Reading is Power – Podcasts

Listening to podcasts can be a great way of getting young people interested and engaged in a range of topics.

Research by the National Literacy Trust also shows that children and young people who listen to podcasts are more likely to enjoy reading for pleasure, so we want to direct pupils to podcasts to encourage further reading around topics they are interested in or learning about in class, as well as promoting a love of storytelling.

Key findings from the National Literacy Trust Report

Listening during lockdown

Nearly 1 in 4 (23.7%) children and young people said they listened to podcasts or audiobooks more during lockdown than they did before.
Reasons given by children and young people for this increase included the extra time they had in their days, the ability of podcasts to assist relaxation and the draw of key role models as podcast creators.

Links with reading for pleasure

More children and young people who listen to podcasts enjoy reading (47.8% vs 40.8%) and read daily (30.4% vs 27.0%) than their peers who do not listen to podcasts

Boys and older children listen more

22.7% of boys engaged compared with 16.6% of girls said they listened to podcasts or audiobooks
Young people aged 14 and above listen to podcasts than younger peers. Only 1 in 10 (9.1%) children aged 9 to 11 said that they listened to podcasts compared with nearly 4 in 10 (38.7%) young people aged 16 to 18

For more free resources visit our Reading page on the school website Reading at Heath Park and follow our Twitter page @HeathParkReads

Happy listening,

Mrs Hill