Fairmeadows Foundation Primary School is a single-form entry, co-educational primary school in Swadlincote, Derbyshire.

Reading for pleasure is a key aspect of the curriculum at Fairmeadows, and they aim to develop confident, fluent and able readers for the future; readers who choose and love to read, valuing books and seeking out new texts.

At Fairmeadows Foundation Primary School the curriculum is designed to: recognise children’s prior learning, provide first hand learning experiences, allow the children to develop interpersonal skills, build resilience and become creative, critical thinkers.

An overwhelming majority of children interviewed enjoyed reading on Pickatale with 21 out of 24 agreeing that it had improved their reading experience.

The main reasons the children gave for enjoying Pickatale were liking the books, the variety of books available and the narration function. Some of the avid readers at the school also cited the quizzes and the helping hand reading plays in emotional regulation as reasons to love Pickatale.

Pupils’ interests were closely aligned with the book genres in the Pickatale library.

The majority of children read on Pickatale because they “want to learn” so it stands to reason that STEM books were the most popular genre amongst students, with children in all year groups - both avid and reluctant readers - choosing it as one of their favourite genres.

Comedy and comics were also very popular genres and a smaller number of children listed fantasy, horror, crime, animals and art as favourites.

When asked why they read at home, children cited enjoyment as their number one reason. At Pickatale, we are driven to help schools and families facilitate reading for pleasure and enjoyment so that children can excel academically, socially and emotionally. When children actively enjoy reading, they develop the tools they need to build reading confidence and take ownership of their reading journey.

Other reasons children gave for reading at home included learning, homework, and for something to do.

Children enjoy using the app in school and it is supporting Fairmeadows in encouraging a love for reading throughout the school. The variety of books allows all children to find a topic that interests them and the reading aloud feature reduces the barriers to less confident readers enjoying reading.

Staff see enormous value in Pickatale - with students enjoying the wide selection of texts available, there is always a text to direct children towards to support their teaching.

Pickatale has proven to be a useful app already and has a burgeoning role to play in the teaching of reading at Fairmeadows.