Do join us for our Autumn 20025 Conference: The Affective Power of Reading for Pleasure in Milton Keynes!
Affective engagement in reading is a driving force in motivating and sustaining young readers. Affect is experienced in both the mind and the body while reading, and has potential for the development of empathy, pro-social behaviour and deepening comprehension. This inspiring conference will offer opportunities to explore research-informed practice that recognises the power of affect, supporting you in nurturing intrinsically motivated readers. The Norfolk Children’s Book Centre and UKLA bookshops will enrich the day. Workshops will be led by the OURfP team and talented teachers offering engaging way forward.
Workshop A: Affect and fiction in action – Teresa Cremin and Ceri Seymour
Reading can be an affectively charged experience creating a legacy of past satisfactions that motivate and sustain readers. But how can we nurture personal resonances and connections in primary/KS3 classes? In this workshop drawing on research, our lived experience and classroom practice, we will explore ways to foster children’s and adults’ affective engagement in fiction.
Workshop B: Connecting with non-fiction – Kelly Ashley, Melissa Doeswijk and Clare Hollis
How can magazines, newspapers, and other non-fiction texts offer more than just information? In this workshop, we’ll explore the often-overlooked affective power of non-fiction reading by considering how access, choice, and personal interest play vital roles. Join us to unpack how ‘reading to know’ can become ‘reading to feel.’
Workshop C: Making reading feel special in EYFS and KS1 – Helen Hendry, Natalie Beirne and Jessica Parker
Children and parents want to read when opportunities are relaxed, informal and build on their choices. In this session we will share strategies devised to use the power of fun, relaxed social experiences to engage children and parents in reading at school. Join us to explore a range of strategies and opportunities for informal talk, boosting the ‘feel good’ motivation to read.
Workshop D: Turning pages together – Rachel Ayres and Alison King
In this workshop we will explore the powerful shift from ‘promoting reading’ to living and experiencing its affective power, in secondary schools. Linking to research, our focus will be on verse novels that have resonated with staff and students, and on practical ideas to deepen your practice, offering space to reflect, connect, and re-energise your approach.
Workshop E: Picturebooks as pathways – Richard Charlesworth
Picturebooks can be powerful tools for fostering affective relationships and emotional engagement among young readers. Drawing on the Open University’s Picture Fiction Framework, this workshop offers practical strategies, not just for literacy development, but to nurture empowered, emotionally literate children who see themselves—and each other—in stories.
Workshop F: Leadership and affect – Roger McDonald and Andrea Ashworth
With a focus on leadership and staff knowledge, this session will offer practical strategies to support educators in reading more widely, sharing emotional responses to texts, and modelling rich reading lives. Participants will consider how affective engagement with reading can strengthen school reading cultures and professional development.
