Olivia Richards: Reading for results misses the real power of stories
Fluency and attainment matter. But unless children discover the joy, meaning and comfort that books can bring, we risk teaching them the mechanics of reading without giving them a reason to keep turning the page.
This year’s National Year of Reading comes at a significant moment for schools. The Government’s white paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, sets out a 10-year vision for education in England that is not only about raising standards, but about broadening children’s school experience, strengthening inclusion and helping every child feel able to engage and succeed.
That ambition matters for reading. Too often, reading is talked about mainly in terms of attainment: the skills children need, the qualifications it can help unlock and, sometimes, even its impact on future earnings. These things are important, but they do not capture what reading can also do for children’s sense of self, connection and belonging.
Stories help children become better readers, but they also give them language for feelings, relationships and experiences that can be difficult to articulate directly. At a time when many children are struggling with wellbeing and belonging, this wider purpose of reading deserves more attention.
If we want children not only to achieve, but to thrive, then we need to look again at the power stories have not only to improve literacy, but also to help children understand themselves, connect with others and make sense of the world around them.
For me, the power of reading was a part of my childhood. Stories were where I went when I was trying to make sense of things. They gave me language for feelings I did not yet fully understand, and they helped me feel less alone. Later, as a teacher, I began to see that this was not just a personal experience, but something that could matter deeply in the classroom too.
Early in my teaching career, a visitor named Andy French came to speak to my classes about how a prison reading programme had changed his life. What stayed with me was not simply that reading had helped him, but the way it had helped: by allowing him to see himself differently through stories and to process experiences he had not previously had language for.
That experience stayed with me. It made me wonder whether we were missing something in schools. If stories could have that kind of impact in such challenging circumstances, what might they offer children, especially those who were struggling with their wellbeing or sense of belonging?
That question became the starting point for The Story Project, a social enterprise I started with support from Let Teachers SHINE. After researching the approach that had been used in prisons, I began using carefully chosen stories and structured discussion to support both wellbeing and literacy in schools.
Over time, I wanted to understand not only whether this approach worked, but why it seemed to make a difference. That led me to complete a PhD at St Mary’s University, exploring teachers’ perceptions of using stories and The Story Project as pedagogical tools in PSHE.
Across both the classroom practice and the research, one message came through clearly: When stories are used with intention, they can support both wellbeing and literacy in powerful ways.
This also speaks to a wider challenge. International data suggests that, in many contexts, reading attainment has improved, but children’s wellbeing has not always followed the same path. So perhaps the question is not only how well children read, but what reading makes possible for them.
This was the question I returned to throughout my PhD. In listening to teachers talk about how they used stories in PSHE, several themes began to emerge about why stories can create the conditions for children to think, talk and connect in ways that feel meaningful and safe.
Stories create psychological safety and belonging
The first of these themes was the way stories can create a sense of distance and safety.
Through fictional characters, children can explore sensitive topics such as friendship, loss, identity or anxiety without feeling exposed. They do not have to speak directly about themselves; instead, they can begin with the character:
- Why did the character act that way?
- What might they be feeling?
- What could they do next?
This kind of distance can act as a protective layer, giving children a safer way to engage with complex or sensitive issues than direct questioning might allow.
For some children, particularly those who may not yet feel a strong sense of belonging, that indirect route into discussion can be crucial. It can open up deeper conversations and, sometimes, lead to disclosures that had previously remained unspoken. Stories do not force these moments, but they can make them possible.
Making abstract concepts meaningful
That same distance also helps children engage with ideas that can be hard to teach in the abstract. Themes such as resilience, fairness, identity and belonging sit at the heart of PSHE, but they are not always easy to define or discuss in isolation. Stories bring these ideas to life. As one teacher said during her interview for the PhD: ‘you could talk about mental wellbeing until the cows come home, but actually seeing it in a story, seeing somebody go through that, they actually understand, I think, better than just as an abstract.’
When children meet a character facing a challenge, they can explore what these concepts look like in practice and can question decisions, consider different perspectives and begin to sit with complexity. Teachers in my research often described these as “lightbulb moments”, where understanding suddenly becomes visible.
Rather than simply being told what something means, children begin to see it, talk about it and internalise it.
Where literacy and wellbeing meet
These moments matter for wellbeing, but they are also closely connected to literacy development.
One of the key findings from my PhD was that the real strength lies not only in the text itself, but in the quality of the discussion around it. It is through talk that children begin to test ideas, explain their thinking and listen to perspectives beyond their own.
Through structured, shared conversations, children:
- develop expressive language and vocabulary
- practise reasoning, explanation and inference
- learn to listen, empathise and respond to others
This is where wellbeing and literacy come together most clearly. Children are developing as readers, but they are also learning how to communicate, connect and take part in a shared conversation.
Teachers noticed that, over time, children’s contributions often became more confident and more thoughtful. They were better able to name emotions, describe relationships, explain their reasoning and respond to one another with greater care.
The importance of representation and connection
This is also where the choice of story becomes especially important.
If stories are going to support belonging, diversity and inclusion, children need opportunities to:
- see themselves represented
- encounter perspectives beyond their own
- engage with characters that feel real and relatable
Teachers often highlighted the power of picture books, even with older pupils, because they can explore complex themes with clarity, emotional depth and accessibility. Carefully chosen books can also help children who may not have seen themselves as readers begin to see themselves positively in stories. When children recognise something of their own lives, feelings or questions in a book, reading can feel less like a task and more like a place where they belong.
The role of the teacher
This is why the role of the teacher is so important. Stories alone are not enough. Their impact depends on the questions teachers ask, the space they create and the quality of the discussion that follows. Teachers shape the conditions in which children feel able to contribute, and they ensure that conversations are handled with care. Teachers commented in the PhD interviews that The Story Project helped them to do this well allowing stories to become a way of building community, understanding and connection in the classroom.
Joining the dots
Taken together, these findings point to an important opportunity for schools. At the moment, reading and wellbeing are often treated as separate priorities:
- reading as an academic outcome
- wellbeing as a pastoral concern.
But stories offer a way to bring these priorities together. They support comprehension, vocabulary and critical thinking, while also creating space for reflection, emotional understanding and connection. In doing so, they help develop the very capacities that research links with future wellbeing, life satisfaction and participation in society and the workforce.
This also gives the National Year of Reading a deeper significance. If children are introduced to books through meaningful conversations in PSHE, they may be more likely to experience reading as relevant, personal and enjoyable. For some children, this can be the hook that draws them into books, supports reading for pleasure and begins to nurture a lifelong love of reading that extends beyond the classroom and beyond a single national initiative.
Looking ahead
As schools respond to evolving expectations around attainment, inclusion and children’s wider development, it may be time to broaden the conversation about reading. Asking not only ‘can children read?’, but ‘what is reading helping them to understand: about themselves, about others and about the world around them?’ Stories remind us that reading is not only about performance. It is also about belonging, identity, empathy and understanding. When they are chosen carefully and used with intention, stories have the potential to transform lives by improving both learning and wellbeing.
With the continued support of SHINE, The Story Project is continuing to share this message through both classroom practice and research. Including a place-based programme in Bradford, alongside expansion into nursery and secondary settings.
Teachers are already describing the impact:
“The Story Project has had a transformative impact on our school community… pupils who struggled to engage are now excited to share their ideas… it has given them a voice.”
To learn more about my PHD research you can read the whole of my thesis here.
You can find out more about The Story Project at: www.story-project.co.uk
You contact me by email at: olivia@story-project.co.uk