Reading at Kennall Vale School
At Kennall Vale, we want every child to develop a love of reading. We want children to find joy in books. When children read, we want them to feel confident. We build skills to teach fluency and understanding.
Developing a love of reading:
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Teachers read inspiring and exciting fiction and non-fiction books to children every day, drawing from our carefully chosen fiction and science spines.
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Children experience a wide range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry throughout their time at school.
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Our books are carefully selected, book-banded and easily accessible to all children.
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Each class enjoys a Reading Café once a term, where children and their families can share a book together over a biscuit and a cup of tea.
Becoming confident readers:
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Children who are part of RWI phonics sessions have a phonics book carefully matched to their current phonics knowledge.
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After completing RWI, children use their Zone of Proximal Development to choose books that are appropriately challenging.
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Children are regularly heard reading by an adult. Our less confident readers receive additional daily reading support.
Understanding what we read:
We explicitly teach children the skills they need to become thoughtful and independent readers. Children develop their ability to:
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understand new vocabulary
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infer meaning from what they read
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predict what might happen
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explain their ideas and thinking
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retrieve information
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sequence and summarise key events and ideas
Supporting children to succeed:
Adults model fluent and expressive reading, demonstrating how to use intonation, expression, pausing and punctuation to bring texts to life.
We carefully monitor children's reading progress and provide additional support where needed. Children are assessed throughout their time at Kennall Vale, including through statutory assessments in Year 2 and Year 6 and standardised NFER assessments in Years 3, 4 and 5.
We celebrate children's reading achievements through Reading Miles, Accelerated Reader certificates and, most importantly, by celebrating their growing confidence, enjoyment and enthusiasm for books.