School libraries are essential to our children’s education. School libraries increase our children’s academic attainment. Thankfully you don’t have to take me at my word as there are plenty of studies saying just that. We regularly hear about the more children read fiction the better they will do at school and recent research from the UCL Institute of Education confirms this. “Young people who read fiction have significantly stronger reading skills than their peers who do not” https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2018/oct/fact-or-fiction-novels-come-top-reading-skills The wonderful thing about school libraries is that we have another string to our bow. We can also support and teach inquiry-based learning which also impacts student learning. Dorothy Williams et al have carried out numerous studies into this. If you want the evidence then read this http://keithcurrylance.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WilliamsWavellTLfeb2014.pdf We are constantly hearing of schools removing their librarians in order to save money but across the country, there are, thankfully, still some very hard working passionate school librarians all wanting to do their best for their students and teachers. They work in schools whose budgets are being pushed to the limit and they are still finding ways to support their schools on a shoestring. Often alone fighting for their place in the school and the curriculum but it is time to stop doing this all on our own. Time to stop fighting our own corner. Time to come together and support each other regardless of past disagreements. We come in all shapes and sizes. The biggest elephant in the room is qualifications, to have to not to have. Well, let me put this one to bed immediately. We have so much more to worry about! If you are a school librarian with no qualification at all or a school librarian with a degree but not a library one, or a school librarian with every qualification under the sun it really does not matter. We all believe that our schools need someone in their school library. We all know that students will do better in school with us than without us. This is not about us it is about our student’s futures. How can we fight between ourselves at a time like this? We are stronger together! We have a clear opportunity to stand together and say that our students are important and we need to be in schools to support them. The aims of this campaign are threefold. Let me remind you of what they are:- To secure school library funding There are many school librarians who don’t know how they are going to continue supporting their students with the poor resources they currently have. Like any other department in school, they should know what money they are getting from the school budget. We are not saying how much, we know school budgets are tight, are just saying that as a department it does need some of the school budget to do the job it is there for. If we can raise awareness of the importance of school libraries to our Headteachers and the need for a budget to function properly our ability to support their students through literacy and independent learning greatly increases. If your budget is good then you also need to join this conversation in showing what you are achieving with it. How is it impacting your students and teachers? We need your voices too! To produce a national framework for school libraries A national framework will not change your role dramatically if you don’t want it to. It is not a magic wand that will make schools instantly recognise the amazing work that school librarians do and start making demands of you. If a framework were produced it would work as a guideline for best practice, a path to something better for everyone in the future. No longer would we be struggling to put into words why school libraries and librarians are important. This document would highlight all the possibilities and opportunities that come from school libraries. You could use it to say look what we are already doing or look at what we could be doing. We want our students to have equal opportunities and this framework will support that. Recognition of school libraries within the Ofsted framework Schools don’t like Ofsted inspections. No school wants them but this is how they have been told they will be judged on their quality. How often has one of our schools been inspected and the school library is never mentioned? What does this say to the parents reading the inspection report or to the school who get outstanding? This worrying trend re-enforces the national lack of understanding of the role the school library has within teaching and learning. In ensuring that Ofsted recognises the work the school librarian plays in supporting independent learning, schools would be encouraged to look at what is happening within their libraries more. If you have a great library and are proud of what you do then this is your chance to shine. This is just going to help you tell everyone what a great job you do. If you feel you would need a little help, there are lots of school librarians out there that could and would support you. What can you do now? Talk positively about our campaign, talk to your teachers and schools about it. If you are not sure how then ask, we are more than happy to help! We are still looking for case studies to help build a picture of best practice throughout the country. We are going to release a brand new website in September along with the results of the questionnaire and would love to share your stories about what is going on in your school libraries. If a case study is just a step too far then send us a blog instead. Please remember we are doing this for our students. Together we are stronger! Our children deserve great school libraries. By Elizabeth Hutchinson - Head of Learning and Development, Guille-Allès, Guernsey. Works Cited Walker, R. (2018, October 17). Fact or Fiction, Novels Come Top for Reading Skills. Retrieved June 19, 2019, from UCL Institute of Education: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2018/oct/fact-or-fiction-novels-come-top-reading-skills Williams, D., Wavell, C., & K, M. (2013, October ). Retrieved June 19, 2019, from Impact of School Libraries on Learning: http://keithcurrylance.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WilliamsWavellTLfeb2014.pdf Photo by Duy Pham on Unsplash

We are delighted to announce the winners of our competitions who will be receiving a bundle of books for their school libraries. Drum roll please… The Lucky schools for the ASCL competition are:- Wymondham College Cockburn School The Lucky schools for filling in the questionnaire are:- Ark Isaac Newton Academy Northfield School and Sports College St John’s Catholic Primary School, Camborne St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School We hope you enjoy your books! Thank you to everyone who took part. The results of the questionnaire will be released in September.

As a literacy and literature adviser and university lecturer I have visited many primary schools and worked with many hundreds of teachers, English subject leaders and senior managers. I have found that although most primary schools have libraries there is no uniformity in provision or access. What are the Issues? Class libraries or school libraries? Due in large part to budget limitations many schools prioritise either classroom book corners or a central library. Both are of value – children need instant access to a well-stocked class library but also the opportunity for regular access to a wider and richer resource to select books to read for pleasure and information. Who is responsible? The responsibility for libraries in primary schools varies, most frequently it is the English subject lead who has the responsibility  and she/he may line manage a teaching assistant. The time TAs have available to support the library may vary, they frequently have other commitments in the school. In some cases, parent volunteers help manage school libraries. School librarians are a rarity in primary schools. What about funding? The amount of money varies for book stock and furnishings. If tied in with building works core funding can sometimes be found for furniture. Often funding is minimal and part of the English budget. School parent associations sometimes support with fund raising How well is the space used? Making good use of the library space needs planning. Timetabling regular slots for class visits to the library for browsing, research and story times are important. In addition, thought needs to be given to creative and appropriate use of the resource, for example for book groups, ‘buddy’ reading and parent and child story times.  It is easy for sought after spaces to be monopolised by intervention groups or at the other extreme be empty for the majority of the day if staff are not encouraged to use them. Is the value of the library recognised? The degree to which the school library is considered central to the quality of education provided varies enormously in terms of promoting reading for pleasure, supporting the curriculum and children’s development as critical users of information. This is pivotal in terms of ensuring a well-used, managed and funded primary library. As a former English subject leader myself I understand these tensions. A key factor in the successful development of a primary school library is the passionate commitment of individual members of staff supported by a senior leadership team who value the library and see it as central to the quality of education rather than an add-on. I recently had the opportunity to visit two successful primary school libraries in Lewisham, South East London and speak to the individuals responsible for them. Here is what I found out: Firstly, I met Karen Robertson, Assistant Head and English and Curriculum Lead at Holbeach Primary School. Karen described the background to their very attractive school library. ‘We have always had a library since I’ve been here, but it was a lot smaller and the books were very old. It was extended four/five years ago. Lewisham had wanted us to use the space for new classrooms, but we fought for the space, the head teacher was passionate about books and reading so instead of losing a library we extended it taking over what had been a computer room. ’ The school had very clear aims in what they wanted to achieve: ‘The school is in quite an area of deprivation with quite a few children who don’t have any books at home. What we want to do is to make a difference to their lives because reading is key for their futures. We wanted it to be a space that was inviting for all of the children in the school and encourage them to read and enjoy reading.’ She told me how the children were involved: ‘Children helped design the shape and layout, they wanted it to be exciting.  Then it was designed and built by an outside company. It creates a really nice space.’ The school are very lucky to have a creative and skilled premises officer who built a lovely poetry tree. Maintenance & organisation Karen described a team approach to managing the library. She has overall responsibility; a Teaching Assistant has responsibility for tidying for half an hour a day with Y6 junior librarians helping at lunchtime. Another TA is responsible for display. Class teachers choose a timetabled slot to bring their classes and children can borrow books to take back to class or take home. The library is also used for reading buddies in Y1 and Y6. Children find a comfortable space and read with their buddy. Karen commented on the benefits of this for the year sixes as well as their year one partners. Karen made sure that an introduction to the library was a priority for the reception children and great fun too: ‘I Introduced the library to reception during world book day with a bear hunt. I told them my teddy bear has lost his friends and I think they are hiding in the library. I brought them here and read ‘Where’s My Teddy.’ The response from the children and visitors has been very good: ‘A group of visiting heads and deputies were stunned by the library. They interviewed some of the children who talked about how much they love the library and want to come in more.’ Karen is continuing to work on developing the library, the book stock, in particular fiction and opportunities for children to access the wonderful space. I also visited Stillness Junior School where Ruth Horsman is a teaching assistant with responsibility for the library. I asked Ruth how she became involved ‘I became a parent volunteer 4 years ago and gradually got more involved. My first ever job was in a community library and I always loved it.  At that time there was one parent coming into the library to keep it tidy. Classes were coming in to choose books but there was no dedicated time to read the books here. I felt this was such a lovely space, but it was only open when teachers came with their classes. I put it to the Head Teacher that I could open the library one lunchtime a week as a space for kids to come in and read. That grew and grew. I started talking other parents into it as well. Gradually people started realising the benefits of a space [for the children] that isn’t the playground. How is the library used now? We now open every lunchtime – run by parent volunteers. We also open three afternoons after school for half an hour for parents to choose books and read with their children. We are very lucky to have this and a leadership team who can see how important it [the library] is. There are lots of kids who think the library is the heart of the school. Every lunchtime they see it as their space – they own it! Children help choose the books. Pupil librarians help the parent volunteers tidy. What is the value? What we do here is completely separate from what goes on in the classroom; it’s reading for pleasure. Ruth ensures she responds to children’s interests and extends them too ‘One child said to me my teacher says I’m not allowed to read any more ‘Wimpy Kids’ I’ve got to read something more challenging. I say take a Wimpy kid out but take something that’s more challenging as well.’ Ruth has expanded the range of reading material by adding comics and newspapers and a collection of graphic books. The Guinness Book of Records is proving very popular. The PTA have funded a subscription to the Beano. Ruth is also trying to ensure a good balance between responding to children’s interests and expanding them with encouragement to read more widely. ‘There’s a reading challenge too – if you read all 30 books in a year you get a gold certificate. I have had parents say I can’t tell you how great this is. They are trying to read new books, they are discovering new authors. It’s not compulsory though and doesn’t work for all.’ How else is the library used? ‘From September I have been paid for 6 hours a week to work with groups of children from year six during guided reading time. I choose the books pushing their reading ability. The parents are happy to buy books, and if they can’t buy it, I borrow from the community libraries. Children are talking about the book so much some groups say I already know what happens – so this term I’ve got three separate books. We have a discussion at the beginning of each session, read a bit together then have another discussion at the end, I say read 3 chapters at home. I want it to be interesting and fun. We’ve been doing a bit of philosophy for children and exploring the wider themes in the books too.’ The library is also used for reading buddies from year 6 and 2 and a celebration of comic book making and was well used during the school’s book festival. Future plans Ruth told me that although the space for the current library will go in the next few months, a new library is planned at the front of the school to be funded by Lewisham council, with fund-raising from the school for an additional, mezzanine level. She is also making plans with the Infants school to run a boys’ books and brunch workshop and a reading for pleasure with your child session with parents. Ruth is keen to work across the school including in other year groups and also to work more closely with the teaching staff: ‘It feels like what I am doing here is very separate to what the teachers are doing I would like there to be more of a connection’ Ruth plans to attend the OU/UKLA teachers’ reading for pleasure group in Lewisham next year hopefully with a member of the school teaching team to make more links in terms of a whole school drive to promote reading for pleasure. She is also keen to explore possibilities for training from the School Library Association as she is not a librarian. Ruth is very proactive and keen to make a difference, not only in her school but across the borough, linking up with other schools. ‘I have started to set up a small network, it’s tiny at the moment, 4 or 5 schools all with a library or setting one up. We try to meet once a term and share practice for example managing fund raising. She has also set up the Lewisham Primary book awards being piloted this year with 15 schools in conjunction with Moon Lane Bookshop. The emphasis is on inclusivity and books reflecting the diversity of borough. These passionate and committed individuals are making a big difference within their own settings and through networking potentially more widely too. The first steps are for school leaders to recognize the impact a successful school library can have on the quality of education. As Professor Teresa Cremin has stated: ‘A quality school library is every child’s right.’ By Sue McGonigle who has over twenty years’ experience as a teacher, English subject leader and Deputy Head in inner city primary schools.

There are two strands to collecting data for the Campaign. One is quantitative – that’s being done via the survey – and the other is qualitative – which is why we need case studies. Both are important but the latter is where we will be able to show our impact and the more we have, the wider and more diverse we can demonstrate the value of what we do, the better. What we need to show is the difference having a school librarian makes. Okay, I know that schools without librarians celebrate World Book Day, have author visits and run book groups. But I also know from my own experience and from talking to others how much more impact all these activities have when they have the input of a librarian. Somebody to follow up events, to encourage participation, to use the activity as a springboard for even more ideas to get students reading. I’ve received several case studies already but I’m greedy and want more. The ones I have range from reading interventions to running book groups to writing clubs for disadvantaged pupils to information literacy lessons. It doesn’t have to be an all-singing all-dancing project (although if you’ve got one of those and want to let us know about it that’s great), even the smallest thing can have an impact as we all know. Do you deliver an information literacy session on Keywording/search skills? Did you notice students were better at searching afterwards, that they were getting more accurate results quicker? Ask then if they found the lesson useful and the impact it’s had? Ask their teacher if they’ve noticed any difference? Do you create regular books displays? Do these result in more borrowing of the displayed books, students asking for books by the same author or more books on the same topic? Do you shadow any national or local book awards? Does your group attract new students to the library? How many carry on visiting and using the library afterwards? How many read outside their comfort zone, are introduced to new authors and/or genres? There is a template to use for your case study but it’s only a guide and we’re not looking for a huge amount of information. You may not be able to fill in every section fully – that doesn’t matter. The important thing is the outcome, what difference it made, what impact it had. For example: WHAT: Book talks to year 7 library lessons. There are 8 lessons over a period of two weeks. A selection of stock was chosen to promote to the groups, a mix of new titles and contemporary classics, including fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels and poetry. WHY: To increase students’ knowledge about books, authors and resources in the library. To encourage them to try something new. REFERENCE: General discussion about introducing new books to classes on School Librarian Network (online forum). OUTCOMES: – An increase in loans of the books featured in the book talks. An increase in loans of books by the same authors.An increase in Year 7 knowledge about the library stock.More students asking for help during library lessons to find “something interesting to read”.Students discussing the books they have borrowed and read, recommending books to each other in lessons.20 books were discussed in each lesson; on average 10/12 were borrowed and approximately half of students who returned those asked for further books to read for pleasure.Student remarked “I never knew the library had this type of book” (referring to graphic novels). LEGACY: To ensure book talks are a regular feature in the Year 7 library lesson programme. Also to consider extending this to Year 8 lessons to introduce new books. ADVICE: – Feature a wide range of books and different genres in the talks – Ensure you have a good stock of other books by the same author – Will need regular new stock added to the library to use in the book talks, particularly if you expand this to other year groups. Ready to try yours? Here is your case study template. Written by Barbara Band - School Library and Reading Consultant Photo by Sophie Elvis on Unsplash

Case Study – simple example School Librarians are constantly moving forward, thinking of new ideas and trying new things out. As Liz Free says above ‘[Librarians] bring with the expertise that enhances the learning preparation with teaching staff” and sometimes that is very much based on thorough research and reading around the topic, like in the case study example found here.  However many changes made in school libraries are made through conversations with teachers, an awareness of curriculum needs and sometimes even a gut instinct that something needs to change. We don’t all have time to do the research first before we try something out. We know that it takes time to write a case study especially if you have to find the research and the evidence of outcomes so I wanted to share with you one that I did recently. I wanted to ensure that our students were using our ebook collection more, it was that simple. My case study clearly states just that and ok when I started to fill it in I realised that I had read something recently that probably helped my decision but I believe I would have gone ahead and tried it anyway. I knew I had to do something or stop paying for the ebooks and I was not ready to give up just yet. I have uploaded my own case study so that you have another example that shows something simpler. There are times when we do have to do lots of research for our big projects, but for our everyday changes, that also have an impact, we use different methods to make those decisions for change. I hope it helps persuade more of you to create your own case studies and send them in. To fill in your own case study download it here. Case Study Template

School libraries aren’t statutory, and in the UK no one knows how many there are, or if they are staffed or funded. The Great School Libraries campaign is a three-year campaign which aims to change this – collecting data about school libraries as well as working towards securing school library funding; producing a national framework for school libraries and recognition of school libraries within Ofsted. It is about ensuring that all children receive the benefits a school library can provide. To watch a video about the impact of a school library see post below. We are conducting a sector-wide survey of primary and secondary schools to better understand the level of provision of both learning resources and staff responsible for them. As you know, there is currently no definitive information on how schools are resourced – something we want to change. We would appreciate your help in gathering this information to provide a clearer picture of the situation and would be grateful if you could complete a short questionnaire. Your responses will be treated in the strictest confidence and BMG Research, who are conducting the survey on our behalf, abides by the Market Research Society Code of Conduct at all times. The survey will be sent to schools shortly and will be open between Monday 25th February to Friday 29th March. If you want to make sure this survey has been completed on behalf of your school please do get in touch with Jamie Lawson, Research Executive at BMG Research, via e-mail at Jamie.Lawson@bmgresearch.co.uk. Alternatively, you can contact him via phone at 0121 333 6006. If you are interested in finding out more information about the Great School Libraries Campaign, please contact Alison Tarrant, Chair of the GSL working group via e-mail at info@sla.org.uk Reblogged from the SLA website with permission.

Thank you to Softlink for making us this wonderful video for the Campaign!

“The active encouragement of reading for pleasure should be a core part of every child’s curriculum entitlement because extensive reading and exposure to a wide range of texts make a huge contribution to students’ educational achievement.” (The All-Party Parliamentary Group for education, 2011) Not every child has access to books at home or parents or carers who take them to the public library but every child must go to school. Therefore, in order for reading for pleasure to be a core part of every child’s curriculum entitlement, every school needs a school library. But that isn’t enough. To create a great school library that isn’t just a room full of books, but the heart of the school, the library needs to have a school librarian who can provide the active encouragement, knowledge and expertise in reading as well as keeping the library and stock relevant, attractive and up to date. Many schools don’t know where to start when wanting to create a dynamic, vibrant space where children are keen to come and borrow books nor do hard-pressed teachers have the time. Their stock usually consists of books that have been in the library since the last librarian left twenty years ago with some recent, popular titles that are falling apart. Often the space has become a dumping ground or an extra classroom. Schools Library Services can help. We can come into schools, weed the stock, organise the library including cataloguing, classification and advise on what new stock to purchase and what library management systems to use. If there is no Schools Library Service in your area, contact SLS-UK through our website https://schoolslibraryservicesuk.org/ and we will find someone to help create that Great School Library. If schools can’t afford a librarian some Schools Library Services offer a professional librarian in school for one or two days a week, which has proved invaluable: “The work of a School Librarian has the potential to make a huge contribution to the school in ways that I had not realised until we found ours. Her work has impacted directly on the children; their involvement and enthusiasm for reading as well as our participation in enrichment activities and the maintenance of the reading environment.” (Headteacher, Primary School in Tower Hamlets, London). While most primary schools no longer have a school librarian thanks to massive cuts to budgets, the many secondary schools do and reports show the critical value of a good school librarian: “The school librarian is uniquely placed to support teaching and learning in all areas of the National Curriculum, not just English, as well as the wider school curriculum. Through the librarian’s knowledge, expertise and skills, children are taught how to access and explore for themselves all the school curriculum subject areas and beyond. This is particularly important for the large number of pupils who still do not have access to books and/or the internet at home.” (Beating Heart of the School Report, 2014) Ofsted, in its report Good school libraries: making a difference to learning, 2005, says: "Well trained and energetic librarians with good specialist knowledge had a major influence on increasing effectiveness of school libraries. The best school librarians had a positive impact on teaching, pupils’ personal development and their learning." Yet despite their level of professional training and experience, many school librarians are regarded as support staff. Often they have dual roles. They are also responsible for careers, reprographics, admin, video conferencing and accelerated reader or other structured schemes. Status and salary need to be of a high enough level to attract high quality, experienced, dedicated people to the role. They are a vital ingredient in making the library the heart of the school and to improve a school’s performance in SATs and exams. Ron Weasley sums it up well in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: “But why’s she got to go to the library?” “Because that’s what Hermione does,” said Ron, shrugging. “When in doubt, go to the library.” Every child should have somewhere to go when in doubt; to learn independently and to retrieve information. Every child deserves a great school library. Written by Nina Simon, SLS Manager Redbridge Schools’ Library Service Image from Flikr Creative Commons.  Created by Carlos Porto here.

Christina Clark, Head of Research at the National Literacy Trust, is a member of the campaign working group. In this blog she introduces us to some of their latest research into links between well-being and literacy. We’ve long known that a love of reading and writing can help children flourish at school and go on to succeed at work. But our latest research on the link between reading, writing and mental well being tells us that reading and writing for enjoyment can also help children lead happy and healthy lives. This matters as the mental health of our children and young people is increasingly an area of concern. Indeed between 2015 and 2017 the Government announced new funding for mental health, including specific investment in perinatal services and eating disorder services for teenagers, and in July 2018, statutory health education in schools was announced. There are a few studies that explore children and young people’s subjective wellbeing. However, to our knowledge, no one has looked at the link between how one feels about oneself and reading or writing. We therefore wanted to know how general mental wellbeing is related to several reading and writing variables, such as enjoyment, frequency, self-rated perceptions of skill and attitudes. So, what did we do? In our latest Annual Literacy Survey of 49,047 children and young people aged 8 to 18, we focused on three aspects of mental wellbeing: life satisfaction, coping skills and self-belief. To explore how mental wellbeing in general is associated with aspects of reading and writing, we combined responses across the three components into one to create an overall Mental Wellbeing Index. We found that children who enjoy reading and writing in their free time have significantly better mental well being than their peers who don’t. Indeed children who enjoy reading and writing, do it daily outside school and have positive attitudes towards literacy are three times more likely to have high levels of mental well being than their peers who are not engaged in reading and writing (39.4% vs 11.8%). On the flip side, not being engaged with reading and writing makes children twice as vulnerable to low levels of mental well being than their engages peers (37.4% vs 15%). Previous research has shown that reading skill is linked to mental wellbeing, with children who struggle with reading having worse mental wellbeing outcomes. We had reading skill data for 1,098 pupils aged 11 to 15, which allowed us to explore not only the link between mental wellbeing and reading skill but also how important reading skill is when other reading components are considered. In line with previous studies, we found that children and young people who read at or above the level expected for their age have higher mental wellbeing scores, on average, than their peers whose reading skills are below expected levels. However, what was particularly interesting was that when all the reading variables were considered simultaneously, reading skill was not found to be a significant predictor of mental wellbeing in our study. This might indicate that enjoyment and attitudes are more important for mental wellbeing, which in turn might suggest that focusing on improving positive attitudes and enjoyment of reading might be particularly beneficial in the classroom and across the whole school. And this is where school libraries have a vital role to play. We know that school libraries are positively linked to personal and interpersonal outcomes such as feelings of success, resilience, independence and self-esteem. Positive attitudes and enjoyment of reading in particular have been consistently linked to school library use, both in the UK and internationally. Data from a large scale survey in the UK has shown that pupils who use the school library are more likely to enjoy reading, to read more books in a typical month and rate themselves as good readers. The data also showed that school library users think more positively about reading. They are more likely to see reading as fun and cool and less likely to agree that they only read when they have to. Some evidence also suggests that the impact of school libraries might be particularly important for engaging boys in reading. At a time when children and young people are facing a multitude of pressures at school, at home and in their social lives, it is vital that we do everything we can to help them develop the resilience they need to cope with life’s challenges — something that we now know a love of reading and writing can help with. And school libraries can play a central part in this.

The School Library Data Group (SLDG), a sub-group of the Great School Libraries Campaign, has received a grant from the Foyle Foundation in order to undertake a major survey of UK school library provision. The value and benefits of school libraries are well documented in international research yet many children have no access to a library within their school creating inequalities of provision. School libraries support academic achievement, raise attainment across all subjects, increase reading enjoyment and literacy, and feed into pupil’s well-being as well as wider learning skills. There is currently no authoritative independent data collected on school libraries meaning we are unable to accurately state the existing level of provision and address the issues facing the school library sector. The survey will give us this information, and will be used as a benchmark to track annual changes and trends in provision. Alongside the survey, the SLDG will also be collecting case studies of projects and initiatives within school libraries that show qualitative evidence of their impact. The Foyle Foundation is an independent grantmaking trust that distributes grants to UK charities via its Main Grants Scheme (covering charities whose core work deals with Arts and Learning), the Foyle School Library Scheme and the Small Grants Scheme. The Great School Libraries Campaign was launched in September. The mission of the campaign is to ensure that every child has access to a school library and a professional librarian. The SLDG will be commissioning an individual, independent research organisation or university to undertake the survey. Please contact Christina Clark, Head of Research at the National Literacy Trust: Christina.clark@literacytrust.org.uk for further information regarding the Invitation to Tender. Barbara Band Chair School Library Data Group info@barbaraband.com

The relationship between reading attainment and reading for pleasure is dynamic and reciprocal, and school library staff can impact attainment by identifying barriers to reading, having specialist knowledge about which books suit which child, and supporting teachers in developing their reading environments. Critical literacy is an essential skill in today’s world – the ability to evaluate information and entertainment sources is something no young person should be without, and the skills that allow them to do this also allow them to play an active role in society. Library staff have been specialists in this area for decades, teaching children how to find, evaluate and use information effectively and ethically – now there is a new air of urgency, and library staff have the knowledge and resources to empower pupils and support teachers in this vital area. But great school libraries are also about space – a space that provides safety and comfort, a space that welcomes all pupils, and gives all equal access. A space that questions, and entices, and excites. A space where all children are free to travel on their learning journey and are supported and inspired by a knowledgeable specialist. There are some libraries where these things aren’t happening, and this is a shame – both for those children who won’t get those experiences or knowledge, and for those teachers who lack support at a time when they need it. Part of this campaign will be about supporting staff (both library and teachers), and providing guidance on useful articles, places to start and where to go next, to ensure that all libraries are fulfilling their potential. However, it is important to note that in some schools Library Assistants have been employed on their own – we are not expecting them to take on the role of a Librarian/Library Manager. Nor are we expecting library staff who are under-supported or underpaid to start taking on more work. Through the campaign we will be raising expectations and understanding about the profession, and making decision makers aware of exactly what is missing when the school library languishes. This increase in understanding will lead to better access to CPD, salaries to match the role and a higher level of accountability, which will provide the best education for pupils, and support for staff. Alison Tarrant, CE of SLA and Chair of Great School Libraries working party

Last week saw the launch of the Great School Libraries campaign – a three year campaign spearheaded by SLA, CILIP SLG and CILIP. The campaign has three aims: to secure school library funding; to produce a national framework for school libraries and recognition of school libraries within the Ofsted framework. We are truly excited to announce that we have been able to secure funding for the Great School Libraries campaign for the entirety of its duration from Peters, the UK’s leading specialist supplier of books and furniture for schools, academies, and public libraries. Ray Dyer, Peters’ Managing Director commented: “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Great School Libraries campaign. At Peters, we understand the importance of ensuring children and young people have access to great books and a vibrant school library is an essential part of this. We are looking forward to working with the School Library Association and CILIP to ensure that every child has access to a great school library.” Alison Tarrant, Chair of the Great School Libraries campaign working group said: “We are delighted to be working with Peters on this campaign. They understand the difference that a staffed and funded school library can make to school, and securing this funding means that we are not restricted, and will focus on producing meaningful resources and maximising engagement. Together they will enable the sector to move forward, and mark the beginning of a new era for school libraries.” We all have a role to play in ensuring every child receives the benefits a Great School Library can offer. To find out more about Peters, visit: https://peters.co.uk/