Schools 'fail to teach the joy of reading'

Children are being deprived of the opportunity to enjoy books because schools are obsessed with their position in league tables, the head of Ofsted said yesterday.

David Bell said he found it "worrying" that many reading problems identified 30 years ago had not improved. Reading should be about pleasure, but teachers could lose sight of this under pressure to improve test results, he said.

Many schools were not doing enough to improve the reading and writing of pupils whose attainment was low when they went up to secondary school, he added.

In a speech to mark World Book Day today, Mr Bell called on the government to set up a National English Centre to promote good teaching and remind teachers of other subjects to respect language.

Himself an avid reader, he said it was disappointing how few pupils mentioned "the joy of learning".

"Reading has always been seen as a source of considerable pleasure for many. This is important, but perhaps has been forgotten by some schools in their pursuit of higher tests results that will improve their position in the league tables.

"You will find no pleasure in books if you cannot read, but it is equally possible to be able to read and derive little pleasure."

Mr Bell said the Bullock report on reading in state schools set out many failings. "That was 30 years ago but, worryingly, many of the concerns about reading expressed in the report still exist today."

Link: Guardian Unlimited, Rebecca Smithers.