We're thrilled to announce we've joined forces with Reading Cloud to launch the 'Unlocking the Potential of your School Library’ initiative. Reading Cloud provides the tools you need to build a healthy whole school reading culture where children develop lasting positive attitudes to reading. Our new joint initiative sets out to support four schools across the next academic year to take their school library to the next level, improve learning, encourage reading for pleasure and further foster a whole school reading culture.

Today we welcome the four schools who will be taking part in this exciting opportunity; Christ Church C of E Primary in London, Ewhurst Infant School in Surrey, Hope Academy in Merseyside and Christ’s School in Richmond and challenge them to unlock the potential of their school library.

As part of ‘Unlocking the Potential of your School Library’, the schools taking part will receive free access to the Reading Cloud library management system for a year. We'll also be working with Reading Cloud to provide personalised training and guidance from in-house experts to help enhance their library and engage their students in reading. The initiative also includes a free annual subscription to the School Library Association to deliver CPD and help with the management of their school libraries.

Deborah Maclaren, our LoveReading4Kids MD comments: “Every child deserves to benefit from a great school library. They are the heartbeat of a school, and yet 14% of schools don't have one. 

The schools selected for this project, have reading for pleasure at the heart of their school but want to do more to encourage their children to utilise their libraries. In fact three of them had no library space at all at the beginning of this initiative.

Supported by the teams at LoveReading4Kids, Reading Cloud and the School Library Association, they will be learning about best practice library management from experts in their fields, and we will support them to ensure that they are no longer part of that 14%, and that all of their children get to experience the joy of a school library.

I am very proud of this initiative and am excited about the changes we can help make happen.”

Simon Jarvis, Managing Director at Reading Cloud, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with LoveReading4Kids and the four schools involved in this pilot.

We all share a passionate belief in the transformative potential of school libraries to develop a whole school reading culture which is so crucial to overall academic attainment and longer-term life outcomes – we also understand how deploying the right technology can be key to actively engaging young readers and helping schools realise this potential.

I'm really looking forward to seeing first-hand the impact this joint initiative will have on the students and staff alike.”

Join us as we follow the schools on their journey alongside Reading Cloud. We will be sharing their insights and best practice along the way in order to inspire and support other schools to unlock the potential of their library.

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