Teachers' Reading Challenge

Welcome to the 2024 Teachers’ Reading Challenge!

The Teachers' Reading Challenge is an opportunity for school and library staff to expand their knowledge of contemporary children's books and develop their understanding of reading for pleasure pedagogy. Run by The Reading Agency in partnership with the Open University, the challenge invites participants to:

Join a supportive and inspired community of educators and readers
Set their own reading goal
Upload book reviews
Access thousands of reviews from teachers and librarians
Share best practice
Download engaging and beautifully designed publisher resources
Record and apply their knowledge

The Challenge is for all teachers, librarians and education staff, including trainees. Find out more about how different roles can use the Challenge to grow a love of reading for pleasure with the children and young people they work with here.

Scroll down to read more about how the Challenge works and create a free account or log back in if you took part last year.

Join the challenge

Unlock rewards, access resources and be inspired by recommendations from a community of educators and readers, as you discover brilliant children’s books this summer.

Join now

Already a member?

Already a member? Fantastic! Click ‘login’ to start your challenge. Remember, by logging in you can add and review books, join a supportive and inspired community of educators and readers and access useful resources.

How it works

Read at least 6 books and review at least 3 of them to unlock your Bronze badge
Complete a short survey to unlock your Silver badge
Upload an example of practice to unlock your Gold badge

Join the challenge now

Why do the Teachers’ Reading Challenge?

The latest Childwise report reveals that 1 in 4 5-16-year-olds don't read for pleasure (Childwise, 2021). The Open University’s research reveals that teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature and other texts is essential for developing a rich reading curriculum, and when combined with the four-fold reading for pleasure (RfP) pedagogy, effectively nurtures the reading habit in young people (Cremin et al, 2014). It is the cornerstone on which interactive communities of readers are built.

Modelled on The Reading Agency's popular Summer Reading Challenge, which is run annually to motivate more children to read during the break from school, the Teachers' Reading Challenge invites you to develop your repertoire of children’s books and discover ways to inspire reading for pleasure in your school or library.

Reading for pleasure impacts on children’s life chances, so if you participate in the Teachers’ Reading Challenge you will:

Develop your reading repertoire of children’s texts
Enrich your capacity to foster a love of reading
Enhance your reflection on the nature of reading and being a reader