Instilling the love of literacy from the roots of Chapter House

It is important to instil a love of literacy from an early age as literacy skills span far wider than just picking up a book.

Karen Kilkenny, Head of Chapter House School at Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate talks through the innovative ways in which they ensure each and every pupil enjoys reading from a young age.

“In Chapter House, literacy and learning is at the heart of everything we do. Time is made every day specifically to enjoy sharing a book together, and each class has a specific time to visit the Chapter House library. This allows them to choose a book they can take home to share with parents and siblings.”

“One of our most successful, and popular initiatives has been the introduction of our reading dog, Indie, especially with our younger children. It has increased the confidence of reluctant readers by having a non-judgemental audience. The

To find out more, or to book a tour to come and see why Chapter House is the school where your child will thrive, visit qe.org children are purely reading for pleasure with no one pointing out mistakes or questioning them on the text. It is an initiative where we have seen their confidence increase and their reading has become more animated, with more expression – one Year 1 child’s reading age has improved by two years over one term, and they are more curious about reading different texts.”

“Year 5 students are encouraged to be librarians, recommending books to their peers, creating displays in the library and using break times to share books with younger pupils. This vital engagement, extends beyond the classroom with regular parent information meetings on reading, sharing new school initiatives and advice on how they can support their child with reading at home.”

“Chapter House is a vibrant and engaging school that focuses on providing an enabling environment which respects, recognises and tunes into each unique child; central to our mission of ensuring each child can be ‘the best they can be, with the gifts that they have’.”

Children can be either a day student or board at Queen Ethelburga’s from Year 3.