Whilst the library has an essential role to play in supporting learning, through providing resources as well as access to computers and study space, many students see the library as a place they can retreat to, away from the hustle and bustle of the playground or canteen. This is one of the few spaces in school where there are not the academic pressures of the classroom, where their time is not directed or assessed and there are fewer expectations placed on them. “When they enter through the doors, teens often shed the exterior armour they have donned for their parents, teachers, coaches, and peers. Libraries have long been a refuge for teens who might struggle to find their place at school, and it is often the one space that is readily open and available to the entire campus community.” (Davis, 2019) It is the school librarian who helps facilitate this, by creating a welcoming and safe space that is accessible to the whole school community. In this article, I will be looking at how library design, events, staffing and codes of conduct, all work together to support and enhance a student’s mental wellbeing whilst at school. It is essential that the whole school community, including staff, view the library as an accessible and inclusive space. This can be achieved through effective library design, most significantly by positioning the library centrally within the school, so it is seen as the main hub for students. Attention also needs to be paid to the library’s interior design, making sure there are differentiated spaces that support various types of learning and interaction. Once students have been encouraged to access the library, it is vital that they feel involved and have a sense of ownership of this space. This can be achieved through running frequent events, competitions and craft activities in the library, that inspire interest and participation (see some of St Benedict’s Library events, here). “When students engage in the many activities and opportunities provided in a library or library makerspace, they relax and have fun. It is non-threatening and students can fulfil their own desires to give things a go. It gives students wings and permission to forgive themselves for not being perfect; failing becomes part of the fun.” (Child, 2018 (Issue 105)) School libraries are often particularly important places for quieter students, the ones who may be marginalised, are less inclined to join in the rough and tumble of the playground, club group activities or debating clubs. As an alternative, students can visit the library “by themselves and relax with a book or magazine or take part in an activity. There is no need to be seen to be popular in a library and being part of a large group is surplus to requirements.” (Flint, 2019) In St Benedict’s library, we have an informal ‘Middle School Book Room’, which encourages reading and relaxation through its contemporary design, bright colours, low rise shelving, front-facing fiction displays, posters and sofas and bean bags. The area is stocked with the latest children’s and YA fiction, picture books, graphic novels, manga and magazines. This range of resources is particularly attractive to reluctant readers, allowing them to hopefully find something that suits their interests and reading ability. As described by author Alan Gibbons “A good school library supplements the prescribed curriculum with that other curriculum, the hidden, secret world of your own favourite books, comics, DVDs and websites.” (Gibbons, 2013) Students with special educational needs (SEN), who have difficultly interacting with others or are overwhelmed by noisy spaces such as the lunch hall or playground are often frequent users of the school library. The space is also a sanctuary for students who may have pastoral issues, perhaps undergoing a difficult time within a friendship group, are being bullied, feel lonely, or have experienced bereavement or divorce at home. The library takes on the role as “the third space, between school and home” (Korodaj, Students Need School LIbraries, 2018), acting as a bridge between the two. It can act as a well-regulated, safe and secure space for students, through the implementation of a ‘Library code of conduct’ and ensuring the library is well supervised throughout the day. An example of this is Librarian Bonnie Barr’s library, who created a silent study area, which “provided crucial respite for students who needed a safe place to be alone. These students knew that if anyone came in there with the intention of subtle bullying, they would be asked to leave immediately under the “no talking” rule. Most importantly, this would happen without drawing attention to the bullied student, and without them having to engage in any confrontation.” (Accessit, 2018) . As identified in the National Literacy Trust’s 2010 ‘School Libraries’ report, “the school library has a significant role to play for children who for a variety of needs find the school environment particularly unwelcoming. As a space which is regulated by adults at times of the school day when spaces are largely peer regulated this is understandable.” (National Literacy Trust, 2010). Working in a space that is accessible throughout the day, librarians have the unique opportunity to build supportive and non-judgemental relationships with students. “For some of our students: the school library may be the only space where they can come and speak to like-minded peers and/or a trusted adult that isn’t their classroom teacher or a parent.” (Korodaj, The library as third space in your school, 2019) Librarians also get to observe students at different times of the day, spotting the ones who look like they are going through a difficult time or are perhaps isolated. This insight into possible arising social or emotional issues means the librarian has a key role to play in supporting the wellbeing of students, acting as a direct link to the pastoral department, where any issues of concern should be reported. It is through the above-mentioned practices, relationships and spaces that the school library really does have a unique role to play in supporting the social and emotional wellbeing of the school community. From its physical spaces and design to staffing and management, students have the chance to explore their own reading and learning journey in a supportive, safe and non-judgemental environment. Through directly involving the students in creative and stimulating activities and supporting a wide range of behaviours and learning needs, the library can help them develop a sense of belonging, self-esteem and identity that is often much harder to achieve in the larger, busier spaces of a school. This flexibility, understanding and openness is what makes school libraries a sanctuary for many students and such an integral part in their overall mental well-being. Extract from Article published in The School Librarian (September 2020) Emma Wallace, Senior Librarian, St Benedict’s School @LibraryWallace 28th April 2020 Bibliography Accessit. (2018, October). The library - a safe space for everyone. Retrieved from Accessit: https://accessitlibrary.com/project/library-safe-for-everyone/ Child, J. (2018 (Issue 105), Term 2). School libraries enhancing student wellbeing. Retrieved from SCIS: https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-105/school-libraries-enhancing-student-wellbeing Davis, S. (2019, August 20). Student Health & Well-Being: How Libraries Can Create Safe Spaces. Retrieved from NAIS.org: https://www.nais.org/learn/independent-ideas/august-2019/student-health-well-being-how-libraries-can-create-safe-spaces/ Flint, S. (2019, December 9). Libraries as safe havens. Retrieved from IE-Today: https://ie-today.co.uk/Blog/libraries-as-safe-havens/ Gibbons, A. (2013, March 22). The library: Beating heart of the school. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/mar/22/love-your-library-school-alan-gibbons Korodaj, L. (2018, October 16). Students Need School LIbraries. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QguR1J8IXMU Korodaj, L. (2019). The library as third space in your school. Retrieved from NSW Government: https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/scan/past-issues/vol-38--2019/the-library-as-third-space-in-your-school National Literacy Trust. (2010). School Libraries: A plan for imporvement. Retrieved from National Literacy Trust: https://cdn.literacytrust.org.uk/media/documents/2010_01_01_free_other_-_school_libraries_a_plan_for_improvement.pdf.pdf

Recurring evidence that suggested children in England continued to find less pleasure in reading as well as research undertaken by the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) that showed primary teachers relied on a very limited canon of children’s authors led to a project to: Widen teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature Develop teachers’ confidence and skilful use of such literature in the classroom Develop teachers’ relationships with parents, carers, librarians and families Develop “Reading Teachers”, teachers who read and readers who teach Following on from the initial phase, which involved 40 teachers, a national network of Open University (OU) Teachers as Readers groups was established growing to over 100 groups within three years. The driving force behind these is Teresa Cremin, Professor of Education (Literacy) at the OU and a supporter of the GSL Campaign, whose book “Building a Community of Engaged Readers” is a must-read. The aim of these groups is to: Foster children’s reading for pleasure (RfP) through supporting teachers’ own RfP and research informed practice Support the profession by building a professional community around RfP locally and online Share teachers’ resultant work on the OU RfP website I was asked if I could get involved and co-run a local group in Hampshire with Dot Patton, Headteacher at Dogmersfield Primary School. Although the OU provide a 6 week/half termly suggested programme and lots of resources including a box of books to share, we decided to create a slightly different structure to the meetings. At the first one, we asked the participants what areas they would like to see covered – the aim of this was to provide some CPD and also make the sessions relevant to them. As a librarian, I’ll happily go along to anything where books are being discussed but I was aware that we were asking busy teachers to give up some of their time and I felt this additional element would be a “carrot”. Thus alongside the OU suggested programme we also covered topics such as: engaging parents; useful organisations to follow on social media; how to find out about new books published; and using poetry – all tying in with the RfP theme. Each session began with a book share. Participants were asked to bring something along and I also took some books that I thought they may not have seen – especially proof copies that I had for review. This was VERY popular; we ended up putting all the books onto a blanket so people could take photos of them – much quicker than writing down the titles and authors/illustrators. It made me realise that many teachers don’t get the same exposure to new titles as I do – and these were people who had literacy and/or library responsibilities in their schools. What I also noticed was that as the weeks went on, the books they started to share became far more diverse and adventurous – an indication of their widening book knowledge and growing confidence perhaps? The next step was looking at an example of practice on the OU Research Rich Pedagogies website. This really is a mine of information and ideas, and I would recommend you have a look. As teachers have developed their own ideas, they have informed the website making it a growing and practical-based source of inspiration. Some of these are in the form of presentations, others are videos. They involve fiction and non-fiction, primary and secondary schools, children and staff! A few examples include: Inspiring RfP through social media UKLA Book Awards shadowing Land of our Authors The Year of Reading Children’s Books Guiding readers in the EYFS We reviewed and discussed participants’ on-going RfP work, thinking about examples on the website and what they could take back with them into the classroom. Everyone is encouraged to develop their own practices and to share these, especially online. The OU have provided a simple template to aid with this and we found that giving people time in the sessions to complete it was more productive than them doing it outside of the session. As with most meetings, once back at the day job other priorities often take over. Finally, I delivered a short CPD session based on the topics suggested, usually via a presentation which was emailed out to everyone afterwards. I also occasionally created handouts; for example, with suggested websites. And we ended with a story - Dot and I took turns with this, sharing a picture book with the whole group! Reflections: My first thought was - what I was going to bring to the group. However, it soon became obvious that my book knowledge – which I see as part of being a professional librarian and which I almost take for granted – is not shared by others. And this is quite an important point as it’s an easy assumption to make. So … don’t assume that others have the same book knowledge as you. They may receive the same book catalogues but probably don’t take them home to drool over in the same way librarians do. This means sharing new books – even if it’s just via an email, a quick mention in the staff room, a chance meeting at the photocopier. As a librarian my default is to help people – giving them advice, information, etc. So I was delighted to be able to bring this element into the sessions. My (short) presentations were only a starting point as they facilitated further discussion and ideas. All of these were shared after the meeting with the mailing list to ensure those not able to come didn’t miss out. The local Schools Library Service came along to some of the meetings so it was great to have other librarians there. They also took over part of a session where they talked about their services and showcased some of their new titles. This has given me a thought about future meetings and whether these could incorporate short talks by other appropriate visitors. The keyword is collaboration. All of us involved in libraries, reading, teaching, the book world, etc. have a lot to share. Looking at the OU website, what was interesting to me was that, as a librarian responsible for developing a whole school reading ethos, many of the activities mentioned were ones I regularly undertook in my school. And I also know several other school librarians who do similar activities. Yet this practice obviously isn’t being disseminated across professions into the classroom – something to consider. Written by Barbara Band School Library Consultant

Working in a school library, you quickly realise that one of its key roles is as a place of sanctuary for many students, one that supports both their social and emotional wellbeing. With the reported decline in children and young people’s mental health over recent years, this has never been more important. Whilst a lot has been written about the role the library plays as a safe haven for students, less has been written about the innovative programmes of learning that occur in school libraries, which can have huge social and emotional benefits for students. In the following paragraphs, I will look at how inquiry-based learning can support and enhance a student’s mental well-being, using examples from the library I work in at St Benedict’s Senior School in Ealing, London, as well as reports from key library practitioners and associations. The library space The library is often seen as a place to de-stress before and after exams. Indeed, the forms of learning that occur in the library are often markedly different from those found in the classroom or as tested in the exam hall. Students can select their own resources to read or study, put in to practice independent learning skills and direct their own learning. This is essential at a time when the curriculum, with its focus on frequent testing, fosters “increasingly competitive and individualistic attitudes and ways of learning, requiring teachers to become more traditional in their pedagogy.” (Child, 2018 (Issue 105)) This often results in stressed and anxious students (and teachers), who are forever comparing themselves to others. One of the key reasons children’s mental health has been deteriorating over the last decade can be attributed to the increased focus given to exams and academic attainment “with 80% of young people saying that exam pressure has significantly impacted on their mental health.” (Cowburn & Blow, 2017) Library Lessons To counter this at St Benedict’s, we have created a library lesson programme for years 7 and 8, which is unassessed and aims to be fun and interactive. Students are invited to take part in different activities in each library lesson, learning for example how to select a good fiction book, understand the Dewey system or select relevant information. In these lessons, students move around the library, work together in pairs or groups and towards the end of the lesson, have time to browse, borrow or read a book. Students consequently develop independent learning skills, have autonomy over their reading choices and a chance to unwind and have fun. I have received reports from a number of teachers that these are students’ favourite lessons of the week! IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) The role the school library can play in learning has been identified in the IFLA School Library guidelines, which states that it should operate as a “safe space where individual curiosity, creativity, and an orientation toward learning are encouraged and supported and where students can explore diverse topics, even controversial topics, in privacy and safety.” (IFLA, 2015) This can be achieved by implementing an Inquiry-based programme, which allows students to explore and develop a project within a clear learning framework. Inquiry-based learning counters the ‘teach to test’ model by empowering the student to direct their own research and develop their own critical thinking skills. It is also often collaborative, ensuring that it is a more interactive, fun and supportive way of learning than individually testing students. Inquiry-Based Learning Libraries are at the forefront of Inquiry-based learning, as attested by the recently launched ‘Inquiry as an approach to learning - phase two’ of the Great School Libraries campaign (Hutchinson, 2020). Many librarians follow the FOSIL framework to teach Inquiry skills, and whilst we have not yet implemented the FOSIL model at St Benedict’s, we have successfully embedded the HPQ and EPQ into our school curriculum. This project-based qualification guides students through identifying a topic, researching and selecting sources, writing (or creating an artifact) from their findings and then reflecting on what they have learnt during this process. I work closely with our EPQ centre coordinator, Dr Julie Greenhough, to support these students, helping deliver the ‘Taught Element’ part of the course, as well as being the EPQ Lead Supervisor (read more on our successful partnership here). This helps to ensure that students understand the important role the library and librarian can play in supporting their projects and the research process. Project-based learning is a brilliant way for students to learn an array of independent learning and critical thinking skills, one that frees them from the confines of memorising and testing and ultimately create more rounded, independent and self-assured learners. It is through library lessons and the introduction of inquiry-based learning, as implemented through a framework such as FOSIL or the EPQ/HPQ, that students have the opportunity to think independently and direct their own learning. This has the effect of raising a student’s self-belief and confidence in their academic abilities, along with their self-esteem and sense of identity. They can create, research and reflect, free from the pressures of comparative, ‘teach to test’, formal classroom learning. Students also develop many ‘softer’ skills whilst participating in library lessons or carrying out project work, such as questioning and listening, cooperation and compromise, skills which are increasingly valued in the workplace. This interaction can greatly enhance a student’s sense of belonging and connection, helping them forge stronger and happier relationships, whilst at school and beyond. The championing of this form of learning means that the school library has a unique and important role to play in supporting students overall mental health whilst studying at school. The leading, innovative and creative role the librarian plays also means the school library is an exciting and rewarding place to work, right at the forefront of creating an inclusive and happy school community. As children’s author Kelly Barnhill perhaps sums up best: “School libraries are part sanctuary, part laboratory, part university, part launch pad; every library on earth is a multiverse — truth inside of truth, story inside of a story, idea inside of idea —which is to say, infinite.” (Barnhill, 2017) Extract from an article published in The School Librarian (September 2020) Emma Wallace @LibraryWallace Senior Librarian, St Benedict’s School 28th April 2020 Bibliography Barnhill, K. (2017, February 04). Newberry Medalist Kelly Barnhill. Retrieved from Mr Schu Reads Blogspot: http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2017/02/newbery-medalist-kelly-barnhill.html Child, J. (2018 (Issue 105), Term 2). School libraries enhancing student wellbeing. Retrieved from SCIS: https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-105/school-libraries-enhancing-student-wellbeing Cowburn, A., & Blow, M. (2017). Wiseup: Prioritising wellbeing in schools. Retrieved from Young Minds: https://youngminds.org.uk/media/1428/wise-up-prioritising-wellbeing-in-schools.pdf Greenhough, J., & Wallace, E. (2019, September 10). Weathering the storm: repositioning the role of the librarian. Retrieved from JCS Online Resources: https://jcsonlineresources.org/blog/weathering-the-storm-repositioning-the-role-of-the-librarian/ Hutchinson, E. (2020, March). Inquiry as an approach to learning - Phase 2. Retrieved from Great School Libraries: https://www.greatschoollibraries.org.uk/post/inquiry-as-an-approach-to-learning-phase-2 IFLA. (2015, June). IFLA School LIbrary Guidelines . Retrieved from IFLA: https://www.ifla.org/files/assets/school-libraries-resource-centers/publications/ifla-school-library-guidelines.pdf

March 2020 saw the beginning of the second phase of the Great School Libraries campaign. No-one could have imagined what was to come with Covid-19 in our midst. As such, we found ourselves in the strange position of moving forward more slowly than we would have liked. However, things have not stopped so it is time for an update of progress so you can see where we are at within the area I'm heading, Inquiry as an approach to learning. In my last blog, I set out several areas we were going to focus on and want to revisit where we are with them. These were:- Research Framework for Inquiry Training Gathering Data Research The list of research reports and articles that show the value of school libraries is growing. It is not only important that we collate this but school library staff need to read and know that it is there for them. Whenever schools are talking about their school libraries it is essential that the research is presented to support any discussions on changes to their libraries. The list of research can be found here https://www.greatschoollibraries.org.uk/copy-of-useful-links Framework for Inquiry - FOSIL As FOSIL (Framework Of Skills for Inquiry Learning) was selected to be the Great School Libraries campaign’s recommended framework of the inquiry process, I have been working with Darryl Toerien, the founder of FOSIL, to ensure that as many people as possible know and understand that this framework is freely available for any school to use. FOSIL is based on the ESIFC - Empire State Information Fluency Continuum - which was originally developed in 2009 by the New York City School Library System while under the direction of Barbara Stripling, who is one of the pioneers of learning through inquiry. The ESIFC was endorsed by the School Library Systems Association of New York State (SLSA) in 2012, and reimagined in 2019, again under the direction of Barbara Stripling, to adapt to changing information, education, and technology environments, as well as increasing diversity in student populations – the SLSA currently serves more than 3.2 million children in 4,236 schools in New York State alone. I am delighted to say that not only has FOSIL been recognised and endorsed by the SLSA, with Barbara Stripling commending FOSIL for its “clear and elegant presentation of inquiry,” but Barbara Stripling is now personally contributing to the ongoing development of FOSIL and the FOSIL Group. This is a huge step forward in positioning FOSIL as an increasingly influential contribution to the international school library world on inquiry learning. To more closely align ourselves with international developments in school librarianship, we have been closely looking at the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) School Library Guidelines. We have so far concentrated on Chapter 5, which focuses on the school library’s pedagogical programme and the 5 core instructional activities of the school librarian. One of these is Inquiry-based Learning Models, which ties in perfectly with FOSIL. The FOSIL Group website has free resources and a forum to support you on this journey, and we hope that as many of you as possible will sign up to help us help each other along the way. Training I also split training into two categories in my previous blog. Firstly, school librarians, and secondly SLT and teachers, and I have to admit that the main focus so far has been school librarians and teachers. Over the last few months, especially during lockdown, there have been numerous opportunities to take part in webinars and training looking at FOSIL and the IFLA School Library Guidelines. The School Library Association ran an Introduction to FOSIL and an Information Literacy and Learning through Inquiry webinar. Please email info@sla.org.uk to access the recording or more information. CILIP SLG ran a training morning on the IFLA School Library Guidelines focusing on Chapter 5 - The Value Added School Librarian. It was very exciting to have Dianne Oberg, co-editor of the Guidelines as the Keynote speaker. If you want a copy of the recordings please email Treasurer.SLG@cilip.org.uk. Elizabeth Hutchinson (that’s me!) ran a series of webinars also focusing on FOSIL and the IFLA School library guidelines chapter 5. These can be accessed here. In other exciting news, FOSIL continues to gain support around the world. I was recently asked to present at an online conference for teachers in Kazakhstan, which is now being translated to Russian, and Mary-Rose Grieve, School Librarian at Hartland International School in Dubai, presented FOSIL at her school INSET day at the beginning of this school year. Darryl presented a paper on FOSIL at the IFLA School Libraries Section midyear conference in Rome, with the presentation and paper being translated into Italian, and his article on FOSIL for Mediadoc, the professional journal of the National Federation of French professeurs documentalistes, has been translated into French. It is also noteworthy that there is a growing interest in FOSIL in Australia. The upshot of this is that the larger and more diverse the community that is collaborating on the ongoing development of FOSIL, the greater the support for all of us working to equip our children with the kind of knowledge that they most need, which is knowledge that will help them gain more knowledge. There is definitely more to come so watch this space… Gathering data Following on from the Great School Libraries Survey in 2019, we have continued to gather data through our Library Insights blogs and case studies. If you are looking for ideas or data then this is the place to go. School Librarians across the country have been sharing best practice with us. We are still looking for more blogs and case studies for the Learning through Inquiry section. If you have anything you want to share then please email us at info@greatschoollibraries.org.uk. The Future The plan going forward is to continue to develop the theoretical foundation and value of FOSIL and build on the connections with Barbara Stripling, specifically on a branching map of the 2019 ESIFC/ FOSIL framework of literacy, inquiry, critical thinking, and technology skills - Reception through to Year 13 - that students must develop at each phase of inquiry over their years of school and in the context of content area learning. With Project-based Learning (PBL) recently making the news, it would also be important to develop an understanding of PBL as “an inquiry-based instructional approach”, which FOSIL facilitates. We are aiming to continue providing access to training through SLA, CLIP SLG and myself. We need to be clearer that inquiry is an increasingly vital approach to learning that positions the librarian as an educational partner with classroom teachers, and that FOSIL is an effective tool for facilitating this. Also, that FOSIL has a very low barrier to entry and a very high ceiling. Also, that everybody on this journey - inquiry, and not just FOSIL - has a voice and that their voice is important in shaping the journey. We need to be even more purposeful about building relationships with our colleagues from around the world, through FOSIL and IFLA, but also other avenues, to ensure that we are fully rooted in this collective wisdom and experience, and can bring this to bear on our local situation. Elizabeth Hutchinson, Vice-Chair GSL committee

We finally did it! #GreatSchoolLibraries held our first ever twitter chat and it was amazing! Thank you to everyone who joined in and shared their experiences and helped raise awareness of what school librarians have been doing over the last few months. The chat started at 7 pm and it was impossible to keep up with you all which was fantastic. We are sorry that we just were not able to reply to everyone who joined in but rest assured your responses were really important and have been captured as best we could. Even after we stopped at 8 pm, the questions were being answered and discussions were still being had long into the night. (I even spotted a few this morning too...) It was wonderful to enable you to do that. We have put together a Wakelet that captures some of the discussions had last night which you can find below. We look forward to chatting with you again on August 12th... see you there :)

Supporting the school’s strategic vision to create intellectually curious, independent learners I’m pleased to acknowledge that St Benedict’s School, West London, recognises the importance of pupils being “self-reliant independent learners, inspired to be active participants in their learning”, as described in the School’s ‘Strategic Plan 2020-2023’ (St Benedict's School, 2020, p. 1). As St Benedict’s senior librarian, I too see this as a vital skill for pupils to acquire whilst at school and believe the library should play an integral part in achieving this. I enjoy deliberating and planning how to best help pupils to become independent learners and view this as a dynamic and exciting part of my role. I am also very lucky to work with Dr Julie Greenhough, St Benedict’s EPQ Centre Coordinator, a passionate advocate of the qualification and the library, viewing both as a means to ensuring pupils become confident, independent learners. This recognition and correlation of our roles and the school’s strategic vision, has ensured that we have forged a strong partnership and had the opportunity to explore, innovate and create a programme to best support to pupils in developing their information literacy and critical thinking skills whilst at St Benedict’s. Another aim mentioned in St Benedict’s strategic plan is “to develop a culture of intellectual curiosity” (St Benedict's School, 2020, p. 7). This is something that I believe underpins a school library’s raison d’etre, providing a central hub and space, support and, of course, resources, for pupils to really be intellectually curious. At a time when school curriculums have increasingly turned to the more traditional teach to test model, with exam pressures never far away for pupils, a space that allows independent exploration and curiosity is needed more than ever. At St Benedict’s, the Extended Project Qualification provides a formal structure for this exploration to occur, allowing year 12 pupils to choose a topic of their choice and investigate it in-depth over an extended period. Whilst the EPQ is just one of a number of frameworks available for a school to run pupil-led research projects, it is important that a framework is in place, because the skills needed to be successful, such as independent learning and critical thinking, are not ‘natural’ or innate, but must be learnt. Pupils in particular are often intimidated by the idea of exploring a topic on their own, without teachers directing them to specific, pre-selected sources or ideas. It would be unfair to expect pupils to just ‘do’ a research project, without providing them with the necessary research and critical thinking skills to be successful. The EPQ and the school library provide the space, support and guidance for pupils to be intellectually curious on a topic of their choice, helping them to develop the confidence to explore and express their own ideas. St Benedict’s strategic vision recognises the key role a school and its staff play in supporting pupils to be prepared for the twenty-first century workplace - “in a fast-changing world, we will remain abreast of developments so that we can respond appropriately for the benefit of the pupils” (St Benedict's School, 2020, p. 6). Both the EPQ and library departments work together to ensure the school meets this challenge, by reflecting and responding to the needs of the pupils so as to ensure they are successful not just in the qualification, but in their wider studies and future careers. Dr Greenhough has created a thorough ‘Taught Element’ EPQ programme, covering topics such as how to create a good research question, write an academic essay, reference and create a bibliography, present and communicate findings and reflect on the finished project. As a librarian, I teach a number of these lessons, including showing pupils the extensive digital, academic resource collection we now have available, along with our print collection. Being involved in the teaching helps both pupils and staff understand the role I and the school library can play in their research project journey. In 2017, I also gained the additional position of ‘EPQ Lead Supervisor’, which has helped to further raise my status within the school and reflect the advice and guidance I can provide to both supervisors and pupils. The clear understanding EPQ pupils gain of the library as a place of research, coupled with the skills they learn through the taught element, ensures they are well prepared to continue their future studies in higher education. The idea that, because pupils have been born into a digital world they are therefore ‘digital natives’ has proven to be untrue (De Bruyckere, 2019). Knowing that this is a myth demands that schools rise to the challenge of ensuring pupils are taught the skills to be digitally savvy. This is particularly important as we are confronted with an almost unlimited stream of online information, coupled with the rising challenges and complexities of dis and misinformation. As a library’s collection is no longer constrained to its four walls and a librarian no longer acts as the gatekeeper to this information, it is essential that pupils develop the skills themselves to be able to differentiate reliable, trustworthy, academic information themselves. As a result, EPQ pupils are taught how to research successfully, create effective search strategies, experiment with different search engines, and how to critically evaluate and select trustworthy sources. These lessons are constantly evolving, with Julie and I frequently exchanging ideas on possible new content to be added to the ‘Taught Element’ programme. We also endeavour to stay up to date with the latest developments in social media, information and technology to ensure we are providing pupils with the most up to date skills and information. (An example is the ubiquitous topic of ‘fake news’, which Julie and I talked about at the JCSs 2019 digital conference). Through the implementation of a research framework, the teaching of information literacy skills and the provision of academic resources, St Benedict’s offers pupils the opportunity to become advanced independent learners. The partnership between the EPQ and library departments responds to the changing needs of pupils, whilst also supporting St Benedict’s wider strategic vision. This partnership has helped to empower me in the library, embedding my position within the curriculum and formally reflecting the role the library can provide as a research facility. We hope that pupils will leave St Benedict’s as confident, independent learners, benefiting them both now, and in the future. Written by Emma Wallace Senior Librarian, St Benedict’s School

Why a Library Newsletter? Amongst many other things, we, as library staff, spend a long time designing posters for reading initiatives, competitions, quizzes and much more. I would spend valuable time and budget on printing them out and posting them around the school, on the website and on social media in an attempt to reach my target market. During school refurbishments, the Library was moved from its central location to a tucked away corner. In addition, in keeping with school branding, notice boards were no longer allowed, providing a significant challenge when promoting Library activities, books and other offerings. Staff and student footfall plummeted due to the new location, and, as always, the Library budget continued to be slashed, providing a tricky mixture of factors for me to increase student engagement. With all this in mind, I needed to find other ways to entice students and staff to the new library space and promote a good reading ethos. This was the birth of the Library Newsletter! Previously, I had produced an A5 double sided, double page spread – thanks to a larger budget and this had proven effective thanks to the large footfall: students and staff would pick up a paper copy, a menu or catalogue of sorts, look through it and use the information to choose books and take part in the activities. The Library even had a large screen that I could broadcast all information on. In my new environment, I needed to design a Newsletter in a collegiate format that would be easy to read, and eye catching, with informative blocky columns that would organise the text and pictures all on one page. I wanted to promote new books, competitions, student achievements, library activities and useful information – a fair amount of information for one page. Publishing a monthly newsletter would ensure students were not bombarded with information continually and that I could manage workload. By producing this one page, I didn’t need to print so much, so I was saving on budget (and helping the environment!), and ensuring that information overload didn’t occur. What I couldn’t fit on my newsletter, I would promote on Twitter and Instagram, referring to social media pages on the Newsletter for people to follow. In the current Covid-19 climate, students and staff are receiving so much online information, and I have been glad of my short document that has been added easily to the weekly student, parent and staff bulletin. It has enabled me to share information on online reading resources and provide competitions for children and families at home. I have been able to gauge how successful the newsletter was by increases in followers to the Library Twitter and Instagram pages and in participation numbers to my promoted activities. How I put the Newsletter together: I like to set up my Newsletter using Publisher. It is easy to use and I like the drag-and-drop image importing and swapping function. Information can be stored in the sides of the page and can be added it in at any point. You have everything you need all on one screen. Once you have the general template, you can then move the information around to suit your requirements each month. I split the Newsletter up as follows: Top: Panoramic view of the Library, with school logo, date and issue. (You could take a picture of one feature in your library or use your school logo. Trying to make it as personal and relatable to your school and students works better). Middle: I have split my page up into columns. Each column represents Competitions, Clubs, Information and Congratulations. Each subject has its own colour to make it easy for the viewer to follow and digest the information. Each month you can move the featured columns round to make the Newsletter look fresh and make it stand out from the previous one. Bottom: I like to promote new books that have recently come into the library, popular reads recently borrowed by the students, books related to subject topics, and trending reads or listens. You can change this each month to suit your requirements. At the very bottom of the page, you can note your Twitter and Instagram library pages and, every time you publish the newsletter, tag in the featured authors and their books. The authors will retweet and it encourages students to read more about them and their books. Once you are happy with it, you can save it as J-Peg to make it easy to share via email, social media and the school VLE. Written by Helen Burley Library Manager Witchford Village College

“If you build it, they will come” This quote from 80s baseball film Field of Dreams is how I feel about school libraries! My own school, a large independent secondary day school in West London, has a well-funded, well-staffed library. In the current crisis, access to quality information and to books and recreational reading has never been more important for students. The storm before the storm Latymer Upper had a sneak preview of lockdown: the school closed suddenly for one day on Wednesday 18th March, following our first confirmed case. The Prime Minister then announced that all schools would close indefinitely at the end of the week. By this time, some students and staff were already self-isolating at home, including half the library team. When school reopened on Thursday the 19th for its penultimate day, my graduate trainee and I wondered what the day would bring. In fact, it brought a lot of students to the library to stock up on books: we served 295 readers who borrowed 1560 books –12% of our entire physical collection – in a day! (For context, our typical daily average in the spring term is 90 loans.) I know many school librarians had similar experiences. We were so busy lending books that we couldn’t even pause to tend the shelves as large gaps appeared and books began falling down… I suddenly remembered the (now cancelled) “Blind Date with a Book” lesson my colleague had prepared for a Year 8 English class. I emptied the crate of books – all wrapped in brown paper with only a few handwritten clues as to the content inside – onto a table near the entrance. Before I could finish making a sign to explain these mysterious parcels, students of all ages were choosing them at random and checking them out, blind. Every time I looked up, there was a queue for both of us, including many students from Year 11 (Year 11! We do a silent prayer of thanks whenever we can lure someone in at this age) and Year 13, who were still processing the news that public exams had been cancelled. They weren’t just borrowing fiction; in fact, over half (860 books) were information books on a wide range of subjects, not just textbooks for revision that was no longer a priority. One Sixth-former, struggling with the pile in her arms, said to her friend: “I haven’t been able to read what I want for seven years. So now I’m going to.” This was music to my ears as a librarian but also a powerful comment on what our education system’s narrow focus on exams really means for independent learning. So, in thinking about how school librarians support students during lockdown, that’s why I’ve deliberately started this post in the days just before school closure came. It takes time to build a collection and to build a culture of reading, but that’s exactly librarians do. Libraries represent a place of refuge but also a place to foster a love of learning. Through their collections they offer something vital: solace. The urgency I sensed in students’ borrowing that day reflected how much they already value reading – for comfort as well as for learning. They were grabbing as much of the library as they could for the uncertain days ahead. And then the intranet crashed... Our school, I thought, was relatively well-prepared for the transition to remote learning; our students all have a school-issued device and the school has been using Google’s G-suite software (Docs, Sheets, Google Classroom) for years. From the Library’s point of view, our catalogue is hosted externally and remotely accessible, as are almost all of our 40+ online subscription resources (we are a day school, so remote access has always been an important consideration). We had advanced contingency plans in the case of school closure. And then on the first day of lockdown, our school intranet (also hosted externally) crashed. Unprecedented demand on the system from schools across the country meant intermittent access for two days. As our intranet is home to our links to over 40 online subscription resources, this was fairly disastrous. I had access to a spreadsheet listing all subscription details in terms of costs and usage – but not the links and logins for access. I kept these up to date on the intranet only; it never occurred to me that I might not have access to those pages. I spent the next two days repeatedly trying to access our intranet, frantically copying and pasting login details into my spreadsheet when I could. In the interim, I watched tutorials on Google Sites (some created by a teacher in-house, others shared on YouTube) and set about creating an alternative links page in Sites for our online subscriptions, to share with all staff and students in case they needed to bypass the intranet again. My page won’t win any design awards but it’s clean and it works – and it was created in just a couple days. After that initial crisis I’d expected to have a lot more time for long-term projects; I even brought home my volumes of Dewey to attempt some cataloguing & classification of new books remotely (I’d tagged the records in our system, which is accessible online). In fact, my work has been a different kind of “reactive” and I am busier than ever, partly because the rest of the library team has since been furloughed. Sourcing eBooks and online resources Instead of responding to queries for physical books in the library and teaching information literacy skills, I am now mostly supporting teachers and students in sourcing eBooks and other online resources. A huge number of publishers and providers announced extended free trials or other emergency access for schools. Keeping on top of these and communicating them to staff was tricky; I felt overwhelmed myself by the number of lists flying around on Twitter, various websites and online forums, and among our staff; I decided not to try to re-create these lists or to share each one I came across. Instead, I pointed staff to a few sites where these had already been collated (including the “Ask a Librarian” page on this site). And I put in place as many of the free subscriptions as seemed relevant in the usual way for us: as links on our online resources pages on the intranet (and on my new Google Site). I was delighted to be asked to list the resources that students may find useful for our Year 11 essay competition, for which they can choose a question from any department. Here was a concrete way in which I could save Heads of Department some time while reminding staff and students just how much is accessible online in their subject area. I hoped that both teachers and students would know to come to me to ask about online access, and many have. Creating helpsheets, screencasts and video tutorials After a number of queries about accessing a specific newspaper or magazine articles that users had found online, it was clear that I needed to provide a quick overview of our existing subscriptions. Similarly, I had a lot of enquiries about eBooks. While we have some, they are available from different platforms and it had been some time since I had promoted them specifically. Over the Easter holidays, I focused on creating three new helpsheets for our intranet: how to find newspaper and journal articles online, how to access our eBooks, and how to use your local library card to access newspapers and magazines, eBooks and audiobooks. I created these as intranet pages so I could share the links easily, but each also included online demos (screencasts) which I recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel. (Luckily for me, I’d begun dabbling with screencasts for Sixth Form library inductions earlier this year, so I had some training and experience already.) I also sought to expand our existing online library, setting up new subscriptions to the Very Short Introductions series online and a free trial to ePlatform’s collection of (mostly fiction) eBooks and audiobooks. Promoting reading for pleasure and writing At the same time, I was trying to encourage students to read for pleasure as a means of coping and escapism during this anxious time. (I managed to entice 25 parents to sign up for an offer to order some or all of the Carnegie-shortlisted books for their children, only for major book warehouses to close at that time, leaving us unable to fulfil requests.) After a useful CILIP webinar, I felt more confident in setting up a virtual Carnegie Shadowing book club this term. I had to accept that while I can provide eBook versions for five of the books, we may not all be able to finish them all, and that’s okay. The group is small; we meet weekly via Google Meet and have already had some very thoughtful engagement with our first book. Having noticed that there are a lot of writing competitions open to students now, both in school and externally, I created a page on the Library Google Site where I can add links to them all. Some are specifically designed to encourage pupils to capture their feelings and reactions during lockdown. I collaborated with an English teacher who leads the creative writing club at school; she added me to the club’s Google Classroom so I could access links she’d already shared and promoted my list; the English department has also promoted it to their classes. Only after about five weeks was I able to pause for breath and return to some of my planned work for this term, such as updating our recommended reading lists for Years 7–11 and sharing these with parents via our lovereading4schools page (password: LUS). I discovered our local independent bookshop, Kew Books, was once again able to take online orders for delivery. I wanted to explore this as an option for students in our Carnegie book club; in fact, the bookseller was so keen to support that he re-created all our recommended reading lists on a special book orders page for our school on his website to make online ordering as easy as possible for our students and parents. This is not the same as offering free lending through the library, of course, but it’s a fantastic option to promote to parents in the circumstances. Communication and community Communication has been one of the biggest adjustments and frustrations for me, and something I think all of us are struggling with. I miss chatting to students and staff. Where I may have resolved a question by asking a teacher in passing before, or show a student how to use an online resource, I now rely much more on email. I know our teachers must be exhausted by all the screen time and headspace that remote teaching involves. (Our school has implemented a daily staff bulletin in an attempt to cut down on staff email, and this has been helpful.) Communicating with students for me is even harder, relying on messages being delivered by tutors or on school email which is not always checked. Of course, enquiries to external suppliers are generally happening by email and taking much longer too. My line manager has been a great support to me, recognising my efforts and regularly reminding me in our meetings to be kind to myself in this new reality. I am extremely fortunate to work at a school with a tremendous sense of community, and staff have worked hard to keep that going. Within a week, for example, we had a Common Room website, a regular staff virtual quiz with as much banter as quizzing, a lockdown newsletter (including poetry, artwork, jokes and photos of our lockdown views), a wellbeing site (for students too) and all manner of online departmental initiatives, including PE’s physical challenges, Drama’s invitation to create and share short “Kitchen Sink” dramas from home and the Music department’s tweets of lockdown listening. Furloughed staff have been encouraged to participate fully too; this has helped us all to continue to feel connected to school. CPD and reflection I have spent a lot more time learning from the online community of librarians than ever before too (SLN, webinars from CILIP and SLA, new Facebook groups aimed at librarians in lockdown, Twitter); whatever you want to do, inevitably you’ll find a librarian somewhere who has already answered your question, found the perfect tool for the job or created a ready-made resource that you can reuse. My experience so far has not allowed much time for reflection; I have, however, registered for Chartership Revalidation with CILIP and also for the SLA’s Certificate of CPD engagement in order to force myself to take some time to reflect. For example, here are just some of the CPD/tech skills I’ve developed in the six weeks since lockdown: Create and publish a simple Google site Join, host and record video meetings with staff and students Access eBooks, audiobooks, online newspapers and magazines from local public libraries Download and read eBooks for myself on multiple platforms and apps: VLeBooks, ePlatform, Libby & Cloud Library Create themed YouTube playlists of my Screencastify tutorials, e.g. Using Oliver (the library catalogue) for teachers, How to access our eBook collections Learn how to “unlock” up to 30% of a print book through the CLA’s Education Platform for teachers to share digital copies legally with students Deliver a virtual library induction for new staff including “tour” of library and demo of using the library catalogue and our online resources Set up a Google Classroom to share resources with our Carnegie Shadowing book club Use Wakelet to collect and share content quickly and attractively, e.g. Economics resources for the Year 11 essay competition One of my pre-lockdown goals was to develop some bite-sized information literacy resources online; the fact that I was forced to do so at speed and from home has helped show me how I can support teaching and learning, even when the library itself is closed. Written by Terri McCargar Librarian, Latymer Upper School, Hammersmith, London. Twitter: @Latymer_library

Many children can feel intimidated when arriving in secondary school for the first time. Librarian Anne De'Ath tells us about an initiative she ran to help that transition through the school library. Whilst a School Librarian at Eastwood High School (East Renfrewshire) I was involved with the local feeder primaries. I visited their pupils to talk about various things including “The Summer Reading Challenge” (an Initiative to develop Literacy by using Libraries). This experience gave me the confidence to develop links further with the nearest primary, Crookfur. After speaking to their Depute Head Teacher, Ms Gillian Graham we decided to set up a series of visits for Primary 6 & 7 pupils. This allowed pupils to visit the Library at Eastwood and undertake some basic Library Skills lessons. Thus I got to know these pupils and could encourage their reading, as they borrowed books from Eastwood. I also felt I could help these pupils cope with the transition when moving from primary to secondary education. To further build on this we decided to run a joint literacy festival. The aims of this were to: raise standards in writing, creativity and motivation increase motivation in reading for pleasure increase attainment in literacy across the curriculum build links between the 2 schools via pupils and staff Event During the festival we mixed the classes, so primary and secondary, such as P7 and S1, for example, would work together. The pupils would be put in groups of twenty and have three, one hour-long workshop in which they: met an author, who would share their ideas for writing (characters, setting, plot) met a storyteller, who would give a performance workshop a teacher would give a lesson focusing on the Moving Image and explaining how camera, colour and sound to develop atmosphere and character Finance Gillian applied to the Scottish Book Trust to partially fund the sessions from authors and storytellers. We also both submitted bids within our schools to meet the financial shortfall. My job also involved organising the specific workshops running at Eastwood. This meant: writing to authors and arranging a date and time for the event writing to pupils’ parents notifying them of the event consulting with all the teachers involved so they knew exactly what part they had to play on the day organising rooms for the event, along with any specific IT or drawing/writing materials organising for pupils (junior prefects) to take the groups round between each workshop and again notifying their teachers and parents about this. I had to speak to the prefects and give them notes so they knew exactly what to do (especially if a pupil was ill etc). One year we had over 100 pupils involved and so the Festival had to run to a strict timetable coordinating an area where all the pupils could go to have a break (this involved accessing food and drink). I had to organise catering for the pupils so their nutritional requirements were met offering the authors an area where they could get a break at any time during the event. I also organised refreshments for them and explained how they could access IT etc took photos during the festival and wrote up the event from the Eastwood perspective. This then went onto the school’s twitter feed, into the Head Teacher’s monthly newspaper and the local media. all pupil’s attending the workshops had to do a follow up activity. I helped to organised these during and after the event. To try and ensure a successful event I spoke to all parties about our aims. Indeed all staff, authors and pupils received written information about this before, during and after the event. Appraisal My yearly departmental development plan included references to the Joint Reading Festival. It was followed up by a yearly audit, which allowed me to appraise the festival in an official capacity. Both the plan and the audit were read by my Line Manager (Head Teacher). I also produced specific evaluation forms. These went to all those directly involved in the festival (staff, authors and pupils). The event produced positive publicity for the 2 schools. This was noted in a local newspaper, social media and HT monthly newsletter. I know from conversations with all the staff involved that they found the developed links between the 2 schools helpful. Anne De'Ath, School Librarian

On Monday 23 March 2020 I went to work mindful of the new rules about social distancing amid the changing advice from the government as the pandemic COVID-19 spread across the UK. The School had closed to visitors the previous week and the majority of pupils had returned home over the weekend. Staff began to make arrangements to work remotely from home where possible. During the previous two to three weeks I had monitored the global reaction to the spread of the virus through news and media online. It was evident that we were entering a time of stringent measures which would change our working lives for an unknown period of time. I was aware that systems had to be put in place to ensure staff and pupils could access online subscriptions remotely as I work at a boarding school. Our pupils travel from across the UK and overseas. They would continue to need support with IB Extended Essays, Extended Project Qualifications, coursework and school work wherever they were during the UK lockdown. I contacted publishers and suppliers to put in place appropriate arrangements to securely access online subscriptions. We use the School Intranet for staff and pupils to securely access information such as links and passwords to online resources. Fortunately, I had some limited editorial access to update our research pages and full administrative access to the Library Management System. Also, I had contacted suppliers about any free trials to additional resources as I became aware that departmental staff would need more online resources when teaching remotely. I felt reasonably well prepared given the circumstances and had made pupils aware of additional passwords and different ways to access online resources through our secure systems. I was asked to provide curated content to guide staff, parents and pupils towards free online resources during the lockdown. At the time this appeared to be an insurmountable task and responded emotionally due to the stressful situation. Normal reactions and logical clear head space were needed but I was very concerned about working in an environment where social distancing needed to be practised and I needed to work from home and ensure that family members were safe amidst panic buying for essential supplies. I took some time to check the SLA website for information and as I regularly Tweet and follow Elizabeth Hutchinson FCILP BEM on Twitter, I decided to send a DM to ask for some advice. I was advised to place a question on “Ask A Librarian” on the ‘Great School Libraries’ website and this proved to be an excellent way to gain some very helpful advice. I acted on the advice about checking some free online apps and struck gold by signing up to ‘Wakelet.’ I was so relieved to have found a free and easy to use web tool that would help me to curate web content. I was able to use my skills to identify appropriate websites and categorise free online resources according to subject areas. I am very grateful to colleagues who also sent me links to cover some of their subject areas and I was able to search through the SLA School Closure resources to include in the curated web content. I was able to use websites that I knew from previous experience were good and trusted sources as well. I am aware that it is important to evaluate free resources and to only recommend those that my colleagues, the SLA or I would access. They need to be trusted sources, relevant to secondary school staff, pupils and parents to give them a quick guide to websites that contain the information they need during lockdown. To do this remotely is quite challenging but I did receive positive feedback through Twitter and emails from colleagues across the School. Therefore I knew the information was needed and was proving to be useful If anyone needs to quickly curate web content then I would say that Wakelet is a good, free and easy to use tool as the results are very pleasing as there are copyright free images to add to the presentation. The website links pull through images and blurb. If you need to add text it is easy to edit and move the order of the websites around on the page. I hope to expand on the subjects developed to date. My Wakelet can be found at: https://wakelet.com/@EMLibrary Emma Minter, Librarian. Bryanston School, Dorset.

After the survey and landmark report on school library provision, the Great School Libraries Campaign is moving on to explore two further strands where libraries play a vital role and have a huge impact. Elizabeth Hutchinson is heading “Learning Through Inquiry” while I am focusing on “Mental Health and Wellbeing”. It is important to note that it is not suggested that school librarians should become mental health experts or replace qualified professionals working in this capacity within schools. However, the role of a school librarian is multifaceted by nature; librarians have contact with the whole school community, providing resources and information to meet students’ needs. In many schools the library is the “bolt hole” and “safe space” for students suffering from poor mental health. These students go to the library, by choice, during break-times and are often sent there during the day by other staff. Therefore it makes sense that in order to provide relevant resources and appropriate support, the librarian should have knowledge of mental ill-health, its effects and impact on individuals, and strategies that will enable them to help these young people. Mental health involves a person’s emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. The World Health Organisation states that health is: “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of diseases or infirmity” and goes on to say that mental health is: “a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” With the increase in mental health issues amongst children and young people, school libraries play an important role in supporting their wellbeing. This is too often unrecognised and undervalued. During the next eighteen months the Campaign plans to gather evidence to support and advocate for this aspect of the school library. Existing research There have been numerous studies on various aspects of mental health; for example, the benefits of reading for pleasure. However, many of these are not linked to the role a school library can play in engendering wellbeing. We plan to collate existing projects and research around the topic of school libraries, wellbeing and mental health to provide a cohesive picture of evidence. This will also help to identify any gaps where future studies would be useful. If you know of or come across any studies or research then please share it with us: info@greatschoollibraries.org.uk Collaboration Collaboration is important. By working with organisations and charities involved in the area of mental health and wellbeing, we can feed into existing projects and reach out to engage with other initiatives. Many schools already work with these organisations and, in several cases, the librarian is actively involved. We intend to open a dialogue so that we can support projects and share research; this includes mental health organisations, reading/literacy-based organisations and those supporting specific sectors such as SEND, Neurodiverse, BAME and LGBTQ+ pupils. Training All school librarians receive statutory safeguarding training but very few receive any sort of mental health training. Considering the support they provide to students with mental ill-health, further training is important. We will be looking at what training is available, particularly with regards to working with children and young people, and the logistics of providing this to school librarians, possibly via an online platform. Case Studies One of the aspects of the Campaign is gathering data and providing evidence to support our advocacy, and case studies are an important part of this. We’ve received lots of case studies already and they have now been divided into three categories on the website: Reading for Pleasure/Information; Wellbeing/Diversity; and Learning Through Inquiry. Measuring the impact of what we do on the wellbeing and mental health of pupils is difficult. It is not always possible to collect quantitative evidence – although if you can this would be fantastic – more often than not evidence is qualitative. However, even this is useful and we would like more examples. Please have a look at the existing case studies to give you an idea of what others have done – and consider whether you could help us by adding to them. The website link also contains a template to use for guidance. If you have any questions please email: info@greatschoollibraries.org.uk The role of the school library in supporting those with poor mental health is too often underestimated. This means that when a school closes its library and removes its librarian, it actually loses a lot more than a room filled with books; it eliminates a significant and essential asset for these vulnerable pupils. Barbara Band, Vice-Chair GSL committee and member CILIP SLG committee.

I am delighted to be heading one of the second aims for the next phase of the Great School Libraries campaign. This will be focusing on an Approaching Learning through Inquiry. As you may well already know I have become increasingly interested in the role of the school librarian as information professionals; in teaching information literacy through inquiry. This strand allows us to explore the role of the school librarian within inquiry throughout the curriculum. As such, I am delighted that the Great School Libraries working group has decided to endorse the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) School Library Guidelines as our standard for school libraries which provides us with a concise definition of what a school library is: “A school library is a school’s physical and digital learning space where reading, inquiry, research, thinking, imagination, and creativity are central to students’ information-to-knowledge journey and to their personal, social, and cultural growth. This physical and digital place is known by several terms (e.g., school media centre, centre for documentation and information, library resource centre, library learning commons) but school library is the term most commonly used and applied to the facility and functions” This definition provides us with a clear vision for what our school libraries and librarian should be aspiring to, and the accompanying Guidelines and associated workshop materials for implementing them provide us with powerful tools for realising this vision. Central to this definition is inquiry, both as a stance and as a process, which provides a clear link to this Learning through Inquiry aim. Furthermore, the IFLA School Library Guidelines is rooted in the IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto (1999), which views the school library as "providing information and ideas that are fundamental to functioning successfully in today's information and knowledge-based society, and equipping students with life-long learning skills and develops the imagination, enabling them to live as responsible citizens". The IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto (1999), has been updated for the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2020 in Dublin (15-21 August) following extensive international consultation, and we eagerly anticipate its publication. Over the next 18 months, we hope to focus on the following: Research We are aware, as a group, that there have been many studies carried out about the impact school librarians have when working collaboratively within the curriculum. We intend to try and bring it together, in order to provide evidence of impact for school librarians to share. Your help is always welcome and if you ever come across any relevant studies we would be grateful if you could share them with us at our email address info@greatschoollibraries.org.uk Framework for Inquiry In this phase, we will be focusing on FOSIL (Framework Of Skills for Inquiry Learning) as a suggested model for school librarians to support inquiry throughout the curriculum. We are aware that there are other frameworks out there and wholeheartedly support any school librarian using whatever they feel best for them. An overview and a brief history of FOSIL, along with some other models, may be found on CILIP ILG's Models & frameworks page. However, we feel that we are best able to support school librarians if we just focus on one. We will be working closely with The Fosil Group whose website already has nearly 200 members from across the world including school librarians, teachers, educators and academics. Their main aim is to share their knowledge and support each other in creating resources freely shared under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. We hope that you will find this useful and join in this learning journey with us by signing up to the FOSIL forum. Training School librarians In collaboration with CILIP SLG and SLA we will be looking at what training is currently on offer to support school librarians who want to start the journey with inquiry across the curriculum. We hope that this work will highlight the vast amount of training already available but also help us to discover areas of training need. This will then lead to opportunities to work with our partners to provide courses that will support and encourage relevant CPD. We are particularly interested in looking to prove online courses and webinars where we can. We are also planning to provide an online manual and webinars on how to access and use FOSIL. SLT and teachers We are very aware that one of the barriers to school librarians working within the curriculum is the lack of understanding from senior leaders so our training will also look to include talks to SLT about the role and value of the school librarian which can either be delivered by school librarians themselves or with support if needed. We also hope to provide talks that can be used at INSET days to help teachers and librarians work more closely together. This will also include training for teachers in using FOSIL too. Gathering data It is important that we continue to expand our rich data collection which we have already started through our Library Insights blog and case studies. You may have noticed that we have recently split our case studies into three different categories and will not be surprised to read that I am particularly interested in your Learning through Inquiry case studies. Please consider writing for us about any research-based collaborative lessons you have recently carried out to add to our ever-expanding data. To find out more please email info@greatschoollibraries.org.uk. The Future We hope to provide a future for school librarians with a collective voice. We hope that you will join us on this journey ensuring that school librarians now and in the future have a role to play within our education system, within our schools and within our curriculum. Elizabeth Hutchinson, Vice-Chair GSL committee and member of CILIP SLG committee