Harrow Gate Academy Library
What we believe our library should be:
Libraries are where children discover which books they like best and become lifelong readers.
Inspiring children to explore libraries and develop a lifelong reading habit means they are more likely to gain good literacy skills and all the social and economic benefits that derive from that.
Research from the National Literacy Trust tells us that pupils who receive free school meals are more likely to use the school library. However in terms of ethnic background, it is pupils from white backgrounds who are least likely to use the library. Ensuring that our library is well stocked with high quality books and offers a safe and welcoming environment for children to enjoy reading is therefore of great importance to us.
Children will be supported to browse and select books by staff as we continue to grow as a community of readers together. To help children make considered choices about what they read, our carefully chosen collection is categorised into different sections –
- Picture books
- Non- Fiction
- Contemporary Fiction
- Classic Texts and Modern Classics
- Poetry
- Biography
- Graphic Novels
- Reflecting Realities- these texts are specifically chosen to ‘shine a light’ on difficult themes these texts can only be selected by children if recommended by an adult.
Classes will access the library weekly and through flexible scheduling children will be encouraged to make use of the library in their own time and through after school activities.
Our library will not be a silent space! Booktalk will be modelled and encouraged through informal gossip, the kind that goes on between friends and more considered dialogic talk; the sort of discussion that goes on with an expert enabling adult.
