Have you ever felt like you are falling down a rabbit hole when considering the best way to teach your children how to read: to read with real meaning and connection? There is so much to consider: vocabulary, background knowledge, decoding, fluency, reading strategies (or is it skills?) – the list goes on and all this before you have even considered the actual text you will use.

I was this teacher until I fell into a rabbit hole of research, digested through a lens of classroom and school realities and underpinned with over fifteen years in teaching – from Reception to Year Six. This has led me here, to a place where I can freely share evidence-informed and well-practiced ways through my blogs but to also offer you various in-school support opportunities:

• Auditing and action planning;
• Coaching English Leaders;
• Developing whole school reading curriculums;
• And delivering training bespoke to your needs.

My approach focuses on both ‘what you do’ with ‘how you do it’ to empower you and your team to truly teach children to read with meaning; to connect with the author’s intent; and to gift children the joy of being a ‘reader’.

Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.

Kate DeCamillo; Author of Edward Tullane and other fantastic books.