Top Tips for Schoolreaders Volunteers

As a Schoolreaders volunteer, the time you give and encouragement you offer can make a real difference in a child’s reading journey. Whether you're returning to a school you already know or getting ready for your first visit, these top tips will help you feel prepared and confident for the year ahead.

If you have any tips of your own that you'd like to share, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch at admin@schoolreaders.org.

Start of Term

Before you start volunteering in school, or at the start of a new term, it’s always a good idea to contact your school to confirm or reconfirm your availability with your school contact or class teacher. It’s also a good idea to check about any INSET days, school trips, special events or other timetable changes that may affect your visits. The school office team will be able to help you with this and are always a valuable source of information. Schools all run slightly differently, and knowing the calendar in advance can often save you a wasted trip!

Establish how staff would like to be addressed and how they’d prefer the children to address you - whether it’s using your title or your first name.

Communications with School Staff

Schools are very busy places and it may not always be possible to speak directly to the class teacher at the beginning or end of your session if you have any questions or feedback. If your class has a teaching assistant, you could speak to them or arrange to contact the teacher via email. Some volunteers use a contact/message book which remains in school to communicate.

In school, there are lots of adults working together to help children learn, stay safe and feel supported. Schoolreaders has produced a ‘Who’s Who in Primary Schools’, which you may find useful.

Reading Sessions

How volunteers are used may vary from school to school. You may be given a list of children to read with during each session, or a list to work through over a longer period. Schools may choose to rotate the children you read with from time to time, so that more children can benefit from your support.

It may be helpful to ask the teacher to explain what a typical session looks like, including how long you’ll spend with each child, how you’ll know which child to work with next and what to do if a child has forgotten their book.

The Class Teacher can also advise you on how to record details of your reading sessions. In many schools, children will have a Reading Record that they will bring to each session, along with their reading book. You can then easily see where the child is up to with their reading and you can write a few brief notes after each session, such as what went well or any tricky words. Not all schools ask volunteers to complete Reading Records, so please ask the class teacher if they would like you to do so.

Some volunteers use their own notebook to keep track of who they have listened to and record any specific support needed. Please only record children’s details by their first name or initials so they cannot be identified outside of school.

As you finish reading with one child, it can often be less disrupting to ask that child to send the next one on your list when they return to the classroom. Children often enjoy this responsibility although you may need to remind them to be subtle and not shout to the next child from the doorway!

Supporting your readers

Developing a relationship with the children you support is very important and will help them to feel more comfortable and build confidence.

Check-in: Many volunteers start their sessions with a quick check-in. This might involve asking the child how their day has been or what they did at the weekend, as well as what they have been reading.

Location: Some schools have dedicated reading spaces or a library, however, volunteers may find themselves reading with children in a variety of locations. If you are reading in a public area like a corridor, you may want to position yourself and the child so your backs are to the traffic flow so children are less distracted.

Reluctant Readers: Children may find reading challenging for a variety of reasons and may be reluctant to read. Please speak to your class teacher or teaching assistant if this is the case. They may have strategies in place already for that child that can support you in your sessions. Schoolreaders has produced guidance on how best to support reluctant readers which you may find useful.

Schoolreaders Volunteer Training Forums

Schoolreaders hosts regular online training forums to support volunteers in their role. Lookout for future sessions but previous topics have included Developing Comprehension; Special Education Needs (SEN); Dyslexia; Reading for Pleasure; Reading for Empathy. Links to previous forums and related resources can be found on the Volunteer Resources section of the Schoolreaders website.

Adapting to change

Be flexible: School routines sometimes change at short notice and this can impact on your sessions. If this happens, try to be flexible if you can but in some cases your sessions may need to be adjusted or cut short, depending on the situation.

End of Term

Timetable changes: Towards the end of a term (particularly Christmas and Summer), liaise with your school about upcoming trips and performances which may affect your sessions.

Next year: At the end of the school year, have a conversation with your school about arrangements for returning the following year and the classes and children you will be supporting.

Gifts: Some Schoolreaders volunteers like to give small gifts to the children at the end of the school year. This is very kind but absolutely not expected. If you do wish to give any gifts, please always check with your class teacher before doing so.

Keep reading!: If appropriate, gently encourage the children you read with to keep reading over the half term and summer holidays. Even just a few minutes a day can make a big difference and help them retain the progress they’ve made with you over the school year.

And finally…

Children thrive on praise for even the smallest thing and they will respond better in their session if they feel happy, relaxed and confident.

Don’t be afraid to have some fun during your time as a Schoolreaders volunteer - you should get as much out of it as the children!

As always if you have any questions about your volunteering, please contact admin@schoolreaders.org