Globeducate Reads 2023

On Friday 3^rd February O Castro celebrated the fourth Globeducate Reads. Globeducate Reads is an initiative focused on allowing children time to simply enjoy reading and to see their role models throughout the school also taking the time to enjoy a book. All Globeducate schools from around the world take part in the event and each choose 1 hour of dedicated reading time. The schools then pass on the ‘reading baton’ to the next school when their hour is complete. By the time Globeducate Reads has finished the reading baton has travelled around the world, maybe even more than once! Each school made a video for the next school so that we can see who has been reading and where they have come from. The school before us was TIPS Bengaluru in India! Then we passed the baton over to EIB La Grenelle and La Jonchere in Paris! It is a fantastic way to connect with other schools in the Globeducate family.

As part of our celebrations and to make sure that we were as comfortable as possible to enjoy our reading to the max, everyone came to school in their pyjamas and brought their slippers, a pillow and their favourite book. In school, we all shared our favourite books with each other, which was a great way to discover everyone’s reading taste and find new books that we would like to read ourselves. We didn’t just read books in the classroom and library as we normally would, but all over the school. If you came to O Castro during the event you would have seen children reading in the forest, way up in tall trees, relaxing on a blanket in the middle of the football pitch and basketball court or looking like they were at the beach in the sandpit with their toes buried in the sand. Is there any better way to enjoy a book?

Not only were there children reading everywhere you looked but the classes also joined together with Key Stage 2 children visiting the children in Early Years and Key Stage 1 to read to and with them. This was a great opportunity for the older children to be reading role models and it was so lovely to see how nurturing they could be towards the younger children. It was a very positive experience and is something that we definitely want to incorporate more into our everyday school life.

It was important for the children to see the whole school as a reading community so members of staff who are not normally with the children made videos of themselves reading a story to share with everyone, making sure that everyone was really involved in the reading fun!

Globeducate Reads is a simple but effective initiative which really promotes allowing children dedicated time to read and promotes reading for pleasure. It gives children the chance to see everyone as a reader and the different types of books that can be enjoyed. It allows an opportunity for children to use their imaginations to explore new ideas, places and meet new characters. It also provides a chance for children to share and talk with others about what they are reading and reading for pleasure has been proven to improve children’s well-being and empathy.

We are already looking forward to the next Globeducate Reads but whilst we wait, we shall continue to build upon the chances we provide the children to develop as readers.