the next day.
A consistent bedtime routine with a shared story helps children feel secure, loved and supported. It increases trust and communication between parent and child and gives an opportunity for children to reflect upon their day. This in turn will help parents feel more involved and engaged in their children’s learning and school life.
How can we encourage families to share more stories?
Whilst phonics schemes are essential in teaching our children to read, the often dull stories do not inspire children to read at home. In fact, they often have the opposite effect with parents being unsure how best to support their child. It is so important that, as well as each child’s phonics book, a high quality story is sent home each week for the family to share. This is now part of the DfE’s guidance. By providing a bedtime story for your families, children will have a calm and relaxed time before bed creating memories with their family and parents will be provided with high-quality books that will show the value of sharing stories. We have carefully selected collections of books for their beautiful illustrations, lyrical text and calm, supportive themes. The right books will help parents start conversations with their children and give little ones ways to talk about their emotions and their day as well as encouraging parents to create a reading routine.
Parental Access to the School Library
This is often a controversial suggestion but one that has real impact! Consider whether the position of your school library would allow parents to come and browse at the end of the school day. Create a dedicated area or book case for bedtime stories and encourage children and their parents to choose a story they would like to share. If your library isn’t easily accessible to parents, could you have a book case in the school’s reception area instead? Choice is a key factor in children’s enjoyment of reading as are engaging covers and books that children recognise.
Bedtime Stories in Key Stage 2
By age 8, the percentage of children reading for pleasure has dropped dramatically to only 32.7% (National Literacy Trust 2025). This is the age where lots of parents will stop sharing stories and no longer listen to their child read. Parents often find it difficult to recommend or choose a story to share with their child. Schools can help overcome this barrier by providing a range of high-quality books for families to choose from. We’ve put together collections of our very favourite books for each year group, organised by genre to give families and children a great starting point.
Whilst England in one on the top performing countries in the world for reading performance, the results for reading for pleasure are worryingly low. Only 29% of 10 year old in England say they like reading ‘very much’ compared with 42% around the world. (Reading Rights 2025). Enjoyment is dropping most rapidly among primary aged children. We can change this with access to beautiful, engaging and funny stories that children can share at home that provide positive reading experiences.
