Literacy

Reading at KKS

At KKS, reading is at the heart of learning. We believe every student should become a confident, fluent reader, able to access the curriculum fully and enjoy learning across all subjects.

All teachers support reading in their lessons, explicitly teaching key vocabulary, modelling strategies, and helping students engage with increasingly complex texts. We provide targeted support for students who need extra help, alongside programmes such as Sparx Reader, which develops fluency, accuracy, comprehension, and reading confidence for all learners.

We foster a love of reading through our library, author visits, form time reading, and whole-school events. Parents and carers can support learning at home via ACCESSIT, our online library catalogue.

Reading at KKS is more than a skill – it is a gateway to knowledge, understanding, and lifelong learning. For more detail on our approach and the full range of programmes and strategies we use, please see our KKS Reading Strategy.

Sparx Reader at KKS

At KKS, all students use Sparx Reader to build the reading fluency they need to succeed across the curriculum and at GCSE level.

• Develops core reading skills – accuracy (reading words correctly), automaticity (reading quickly and confidently), and understanding (making sense of complex texts).
• Matches reading to ability – students read carefully selected fiction texts at their own level and answer questions to show comprehension and progress.
• Supports all learners – weaker readers make faster progress and gain confidence, while stronger readers continue to improve fluency, accuracy, and stamina.
• Evidence-based impact – regular use leads to measurable improvements in reading age; for example, students earning ~300 points per week make over 1 year of reading progress in a single year.
• Prepares for the curriculum – helps students become confident, independent readers ready for GCSEs and beyond.
• Sparx Reader ensures that every student develops the skills and confidence to read successfully across all subjects.

For further information about Sparx reader, please see this linked document.