Creating the perfect whole-school environment to inspire a love of reading
Race Leys Junior School is a proud member of the Griffin Schools Trust and were recently awarded Artsmark Gold. The entire school’s environment is very bespoke, with each communal area focusing on a classic children’s book such as Harry Potter, or JM Barry’s Peter Pan.
Recently they redesigned and revigorated our traditional and typical school library into a stimulating and inspiring Wizard of Oz-themed reading space. Here, Amy Carnell, PR and Admin Assistant and part of the pastoral team, tells us how they’ve inspired a love of reading in school.
The value of an in-school library space
As a school we strongly believe in the strengthens of an onsite library provision for children. We believe that a library in school is the gateway to a love of learning and reading which can last a lifetime. Libraries in school enable all children access to books which not only supports their development with reading and comprehension, but also allows them to explore a range of genres with confidence whilst being transported to an imaginary world.
Our library is the epicentre of our school reading aims, with bookcases stocked with our accelerated reading scheme and cosy corners to sit in and read throughout the school day. Alongside this, our school library is home to our reading scheme awards. Reading is encouraged at home with the weekly winner, organised through a raffle ticket system, receiving a golden token to spend in our book vending machine. This houses a variety of the latest paperback titles and is varied according to reading age. This simple, yet highly effective reward has made a huge impact on our children’s attitude and approach to reading, providing more consistent readers and generating a love of reading.
Adapting through lockdown
As lockdown hit, we, like many schools, were worried about the impact this would have on our children’s reading access, interest and ability. We have invested, as part of our accelerated reader scheme, an online library of corresponding books through Myon. Linking perfectly with our current system, this allows children to not only take their Accelerated Reader quiz at home but also access books online. This has been highly valuable as we found that numerous children wanted to read the same book at once; this allowed them to continue their reading enjoyment without losing interest.
Not just a reading space
Our library is not just a space for reading. The multi-purpose communal area is linked to the year 4 curriculum and features within their learning. Our library walls and spaces are themed on the classic tale Wizard of Oz which is also the year group’s first literacy focus in September. Children also use this space for cross-curricular learning as part of their drama activities as well as inspiration for creative writing.
Of course, these successes do not come without challenges. Initially, book banding was time-consuming and tedious but with the dedication of our librarian (and a few helpers) it was completed by the opening date for the library. This mammoth task should not put people off though.
Our top tips for schools
I would encourage all schools to reinvigorate their library spaces and whilst encouraging the traditional, also try to incorporate the new digital age. Thinking outside of the box in terms of engaging children to read is the key to our success. Our library learning environment creates a stimulating and inclusive space that encompasses drama, arts and of course reading for all children.
