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Reading Survey Spring 2022 KIBBLESWORTH ACADEMY

The importance of reading

In March 2022, pupils from Year 2 to Year 6 were asked to complete an online survey to find out about their reading habits and attitudes to reading.

The questions followed the same format as previous surveys to guage how our work on reading and reading for pleasure was impacting.

How much do you enjoy reading?

The vast majority of pupils questioned were positive about reading, with only 5% of pupils stating they did not enjoy reading at all. 72% of pupils were positive about the experience, with 33% of all pupils stating they loved reading.

Reading engagement remains high. Since the launch of Reading Rails, reading levels have increased on Accelerated Reader from 3 million words read per year to over 33 million in the last academic year. (This change has occured over a three year period.) The current academic year sees words read expected to exceed 30 million words again.

How good a reader are you?

86% of readers considered they were at least an average reader, with 55% of children considering themselves above average. 25% of children consider themselves excellent readers. Only 5% of readers consider themselves to be not very good readers.

Reading preferences

Reading preferences are quite mixed, with the most popular response relating to how pupils felt at the time. (43%) Fiction remained a more popular choice than non fiction (35% vs 13%) Reading Rails has been proven to broaden horizons and reading choices. The removal of MyOn has impacted the desire to read non-fiction texts. Plans to purchase additional non-fiction texts will support this area in the Summer Term of 2022.

Do you read enough?

43% of pupils feel they read enough, with an additional 50% wishing they could read more. This is reflective of discussions with pupils which indicated that many were finding it difficult to read to the degree they were last year due to additional pressures on their time now after school clubs and activities had started again post-pandemic. Despite their perceptions, word counts are not significantly down on previous years, and as such, it is clear that reading is still taking place.

Only reading when asked to do so

The majority of children disagreed with the idea of only reading when they have to as the majority of children now see reading as something to do for pleasure - it is not a chore.

Reading is for girls?

8% of pupils thought reading was for girls, with six out of seven of these respondents coming from KS1. The vast majority of pupils recognise that boys can enjoy, and be as good readers, as girls. This is reflected in the fact that our strongest readers across Key Stage 2 in three out of four classes are boys.

Reading is boring

8% of pupils who responded thought that reading was boring. This figure has decreaed from 20% when the survey was first undertaken in 2019, underlining the developing positive attitudes towards reading which extist across the school.

Reading at home

90% of children said they read at home. Of the 8 children who said they didn't read at home, 3 were in KS1, with the remainder in Upper Key Stage 2

Accelerated Reader

75% of children said they liked taking quizes. This compares to 83% when considering KS2 alone. (Some KS1 pupils do not take AR quizes.) Quizes linked to AR books and Reading Rails are seen to be motivational, so additional work will take place during the Summer Term to better understand why some pupils do not like the quizes, with a view to increasing this percentage.

Do I know what to do to improve?

The majority of pupils know what to do to improve their reading, with 55% stating that they were clear in this area. 31% said they were unclear how they could improve their reading. This is an area which will require further investigation over the coming term.

I read because...

25% of pupils said they read because they had to, although the same pupils also indicated that it was fun and helped them learn new things, so reading because they had to should not be seen as the prime motivation for reading. 56% said they read for pleasure, it being a fun thing to do.

Do you like Reading Rails?

90% of pupils thought Reading Rails was a positive addition and motivated them to read. Many liked the way you could collect stickers and choose from a range of lines. Some children noted that it had made them read different things and books that they wouldn't usually have chosen. Engagement levels indicate that Reading Rails has been well received and has broadened out reading across the school.

Do you like reading challenges and competitions?

86% of pupils said they liked the reading challenges and had engaged with them across the year. This included sticker collection and also the Reading Rails themed line competitions. Our first themed competition was linked to the Roald Dahl Line and his birthday in September, and this resulted in three of the top five most read books in September and October being written by Roald Dahl. We also saw an increase in more challenging texts in UKS2 through our focus on the War Line where children in Years 5 and 6 engaged with titles such as Hero on a Bicycle, War Horse and Goodnight Mr Tom as a result of the challenge. With such a positive response the challenges will continue across the year.

Reading Engagement levels

As previously mentioned, Reading engagement is up consistently across the school since the creation of Reading Rails in 2019. Although it will be difficult to beat our record of 33 million words, set last academic year, we are on track to exceed 30 million words read, a ten fold increase on the year prior to Reading Rails where 3 million words were read, despite the fact that the school had more pupils in Key Stage 2 at that time.