Parents and Reading for Pleasure: Research into Practice
Location
Online event access details will be provided by the event organiser
About
In this session, Teresa Cremin (OU) and Ruthann Hughes (Book Trust) will explore both research evidence and a range of related possibilities for working with parents to support the habit of reading in the transition to primary school and through the primary school years.
Teresa Cremin, CBE is Professor of Education (Literacy) at The Open University, UK, and co-Director of the Literacy and Social Justice Centre which creates space for research, practice and advocacy to enrich educational opportunities. An ex-teacher and teacher trainer, her research focuses on understanding the social and relational nature of children's volitional reading and writing, and teachers’ knowledge, practice and identities as readers and writers.
A Fellow of the English Association, the Academy of Social Sciences, and the Royal Society of the Arts, Teresa is also a Trustee of The Reading Agency and the Love Reading Foundation and advises the DfE on reading for pleasure. She has published over 35 books on teaching literacy, most recently Reading and Writing for Pleasure: An evidence-informed Framework for Practice with H. Hendry, S. Hulston and L. Chamberlain (Routledge, 2026). Teresa leads a research and practice coalition to support children’s and teachers’ reading for pleasure https://ourfp.org/
Ruthann Hughes, Director of Research and Impact, leads BookTrust's teams for research and impact and design and innovation. BookTrust has deep expertise in conducting quantitative and qualitative research with parents, carers and early years and schools partners and translating insights from this work into evidence-informed national reading programmes. Recent publications from BookTrust’s research team include Trends, drivers and inequalities in UK childhood reading: BookTrust's National Family Survey and Building bonds through sharing books.
Prior to joining BookTrust in 2019 Ruthann lead insight and strategy activities for national and international NGOs, membership bodies and academic groups working on inequalities, education, health and international development.
Teresa Cremin, CBE is Professor of Education (Literacy) at The Open University, UK, and co-Director of the Literacy and Social Justice Centre which creates space for research, practice and advocacy to enrich educational opportunities. An ex-teacher and teacher trainer, her research focuses on understanding the social and relational nature of children's volitional reading and writing, and teachers’ knowledge, practice and identities as readers and writers.
A Fellow of the English Association, the Academy of Social Sciences, and the Royal Society of the Arts, Teresa is also a Trustee of The Reading Agency and the Love Reading Foundation and advises the DfE on reading for pleasure. She has published over 35 books on teaching literacy, most recently Reading and Writing for Pleasure: An evidence-informed Framework for Practice with H. Hendry, S. Hulston and L. Chamberlain (Routledge, 2026). Teresa leads a research and practice coalition to support children’s and teachers’ reading for pleasure https://ourfp.org/
Ruthann Hughes, Director of Research and Impact, leads BookTrust's teams for research and impact and design and innovation. BookTrust has deep expertise in conducting quantitative and qualitative research with parents, carers and early years and schools partners and translating insights from this work into evidence-informed national reading programmes. Recent publications from BookTrust’s research team include Trends, drivers and inequalities in UK childhood reading: BookTrust's National Family Survey and Building bonds through sharing books.
Prior to joining BookTrust in 2019 Ruthann lead insight and strategy activities for national and international NGOs, membership bodies and academic groups working on inequalities, education, health and international development.
Please note that this will be an interactive session, with attendees encouraged to participate throughout. To create an open and engaging environment, the session will not be recorded.