Schools’ trailblazing work promoting literacy to pupils was celebrated at an awards ceremony staged by the KM Charity Team.

Educational providers from across the county were joined at the Kent Literacy Awards by special guests Terry Waite CBE and Kent County Council cabinet member for education Roger Gough.

Hosted by KM Charity Team chief executive Simon Dolby and kmfm news editor Nicola Everett, the event took place at Hempstead House hotel and spa near Sittingbourne.

Altogether 23 district awards were presented for schools’ innovative work developing children’s reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.

Just eight of the initiatives were crowned the county’s best and these schools received trophies and certificates to display, along with bonus prizes including books, vouchers, a Kindle, an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet - and even a trained reading helper from Beanstalk - donated by organisations supporting the event.

Supporters included Kent County Council, Medway Council, KM Facilities Management Group, Reed Education, Specsavers, Tribeca Technology Group, Golding Homes, Whitefriars, McCabe Ford Williams, Orbit, DDS Environmental, Beanstalk, and the London Borough of Bexley.

Penny Bill, literacy consultant at Kent County Council, praised the event, saying it “provides a wonderful opportunity for our teachers to show what they can do; it promotes and develops the language of our children, helps them to read – to enjoy reading – and of course to express themselves in writing.”

One of the evening’s big winners was Valley Invicta Primary School at Aylesford, who received the county award for Best Cross-Curricular Initiative.

The judges were impressed by the way the scheme is linked to the curriculum - all school trips, reading, artwork, displays, assemblies, and plays are carefully considered to enrich children’s knowledge of topics.

As a result pupils gain a deeper understanding of each topic and a rich vocabulary to draw upon when writing about subjects as diverse as dinosaurs, Africa, Victorian scientists, and the Second World War.

Elaine Billingham, literacy leader at the school, said: “Our cross-curricular writing has been embraced by all the staff and all the pupils. We’ve empowered the children, they have the language and the capability and the confidence to write and become lifelong writers.”

Details of the award-winning schemes have been incorporated into a best practice document and sent to all 600 schools in Kent and Medway. To download a free digital copy, visit www.KentLiteracyAwards.co.uk

Mr Dolby of the KM Charity Team said: “The quality of all the projects was truly outstanding, and the schools deserve a lot of credit for their imagination, enthusiasm and dedication.

“But it’s not just the winners who impressed. There were so many brilliant entries, making the task of choosing the winners extremely difficult.”

Organisations interested in getting involved in the Kent Literacy Awards should contact Mr Dolby at sdolby@thekmcharityteam.co.uk or on 0844 264 0291.