Teachers from across England and Wales will this week be able to access fun and free author sessions to inspire their pupils to read as part of the inaugural Premier League Primary Stars Reading Festival.
The festival, run in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, takes place between 12-16 July and involves daily events with six top children's authors that will combine football, sport and reading.
Sign up for the PL Primary Stars Reading Festival
"Through the Festival, we want to give more primary school pupils across England and Wales the opportunity to engage with top children's authors and live the Premier League's values of being inspiring, ambitious, connected and fair," said Premier League Head of Community Nick Perchard.
"We hope this activity will enable more five to eleven-year-olds to apply their passion for football to reading and we look forward to seeing them enjoy their online engagement with the authors, role models and activities."
The live sessions, based around the theme of celebration, will take place via a free Zoom Webinar each morning from 10:30 BST with the authors leading a range of workshops and readings.
Pupils can submit questions for the speakers and those who participate by sharing their work on social media using the hashtag #PLPrimaryStars will be entered into a prize draw to win a box of books for their school.
PL Primary Stars Reading Festival Schedule
12 July: Paul Cookson (Football 4 Every 1)
13 July: Sharna Jackson (High-Rise Mystery)
14 July: Kwame Alexander (Booked)
15 July: Venessa Taylor (Baller Boys)
16 July: Matt Oldfield and Charlotte Browne (Ultimate Football Heroes series)
All of the author sessions will be recorded and will be available to re-watch at a later date, while teachers can access all the downloadable resources and activities from the festival via the National Literacy Trust's Words for Life website.
Schools can sign up securely for the free Premier League Primary Stars Reading Festival here.
"We understand how hard this academic year has been for teachers and their pupils and we want this to be a week of fun, creativity and inspiration," said Jim Sells, the National Literacy Trust sport and literacy programme manager.
"That's why we chose the theme of celebration! A great way to get children into reading, and help them gain the life-long benefits of reading is to tap into their interests. This festival engages them in books and literacy through their love of football."
Sharna Jackson has been a keen supporter of PL Primary Stars and last year helped to produce films and resources to support your children's learning about the topics of diversity and inclusion for the Premier League's No Room For Racism initiative.
Visit the Premier League Primary Stars website for free downloadable activities and resources suitable for home and school learning across English, Maths, PSHE and PE.
