Although it's not specifically part of my role I work a lot with students who come to our school who are learning English as a second language. As is often the case in schools, I kind of stumbled into this by accident. I initially volunteered to assist in the one-to-one tutoring of a Polish girl with very limited English who had recently arrived and had gone straight into year 11. This, in turn, led to her spending A LOT of hours in the library with us - both myself and my colleague, the learning mentor, working with her to develop her language skills. This experience, it seems, was enough to make me (& the learning mentor) the go-to people in school for any EAL students.
Whilst my educational background is predominantly languages (GCSE German, A level French and an undergraduate degree in Spanish with Business Management) I can't pretend to be an expert on teaching English to those who don't speak it. Yes, I spent a year out in Mallorca as an English language assistant in a high school years ago (hola, IES Joan Maria Thomas) which was brilliant, but I was a bit hesitant when it became apparent that I would be integrally involved in the development of these students' language skills, on which they would rely when taking their GCSE (& later) exams!
Now, unlike many schools, we don't have a lot of students who speak English as a second language - our student body being made up almost entirely of students from a white working class background. However, as each year came and went, so it would be that another student would spend time honing their English skills with us in the library.
It's been a great experience. Tough, but great. We've had support from Durham County Council's Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS) without which, at times, we would have really struggled. They provide a really useful induction pack of basic English resources that have served us incredibly well. They provide training for teaching staff regarding useful strategies to employ in the classroom when teaching EAL students, the main points of which are:
* give careful consideration to where EAL students are seated in class. Make sure they are near enough to the front to hear as much as possible, and so they can see you and the board.
* speak slowly and clearly.
* Repeat, repeat, repeat.
* Use pictures/visual aides that are specifically linked to the topic you are teaching.
* Make sure that EAL students have access to a dictionary that translates from English to their native language/an iPod or iPad with an app like iTranslate already installed (we provide our EAL students with an iPod touch to use in lessons)
* Try and provide EAL students with any keywords or reading materials in advance of your next lesson and get them to read through and translate before they come to that lesson.
* Pick out 10 or so keywords they will need to take from the lesson. Highlight them/get them to write them in their books and translate them.
* 'Buddy' EAL students with those English speaking students who will provide them with the best language learning opportunities. This will increase their confidence in and outside of class.
* When participating in group work encourage EAL students to feedback to the class. Allow the group to give EAL students a short sentence to read out after practising the words whilst working in the group first to avoid embarrassment.
...you get the idea.
In terms of the work I do with the students, I thought it might be an idea to include some of the websites that I've found to be useful, for worksheets, resources, teaching ideas etc. The websites listed below all offer free access to their resources. Here we go:
> Bogglesworld ESL US site, with a ton of worksheets grammar and some curriculum and more.
> ESL Flow Search by level of knowledge. Lots of links to activities and worksheets etc
> British Council's Learning English Sites for both adults and children learning English. Lots of high quality activities, podcasts, worksheets, online stories etc
> Super Teacher Worksheets US site. Resources are aimed at US elementary school children however some of the reading comprehensions, particularly the non-fiction are quite handy and can be used to help with certain areas of the curriculum.
> English for Everyone Another US site, so some spelling issues if you are teaching British English (like me) but a range of grammatical, writing, reading and other activities.
> Skills Workshop Huge bank of ESOL, literacy and numeracy resources.
> BBC Skills Wise Although this is a site aimed at English and maths for adults there are some excellent resources that work well for EAL students.
> BBC Learning English The BBC World Service's website for English language learners. Not suitable for beginners, puts English language learning in a more 'newsy' context.
> ESL Tower Printable and online activitie, plus lots of language games that appeal to younger learners.
There's a lot more I could say about this subject, but I'm going to sign off for now. Please email me if you'd like any more information. Or you could tweet me @HemBem.
Thursday 27 October 2011
Saturday 22 October 2011
Satisfactory resolution?
Is it me (Oh Lord, I sound like Terry Wogan), but do popular children's/ YA books have to be part of a series nowadays?
Harry Potter and Twilight are probably the most obvious that spring to mind but then there's Alex Rider (OK, I realise these have come to an end now), The Mortal Instruments, Casson Family, Spooks, Saga of Darren Shan, Demonata series, Shiver, Beautiful Dead, Chaos Walking (loved it), Charlie Higson's The Enemy (loved even more) and I could go on...
I mean, don't get me wrong, I love a good cliffhanger as much as the next person but sometimes I just want to read a jolly good book and come to the final page and for it just to be, well, the end. Plot-lines tied up (not necessarily in 'it all comes good in the end' kind of way though). Story arc resolved. Finished. End of. Full stop.
I'm not saying that series are a bad idea - no siree - simply that I sometimes like my books to be less like an ongoing soap opera and more like a classy one-off BBC drama.
Harry Potter and Twilight are probably the most obvious that spring to mind but then there's Alex Rider (OK, I realise these have come to an end now), The Mortal Instruments, Casson Family, Spooks, Saga of Darren Shan, Demonata series, Shiver, Beautiful Dead, Chaos Walking (loved it), Charlie Higson's The Enemy (loved even more) and I could go on...
I mean, don't get me wrong, I love a good cliffhanger as much as the next person but sometimes I just want to read a jolly good book and come to the final page and for it just to be, well, the end. Plot-lines tied up (not necessarily in 'it all comes good in the end' kind of way though). Story arc resolved. Finished. End of. Full stop.
I'm not saying that series are a bad idea - no siree - simply that I sometimes like my books to be less like an ongoing soap opera and more like a classy one-off BBC drama.
Tuesday 2 August 2011
Summer 'Holiday'
Ah, summer holidays. I love them. Don't you?
I'm a full-time, whole-year school librarian so, yes, I am still working away long after the corridors have ceased to ring with the squeals of joy that announce the start of the annual summer getaway (and that's just the teachers!).
Most people (neighbours, family, colleagues etc) assume that I, like the teaching staff, get the summer off (I know, I know - teaching staff DO often come into school in the hols to prep for the next year). When I tell them that this is not the case I always get asked the same thing...'well, what do you do for 6 weeks when there's nobody else in school?'
First up, there are other people in school! The school business manager, data manager, finance officer and office staff all work for good periods of time in the holiday making sure that things are up-to-speed in advance of the forthcoming new school year. I also musn't forget our ICT team, who work tirelessly over the summer to make sure that systems are updated, new ICT is installed and broken ICT is fixed/cleaned.
Our premises, caretaking and cleaning staff are also all in all summer. Polishing, waxing, cleaning, painting, repairing, scheduling and supervising health and safety, smoke alarm, electrical appliance, alarm and fire extinuisher compliance tests, and my personal favourite, removing chewing gum from the under side of classroom benches/tables (ewww!). Seriously, I'm exhausted thinking about how much they get through!
Schools don't stop over the summer holiday. - far from it - they take a deep breath and get stuck into making sure that the environment for teaching and learning will be as good as it can be for the next year.
Anyway, I digress. The question was what do I, as school librarian, do over the summer? Well, let's see. First up I have a jolly good sort out and de-clutter (it's amazing how much clutter is created over the course of a school year!). Of everything! My store cupboard is blitzed - anything superfluous to requirements is binned or offered out to staff in case it could be reused by others. Filing trays and draws are 'cleansed' - out-of-date information is shredded/recycled/binned. Library shelves are cleaned (by me), put back into order and stock is checked. Anything that is in poor condition or is out-of-date is removed from the library management system.
I then move on to the displays. Everything comes off the walls, all display boards are cleared and then re-backed. I then collate information, student work, create posters, select books etc for new displays - these could be curriculum linked or event specific. One of my display walls this year is being used to showcase some of the work done my students in our library's after school art and craft club. Another will have an anti-bullying theme and another will promote the Booked Up scheme (free books for incoming year 7s). I will also use the grilles in the ceiling to create a 'International Talk Like a Pirate Day' display (Sept 19th for those of you who would like to participate!). This does take a fair bit of time. (I do change displays during the year, but the summer is the ONLY time that I get the opportunity to take everything down and start from scratch again, if you like.)
OK, after clearing out and getting the room looking pretty again then what? Well, then I work with my Extended Services colleagues -hi Lindsey and Mel :) - to organise a number of events/activities for kids and their families which take place during the summer. This does vary a bit but this summer we will be:
...in other words, I get lots done in the summer holiday!
Lastly, and most importantly I mustn't forget chip day. One lunch time over the holiday all full time/whole year staff get together in the main staff room for fish and chips. If we're really lucky someone also brings cake.
Ah, summer holidays. I love them. Don't you?
PS: I do also take a couple of weeks off - so it's not all work, work, work!
I'm a full-time, whole-year school librarian so, yes, I am still working away long after the corridors have ceased to ring with the squeals of joy that announce the start of the annual summer getaway (and that's just the teachers!).
Most people (neighbours, family, colleagues etc) assume that I, like the teaching staff, get the summer off (I know, I know - teaching staff DO often come into school in the hols to prep for the next year). When I tell them that this is not the case I always get asked the same thing...'well, what do you do for 6 weeks when there's nobody else in school?'
First up, there are other people in school! The school business manager, data manager, finance officer and office staff all work for good periods of time in the holiday making sure that things are up-to-speed in advance of the forthcoming new school year. I also musn't forget our ICT team, who work tirelessly over the summer to make sure that systems are updated, new ICT is installed and broken ICT is fixed/cleaned.
Our premises, caretaking and cleaning staff are also all in all summer. Polishing, waxing, cleaning, painting, repairing, scheduling and supervising health and safety, smoke alarm, electrical appliance, alarm and fire extinuisher compliance tests, and my personal favourite, removing chewing gum from the under side of classroom benches/tables (ewww!). Seriously, I'm exhausted thinking about how much they get through!
Schools don't stop over the summer holiday. - far from it - they take a deep breath and get stuck into making sure that the environment for teaching and learning will be as good as it can be for the next year.
Anyway, I digress. The question was what do I, as school librarian, do over the summer? Well, let's see. First up I have a jolly good sort out and de-clutter (it's amazing how much clutter is created over the course of a school year!). Of everything! My store cupboard is blitzed - anything superfluous to requirements is binned or offered out to staff in case it could be reused by others. Filing trays and draws are 'cleansed' - out-of-date information is shredded/recycled/binned. Library shelves are cleaned (by me), put back into order and stock is checked. Anything that is in poor condition or is out-of-date is removed from the library management system.
I then move on to the displays. Everything comes off the walls, all display boards are cleared and then re-backed. I then collate information, student work, create posters, select books etc for new displays - these could be curriculum linked or event specific. One of my display walls this year is being used to showcase some of the work done my students in our library's after school art and craft club. Another will have an anti-bullying theme and another will promote the Booked Up scheme (free books for incoming year 7s). I will also use the grilles in the ceiling to create a 'International Talk Like a Pirate Day' display (Sept 19th for those of you who would like to participate!). This does take a fair bit of time. (I do change displays during the year, but the summer is the ONLY time that I get the opportunity to take everything down and start from scratch again, if you like.)
OK, after clearing out and getting the room looking pretty again then what? Well, then I work with my Extended Services colleagues -hi Lindsey and Mel :) - to organise a number of events/activities for kids and their families which take place during the summer. This does vary a bit but this summer we will be:
- hosting a Teddy Bear's Picnic (yes, we will be going on a bear hunt!),
- supporting a family learning ICT course by running activities for children while their parents are studying (all activities will have a Gingerbread Man theme)
- running a 3 day summer school for incoming year 7s (ice breaker activities, orienteering/map challenges, crafty stuff and a treasure hunt - eek, we need to sort out the clues!).
...in other words, I get lots done in the summer holiday!
Lastly, and most importantly I mustn't forget chip day. One lunch time over the holiday all full time/whole year staff get together in the main staff room for fish and chips. If we're really lucky someone also brings cake.
Ah, summer holidays. I love them. Don't you?
PS: I do also take a couple of weeks off - so it's not all work, work, work!
Monday 27 June 2011
Show and Share
We are holding our second 'Show and Share' week in school at the moment. And no, before you ask, this does not involve any risque activities! The idea of the week is to give staff (both teaching and support) the opportunity to experience aspects of good practice around the school or find out more about areas of practice in school that they may not necessarily be overly familiar with. A number of staff have been put forward by their heads of department to be observed. Sessions are varied and include: demonstrations of laser (and other) technology used in DT, HLTA's leading a session on their role in the classroom, how to create a positive learning environment (English lesson) and pupil engagement in music (music lesson).
All staff members receive a prospectus which includes a timetable of the sessions which are up for observation and observers must complete a proforma detailing: what they will take away from their observation; any questions they'd like to ask the member of staff they observed and, a response from the staff member who was observed. Staff also use the proforma to explain what they will do next (or, how they will use the information/practice they have observed). I have the task of putting together said prospectus (from the head's text), timetable and proforma and then disseminating it to all staff (which means uploading it to our VLE as well as providing printed copies). I also look after the booking system - which is great because it means that I get to chat to staff about their plans for their sessions and also to 'sell' the sessions to their colleagues.
It's a great idea which received some great feedback in a 'debriefing' session following our first Show and Share week back in January. Staff responded extremely positively and enjoyed the opportunity to show what they could do and share their ideas with their colleagues. Everyone agreed that the school was positively buzzing with great ideas and good feeling (even more than usual). (In fact here's a link to one of the Show and Share sessions from January and also our head's blog about the week)
It got me thinking about a few things.
Since I joined the school nearly 5 years ago, with no library or information background, I have had brilliant support from my fellow librarians, in particular Gill (recently retired from Durham Learning Resources), my fellow LIDS (Librarians in Durham Schools) and, more recently, my colleagues in the Youth Libraries Group. Without their openness, their willingness to show me what I needed to know and their willingness to share their knowledge I would have been lost.
For anyone out their in the library-verse, particularly the school library-verse where I know a great deal of people are lone information professionals, I can heartily recommend getting involved with your local network of librarians. If you are new to the profession, perhaps from a different background (as I was), don't be scared.
We're a very giving bunch!
All staff members receive a prospectus which includes a timetable of the sessions which are up for observation and observers must complete a proforma detailing: what they will take away from their observation; any questions they'd like to ask the member of staff they observed and, a response from the staff member who was observed. Staff also use the proforma to explain what they will do next (or, how they will use the information/practice they have observed). I have the task of putting together said prospectus (from the head's text), timetable and proforma and then disseminating it to all staff (which means uploading it to our VLE as well as providing printed copies). I also look after the booking system - which is great because it means that I get to chat to staff about their plans for their sessions and also to 'sell' the sessions to their colleagues.
It's a great idea which received some great feedback in a 'debriefing' session following our first Show and Share week back in January. Staff responded extremely positively and enjoyed the opportunity to show what they could do and share their ideas with their colleagues. Everyone agreed that the school was positively buzzing with great ideas and good feeling (even more than usual). (In fact here's a link to one of the Show and Share sessions from January and also our head's blog about the week)
It got me thinking about a few things.
- How lucky I am to work in a school which values the contribution of all of its staff and encourages all of them to share good practice, regardless of whether they QTS or not.
- How schools work so much better when staff feel comfortable and confident enough to share their classrooms, ideas, feedback and criticisms freely with each other.
- While I know my colleagues pretty well there's still lots I don't know about what they do and I could do my job even more effectively if I did!
- Librarians are already quite good at doing this kind of thing!
Since I joined the school nearly 5 years ago, with no library or information background, I have had brilliant support from my fellow librarians, in particular Gill (recently retired from Durham Learning Resources), my fellow LIDS (Librarians in Durham Schools) and, more recently, my colleagues in the Youth Libraries Group. Without their openness, their willingness to show me what I needed to know and their willingness to share their knowledge I would have been lost.
For anyone out their in the library-verse, particularly the school library-verse where I know a great deal of people are lone information professionals, I can heartily recommend getting involved with your local network of librarians. If you are new to the profession, perhaps from a different background (as I was), don't be scared.
We're a very giving bunch!
Thursday 23 June 2011
Library Management software
I'm ashamed to admit that I do not use our library management software to its full potential. In fact, I have nowhere near got to grips with it!
A few of the niggles have been:
- the auto-update from SIMS (our school's student info database) has inexplicably collapsed on more than one occasion - our provider's help desk has indeed helped us to sort this on each occasion , but it's a pain. I can't sort it from my desk (our IT manager has that dubious honour) and, until it's fixed, any new starters who don't happen to be on the system have to be issued books manually which leads to greater inaccuracies and more opportunities for things to go missing.
- The 'auto-cataloguing' function (e.g. you can search for records in other library catalogues, such as the Library of Congress, and import the information into the database so as to avoid having to manually fill in the fields) is extremely patchy. Sometimes it works, other times...no chance!
- When our ICT guys had to get a new server (the old one simply died a horrible and painful death) our provider helpfully informed us that we'd have to pay £150 in order for them to get things back up and running again. £150! For a fix that didn't require anyone visiting our office and physically sorting things out (it was all done electronically). Anyways, I managed to 'negotiate' a lower fee for this privilege in the end.
Enough whining already!
Touch wood - - - things seem to be running along a lot more smoothly as of late and I recognise that it's my responsibility to grab the bull by the horns and actually get the software working for me. I must make the library management software my friend!
I can add resources. I can issue, return and reserve resources and I can run basic reports but there's a whole bunch of functions that I still have to get myself familiar with. I have got a folder with some handy hints and tips as to the basic functions of the software which is a useful starting point but I want to know more.
I don't have a lot of time just to play around with the system - our library is pretty busy (and can be noisy) during the day (classes, one-to-one tutorials, group work, lunch/break time activities). However, it's been a much quieter day than usual today so I've taken the opportunity to have a bit of a look at what more my library management software can do. For instance, I had no idea that I could set up reading lists! This is something that would be of great interest and use to both staff and students. So, needless-to-say, I've spent some time this afternoon tagging resources and setting some reading lists up.
Tomorrow should also be a reasonably quiet day so who knows what I will find out about my new best friend.
Wednesday 22 June 2011
Expanding my blogiverse
After actually managing to set up this blog myself last night (it was so easy that I don't know why I didn't do it ages ago!) I took my enthusiasm into work today and, thanks to our most excellent director of ICT (check him out @jeff_moorside on Twitter), our school library now also has its own blog!
A lot of our departments (English, Technology, ICT, iPad/iPod trials) already had blogs so, I'm ashamed to say that we've been a bit slow on the uptake! There's not much on our library blog ...yet. However, we do so much that we thought it was about time that we got it out there.
A lot of our departments (English, Technology, ICT, iPad/iPod trials) already had blogs so, I'm ashamed to say that we've been a bit slow on the uptake! There's not much on our library blog ...yet. However, we do so much that we thought it was about time that we got it out there.
Tuesday 21 June 2011
CPD23
...forgot to mention this in my last post.
CPD23 was brought to my attention by a fellow LIDS member (thanks Angela!) earlier today I've already signed up! It is a free, online CPD course designed specifically for information professionals. Definitely worth a look.
To quote directly from their site '"23 Things for Professional Development is a free online programme open to information professionals at all stages of their career, in all types of role, and anywhere across the world. Inspired by the 23 Things programmes for social media, this new programme will consist of a mixture of social media "Things" and "Things" to do with professional development. The programme starts on 20 June and will run until early October 2011. Each week the CPD23 blog will be updated with details of the next thing to be explored'.
I really like the way it allows you to have a look at the other participants' blogs - really useful insights.
The topics covered on a week-by-week basis are relevant, interesting and easy-to-follow.
CPD23 was brought to my attention by a fellow LIDS member (thanks Angela!) earlier today I've already signed up! It is a free, online CPD course designed specifically for information professionals. Definitely worth a look.
To quote directly from their site '"23 Things for Professional Development is a free online programme open to information professionals at all stages of their career, in all types of role, and anywhere across the world. Inspired by the 23 Things programmes for social media, this new programme will consist of a mixture of social media "Things" and "Things" to do with professional development. The programme starts on 20 June and will run until early October 2011. Each week the CPD23 blog will be updated with details of the next thing to be explored'.
I really like the way it allows you to have a look at the other participants' blogs - really useful insights.
The topics covered on a week-by-week basis are relevant, interesting and easy-to-follow.
Make do and mend
Crumbs. Well, I guess this is it then...my first blog entry.
It's been a long time coming and today, following a really interesting meeting with my fellow librarians in Durham schools (LIDS), I decided to take the plunge into the world of blogdom. LIDS' members are a resilient and resourceful bunch, and all different types, shapes and sizes of schools are represented. Some members are lone information professionals whilst others are fortunate to work within a team.
The topic of the meeting was one that I'm sure many librarians (school or otherwise) are grappling with - how do we 'make do and mend' in this time of budget constraints, cuts and, in some cases, disappearances! It became clear from LIDS members' feedback that the keys to succeeding are - communication, collaboration, conviction and conveyance of your worth. Oh and a bit of creativity helps too.
1. Communication - talk to staff and students. Find out what's going on around school, what students/staff want from their library and act on their feedback. You can't run your library effectively without knowing what peoples' priorities are. Go to as many meetings as you can. Spend time in the staff room when you can. Email your line manager or school's senior leadership team and let them know what you are doing/have done. Survey opinions of staff and students regularly and use their feedback to improve what you do.
2. Collaboration - this comes from communication! Once you know what's going on, what people want and when things are happening around school you can get involved! Offer to help out staff out with projects - this could be anything from organising a group of students who use your library to produce resources for an event that's happening in school, to going to classrooms with a box of useful resources from your library and staying with the class and working with the teacher whilst the students complete the project.
Once you've proved that you're a useful ally and that you can make their lives easier staff will be more willing to support initiatives you plan in your library. Staff will also be more likely to send students your way.
3. Conviction - you have to believe in your library and be prepared to sell its benefits to staff and students. If you don't think you're making a difference then they won't believe it either!
Keep up-to-date with the latest trends, technology and developments in all things library. Where possible, undertake relevant, quality CPD. This will ensure that you can keep up your conviction and be able to 'move with the times'.
4. Conveyance of your worth - or, blow your own trumpet! Link the work you do to the school's development plan and Ofsted priorities. Keep records of everything you do in your library (photos, posters, student/staff feedback etc) and show how this links into the school's priorities. As I said before, keep your line manager and school SLT involved and aware of what you have achieved. Contribute library-specific information to the school newsletter (if your school has one!), create a library blog...
There is loads of evidence linking library usage with student attainment and literacy levels. Check out Ofsted's recent 'Excellence in English' research, in which 12 schools (all of whom achieved outstanding standards in English) all "gave a high profile to reading for pleasure" and includes evidence about the impact of effective school libraries on this achievement.
5. Creativity - we all have to be a little bit creative in order to make resources go that little bit further! If you need additional resources that your library budget just won't cover then ask if there are other 'funding streams'. For example, your school may have an 'extra-curricular activities' budget that you could bid for funds from for after school library activities (even after school reading groups have been known to successfully get funds for books this way). Join forces with your Extended Services/Community liaison team (again, if you have one) to see if there is any grant money you could bid for.
As they say here in the North East - shy bairns get nowt!
It's been a long time coming and today, following a really interesting meeting with my fellow librarians in Durham schools (LIDS), I decided to take the plunge into the world of blogdom. LIDS' members are a resilient and resourceful bunch, and all different types, shapes and sizes of schools are represented. Some members are lone information professionals whilst others are fortunate to work within a team.
The topic of the meeting was one that I'm sure many librarians (school or otherwise) are grappling with - how do we 'make do and mend' in this time of budget constraints, cuts and, in some cases, disappearances! It became clear from LIDS members' feedback that the keys to succeeding are - communication, collaboration, conviction and conveyance of your worth. Oh and a bit of creativity helps too.
1. Communication - talk to staff and students. Find out what's going on around school, what students/staff want from their library and act on their feedback. You can't run your library effectively without knowing what peoples' priorities are. Go to as many meetings as you can. Spend time in the staff room when you can. Email your line manager or school's senior leadership team and let them know what you are doing/have done. Survey opinions of staff and students regularly and use their feedback to improve what you do.
2. Collaboration - this comes from communication! Once you know what's going on, what people want and when things are happening around school you can get involved! Offer to help out staff out with projects - this could be anything from organising a group of students who use your library to produce resources for an event that's happening in school, to going to classrooms with a box of useful resources from your library and staying with the class and working with the teacher whilst the students complete the project.
Once you've proved that you're a useful ally and that you can make their lives easier staff will be more willing to support initiatives you plan in your library. Staff will also be more likely to send students your way.
3. Conviction - you have to believe in your library and be prepared to sell its benefits to staff and students. If you don't think you're making a difference then they won't believe it either!
Keep up-to-date with the latest trends, technology and developments in all things library. Where possible, undertake relevant, quality CPD. This will ensure that you can keep up your conviction and be able to 'move with the times'.
4. Conveyance of your worth - or, blow your own trumpet! Link the work you do to the school's development plan and Ofsted priorities. Keep records of everything you do in your library (photos, posters, student/staff feedback etc) and show how this links into the school's priorities. As I said before, keep your line manager and school SLT involved and aware of what you have achieved. Contribute library-specific information to the school newsletter (if your school has one!), create a library blog...
There is loads of evidence linking library usage with student attainment and literacy levels. Check out Ofsted's recent 'Excellence in English' research, in which 12 schools (all of whom achieved outstanding standards in English) all "gave a high profile to reading for pleasure" and includes evidence about the impact of effective school libraries on this achievement.
5. Creativity - we all have to be a little bit creative in order to make resources go that little bit further! If you need additional resources that your library budget just won't cover then ask if there are other 'funding streams'. For example, your school may have an 'extra-curricular activities' budget that you could bid for funds from for after school library activities (even after school reading groups have been known to successfully get funds for books this way). Join forces with your Extended Services/Community liaison team (again, if you have one) to see if there is any grant money you could bid for.
As they say here in the North East - shy bairns get nowt!
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