Primary School Library Consultant
Happy to help!
Please use the contact form to get in touch - I'd love to support you to develop a love of books and raise the profile of reading in your school!
I offer a FREE initial visit to local schools, excluding travel expenses.
If further afield, there is a small fee for the visit, plus travel expenses.
In all cases, I follow up with a short written report of ideas and advice specific to your school or setting and can arrange further actions, depending on your requirements and budget.
Are you looking for ideas to develop your school library?
As well as being a teacher and writer, I set up two libraries from scratch at a three-form entry primary school near Brighton, successfully and creatively managing full library provision there for nearly eight years.
Many schools are fortunate to benefit from the provision and expertise of their local School Library Service - but if it's not available in your area, or your school doesn't subscribe, it can be costly and overwhelming to set things up yourself. I can help you assess your current provision and make recommendations for future actions - suggesting ways to develop an essential, valuable resource, foster a love of books and raise the profile of reading across your whole school community.
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This might include: refreshing book stock, installing a library management system, re-designing or re-locating your library - or starting from scratch, ideas for fundraising, organising author visits, events, competitions and reading groups.
Encourage a love of books
With extensive knowledge of children’s books and authors, I can make appropriate recommendations to children, parents and staff - whether it be to read for pleasure, inspire creative writing, explore a topic, or support a special situation such as illness, bereavement or family separation. With training from Empathy Lab and support from West Sussex School Library Service, I have curated inclusive collections of books that reflect and represent all families and life experiences. As a result, children feel valued and inspired to write and illustrate their own stories. I have also worked with the Reading Agency Reading Well for Children booklist – stories to support mental health and wellbeing.
Creativity and innovation make a Reading School
Naming 20 classes after children's book illustrators inspired the whole school to look at reading differently. Children were excited to draw, create their own comic strips and stories which they were proud to share on our self-publishing shelf in the library. Everyone was keen to interact with their class namesakes, who were themselves honored and excited to have their own class! With our library Twitter account we made thousands of meaningful connections with authors, illustrators, poets, librarians and teachers all over the World. Over two years, we had more than 30 author visits with engaging talks, promotional tours, writing workshops and draw-a-longs. We appointed the UK's first Patron of Illustration, Steven Lenton, and welcomed former pupil, Vashti Hardy as our Patron of Reading. Authors mentioned the school in their acknowledgements, illustrators dedicated books to classes and one child even had her own drawing immortalized in an internationally bestselling book series! The impact was not just academic - it served as a marvellous celebration of reading, reaching every child and every teacher, in every year group, every day!
#LoveToRead #ReadingForPleasure #GreatSchoolLibraries #ImpactOfAuthorVisits