Reading at Prenton

Reading at Prenton
Accelerated Reader
Reading Recommendations
How can I help at home?
Reading Ambassadors

A Message from Mrs Haynes, Librarian

As librarian at Prenton High School, I am passionate about reading, and my goal is to instil a love of reading into our students. Here at Prenton we recognise the importance of reading for pleasure, and to promote this to all our students, the Learning Resource Base is open each break and lunch, and after school, for students to borrow books, or simply sit and read. Every KS3 English class has a reading lesson in the LRB every fortnight, where they are read to from a wide variety of texts, and then encouraged to read independently. Events are run throughout the school year to engage students in their reading, and we have welcomed visiting authors, enjoyed trips to Waterstones in Liverpool, and put on LRB escape rooms, to name but a few.

The LRB is very much a student led space, and we encourage students to get involved in the running of the library either as reading ambassadors, or as LRB assistants. Organising students to help with the library not only ensures the smooth day-to-day running of the library, but also helps develop their sense of responsibility, achievement and self-esteem.

The LRB is a busy, vibrant place for our students to access, but is also a very flexible space. Staff can book it for lesson time, and it can be used for meetings – we even had the BBC in interviewing Mrs Ayling in here! As well as the full class set of computers, we have a huge movable screen and flexible sofas that can move around to accommodate our large whiteboard table, a fantastic resource that can be used in sessions such as Prenton Parliament, on which everyone can write their ideas.

I am extremely proud of the library we have here at Prenton, and make sure it is a space where everyone feels welcome.

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At Prenton, as part of our ethos of making a positive difference to our school community, we endeavour to ensure all children can read at or above their chronological age level.

As part of this commitment to achieve this, we have introduced a dedicated reading lessons at Key Stage 3, consisting of an alternating set of library and teacher-led lessons for all pupils. Further to this, we have implemented a computer programme called Accelerated Reader to support pupils with their reading.

All pupils in Key Stage 3 have taken a STAR reading test that generates a number range for each child called the ZPD range – the reading level range from which pupils should be selecting books for in order to develop their reading skills. Pupils are encouraged to choose books from the library that fall within or slightly above their ZPD range to ensure they read challenging material that will advance their reading competences.

This ZPD range enables Accelerated Reader by monitoring reading progress. When finished reading a book, your child will take a short quiz on their computer – passing the quiz is an indication that your child has understood what has been read. These quizzes can be completed by pupils in school during their library lessons and during break, lunch and after school.

The rate at which pupils’ complete quizzes will depend on their reading material and where a quiz has not been completed, their teacher will check that the pupil is still making progress through the text. If pupils wish to read a text from home in place of one from our LRB, we encourage them to use http://www.ARBookfind.co.uk to identify whether a quiz is available.

Pupils will have the chance to be recognised and win prizes for participation in Accelerated Reader in categories such as: Word Millionaires, Most Progress, and Most Books. During our progress updates, there will be additional information shared regarding the reading level of your child and the progress that they make, similar to that of our existing updates: Emerging, Developing, Secure, and Excelling.

To help you further understand the importance of reading and how you can play an important role in fostering reading for pleasure, please find attached a support guide to help you recognise how you can be involved in your child’s reading.

As part of our ongoing Accelerated Reader Programme, all key stage three students complete a STAR reading assessment each term to assess their reading performance and on each KS3 Progress Update, you will now find a Reading Progress Score to give you a snapshot of your child’s current reading performance.

We are delighted to share an overview of your child’s reading progress this term – we hope this will bring increased awareness to the importance of reading and create a more collaborative relationship in working together to enhance our students’ literacy skills.

Your child’s reading progress scores are broken down as follows*: 

An NRSS score (Normed Reference Standardised Score) – A score out of 150 which measures your child’s reading performance against other students nationally of the same age. With each Progress Update, you will be able to see how your child’s score develops over time.

A Prenton Reading Progress Score – A score of Emerging, Developing, Secure or Excelling in line with their NRSS number.

*Please note if your child does not have a reading score for PU1, this means they were absent during their STAR reading assessment.