Teach Primary Issue 19.5

WHAT TO LOOK FOR Are you in need of a creative and effective reading programme? Consider these criteria: 1 A diverse range of genres and topics to allow children agency and choice over what they read. 2 Authentic representation and inclusion that gives all pupils a chance to see themselves in the books. 3 Rich, high-quality texts that captivate children’s imaginations and transport them to new worlds, broadening their point of view. 4 A clear and structured progression that helps pupils to secure early reading skills and build reading fluency at a pace that’s right for them. 5 Comprehensive teaching and assessment support to save teachers planning and preparation time. 2012; and despite reading aloud to children being a proven way to boost their enjoyment of reading, the number of parents reading aloud to children is at an all-time low. Fewer than half (41 per cent) of babies to four-year-olds are read to frequently; a steep decline from 64 per cent in 2012. Learning to read and reading to learn are often cited as limiting factors in enjoyment of books, exacerbated by diminishing access due to library closures and financial pressures on families. But we must accept the reality that for many children, reading at school will be their only exposure to books. Even more important, then, to publish high-quality reading books that capture children’s imaginations, and inspire, inform and entertain. This responsibility and privilege has long driven the commissioning strategy for Big Cat. We’ve published children’s contemporary fiction and non-fiction, classics and fairytales, retellings of Shakespeare, poetry, graphic novels, even joke books, aiming to give children wide exposure to different forms of literature, showcasing the huge range of forms that books can take, and helping children to develop their own literary tastes. Recent years have seen us focus heavily on representation and inclusion – from Lisa Rajan’s Tara and Dani Binns miniseries that showcases women in STEM careers, to the Time-Travelling Trio books from Nadine Cowan that shine a light on figures of Black history that have been omitted from traditional historical texts, and collections of books centred around neurodiversity, disabilities and long-term conditions, written and illustrated by contributors with lived experience, shared in an inimitable and authentic way. We want all children to see themselves in our books, so we take care to reflect the widest possible range of people, places, experiences, family structures and different socio-economic contexts; and we do so respectfully and authentically. We’ve applied these commissioning principles equally to our decodable phonics books, which have been a mainstay of our publishing programme over the last five years. In 2021 we were delighted to partner with the Wandle Learning Trust and Little Sutton Primary School, publishing resources and supporting books for their systematic synthetic phonics programme, Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. The programme is now used in more than 5,000 schools, and in April this year won a Teacher Tapp Gold Recommendation Award for having more than 90 per cent of teachers recommend the programme. Once children have secured the phonic code and embedded their decoding skills, they can build reading fluency and stamina with exciting chapter books by leading authors such as Abie Longstaff, Joseph Coelho and Chris Bradford. Supporting children on their reading journey, from mastering phonics to discovering the joy of independent reading, continues to be the driving force behind everyone who works on Big Cat, from the authors and illustrators to the team behind the scenes. I feel immensely privileged to have been part of Big Cat’s journey for the last 20 years. I look forward to seeing what the next 20 years bring. TP Lee Newman is the education and children’s publisher at Collins, chair of the Education Publishers Council at the Publisher’s Association, and a trustee of Book Aid Intl. collins.co.uk/BigCat www.teachwire.net | 45