Introducing BoomReader Data Insights Emails: Helping Schools See the Story Behind Their Reading

For many schools, reading records have long relied on paper diaries: a familiar, well-used system that has supported home-school communication for years. But when it comes to understanding reading habits across a whole school, paper can only take you so far.

That is where BoomReader’s Data Dashboard, and now our new monthly Data Insights email, can make a real difference.

Schools subscribed to the BoomReader Data Dashboard will now receive a clear, visual summary of their key reading data straight to their inbox each month. These emails are sent to school admins and are designed to make it easier than ever to spot trends, celebrate progress and identify areas where extra support may be needed.

Turning reading records into meaningful insights

Every reading log entered into BoomReader helps build a clearer picture of reading across your school. The new Data Insights email brings this information together in a simple, easy-to-read format, highlighting key measures such as:

• Total reading logs recorded this month

• Overall reading frequency trends

• Total books completed

• Average reading logs compared with the national average

• Reading activity by gender

• Reading logs by pupil groups, including Pupil Premium, EAL and SEND

Rather than digging through spreadsheets or manually counting entries, school leaders can quickly see what is happening across the school and use that information to guide decisions.

Why this matters

Reading data is powerful because it helps schools move from guesswork to understanding.

With the right information, schools can ask better questions. Are pupils reading more or less than last month? Are parents, teachers or pupils themselves recording most of the reading? Are there differences between pupil groups? Is the school above or below the national average?

These are the kinds of questions that are extremely difficult to answer with paper reading diaries. Even when diaries are used consistently, the information is locked away in individual books, classrooms or bags. To analyse it properly, staff would need to collect every diary, count every entry and manually compare patterns across groups of pupils.

For most schools, that simply is not realistic.

Supporting evidence-informed school improvement

Ofsted’s inspection materials place importance on leaders using evidence, systems and analysis to understand provision and drive improvement, while the DfE’s reading framework supports schools in evaluating reading provision and identifying where improvements are needed. BoomReader helps schools bring that thinking into the reading records they already collect, turning everyday reading logs into useful insight for leaders.

The Data Insights email gives schools a regular, accessible view of reading activity across the school, helping leaders identify trends, monitor changes and act on priorities. Instead of reading data being hidden away in paper diaries, BoomReader makes it visible, comparable and ready to support better conversations about reading.

What paper diaries cannot easily show?

Paper diaries are useful for recording individual reading moments, but they do not easily show the bigger picture.

They cannot instantly tell you whether reading frequency has dropped this month. They cannot compare activity across classes, year groups or pupil groups without hours of manual work. They cannot automatically show whether your school is above the national average. They cannot highlight patterns in a way that helps leaders respond quickly.

BoomReader changes that.

By capturing reading records digitally, schools can keep the familiar habit of logging reading while unlocking a level of insight that paper diaries cannot provide.

Supporting better conversations in school

The new monthly Data Insights email is designed to be practical. It gives school admins a regular snapshot that can support SLT discussions, staff meetings, governor updates and targeted interventions.

For example, if reading logs have dropped compared with the previous month, leaders can explore why. If one pupil group is recording significantly fewer reads, staff can investigate what support may help. If the school is performing well against national averages, that success can be shared and celebrated.

The aim is not to create extra admin. It is to make the data that schools are already collecting more useful.

Included for Data Dashboard subscribers

The BoomReader Data Insights email is available to schools that subscribe to the BoomReader Data Dashboard. It is another way we are helping schools make better use of their reading data and reduce the limitations of paper-based systems.

Reading records should do more than sit in a diary. They should help schools understand, support and celebrate reading.

With BoomReader’s Data Dashboard and monthly Data Insights emails, that bigger picture is now easier to see.