Hillingdon Primary School Library Policy

‘We want everyone at Hillingdon Primary School to be happy, caring and independent. Our school is a place where we learn together, doing our best to achieve success’ Aims Libraries empower pupils, not only by supporting the teaching and learning in the school, but by giving them the freedom to make their own choices about reading and learning experiences. Library skills need to be introduced to pupils from an early age and practised throughout their school career. Libraries give children the opportunity for all children to: • • • •

Extend their reading experiences Discover and use information Learn research skills Develop children’s skills as independent learners to support teaching and learning in our school and to enrich the curriculum.

Wider community School libraries are important to the learning outcomes of the whole school and the impact goes beyond its walls to the family and the wider community. Objectives: In order to achieve the above aims at Hillingdon Primary School, we will; • • • • • • • •

Enrich pupils reading experiences and develop pupils’ skills as independent learners. Provide resources and information that teachers and pupils need. Provide books to support the teaching and learning process, and extend the school’s curriculum. Have skilled, enthusiastic staff with time allocated for library duties. Have up-to-date, attractive and suitable resources in a range of media. Adequately fund the library to ensure continuing maintenance and development. Monitor the library regularly to assess its use. Make good use of the expertise and stock of a Schools Library Service, and develop ongoing links with the local public library.

A whole school approach to using the library. Library planning must: • • • •

Be part of the schools policies for teaching and learning Be included in curriculum planning that promotes the development of literacy and reading for information Reflect the schools profile of teachers and pupils and the nature of the local community. Complement styles of teaching and learning in the school.

• • • • • •

Recognise the need for staffing, support, accommodation and funding Set targets which are realistic and achievable within an agreed period of time Establish an agreed policy and development plan for the library Ensure the support and formal endorsement of the governing body and staff. Contribute to school improvement Keep abreast of ICT developments.

Library Environment The library should be • • •

Centrally located within the school Easily accessible to all classes and all children whatever their particular needs A singular use area.

The library should include: • • •

• • •

The central fiction and non- fiction collection Access to ICT e.g. Internet, CD ROM Signs which are easily accessible and effectively used e.g. general signs on the fiction shelves (A-C on bays) and colour coded numerical signs on the non- fiction shelves (athletics 796.4) Study space Enough seating for the whole class Informal reading areas (we wish for last 3!)

Organisation Our school library is a centre of learning that we make accessible to all the children and staff at our school. The physical environment of the library is designed to stimulate our children. This motivates them to explore resources for their work in school and for personal study. The library has collections of fiction and non-fiction resources. These will hopefully include newspapers, magazines, story tapes, videos and CD ROMS. Each classroom also has a small fiction collection. All non-fiction books are classified according to the Dewey Decimal Classification System. We use coloured labels to identify general themes within the collections (see posters in library and year group English files) Non-fiction resources are shelved in a single sequence from, left to right within bays and in numerical order. Fiction books are shelved alphabetically by authors last name, left to right within bays. Picture books are displayed in kinder boxes. The school has installed a computerised library management system (Alice). All class teachers have been trained on how to use and access this system when loaning books to their classes. Classroom assistants have been given additional training to teachers. No children are allowed access to the computer.

Loaning resources All classes will have an allocated time to visit the library to change books. At all times children must be accompanied by an adult. During this time children will have the opportunity to change books and develop their library skills. Adults accompanying the children must ensure that children are encouraged to put books away in the correct places – especially non fiction books as they are in numerical order. Each child will have a library card with their barcode on it (this accompanies them throughout their stay at primary school). These will be kept in the library in folders. Children are entitled to take out 1 fiction and 1 non-fiction book at present. If a child loses a book or it is damaged whilst in their care a fee will be charged for a replacement (see letters in library). Funding and Resources The library budget will be based on the action plan prepared by the literacy co-ordinator. Learning resources need to be replaced regularly in order to be relevant to the needs of the curriculum and the reading and information needs of pupils and teachers. Regular stock maintenance and annual monitoring and evaluation will identify the items and areas that need replacing and developing e.g. replacing outdated and worn out books. The Library Association recommends: • • •

13 items per pupil based on NC coverage and fiction reading books per pupil. That 10% of stock is replaced annually. 2,400 as the minimum number of resources for a school, regardless of pupil numbers.

When purchasing and reviewing resources it is important to consider; The ratio of fiction to non fiction The proportion of the curriculum resources to leisure reading The proportion of stock for early years, KS1 and KS2. The relationship of classroom collections and literacy resources to the central library. Equal opportunities, including multicultural provision and special needs provision. The school library service is used to supplement the range of resources available to children. Equal Opportunities Other cultures’ are promoted in the library with the availability of multi-lingual books. Opportunities to value other cultures should be evident in the range of multicultural books around the school and in the classrooms. Inclusion and Disability Discrimination We welcome children with special educational needs and / or disabilities as part of our community and, from our early years setting onwards, we aim to ensure that all children have an equal opportunity to engage in the curriculum. Teachers must ensure that all pupils have access to a range on books and audio visual equipment.

We recognise that we should be taking reasonable steps to ensure that pupils with a disability are not disadvantaged and we are making amendments to our provision in the light of the needs of children both current and in the future. Staff/Management

The co-ordinator for English is also our library co-ordinator. The library coordinator manages the school library and library resources across the school. All

teaching staff should contribute to the selection of resources, the planning and monitoring of library use and implementation. Classroom assistants can be trained to help with routine tasks and library supervision at class time. Pupil helpers can help promote the library to other children and carry out routine tasks.

Review Policy should inform practice, and therefore practice should inform policy. It should be revised regularly alongside other school plans and form part of the school cycle of reviews. Policy should be reported to the governing body and form part of the SDP and INSET programmes.

Non Fiction Index

Sticker Colour

Subject General

White

General Knowledge/ The Mind

Black

Religions Of The World Everyday Life

Light Blue

Red Beige

Pink

Words And Language Science And Nature

Specific Libraries Newspapers Witches Religions

Classification Number General Specific 000-199

000-199

200-299

200-299

The Community Festivals Folk Tales Transport

300-399

300-383 394 398 385-389

Language Writing Poetry Science

400-499

500-599

821 500-538

Mauve

The Earth

549-570

Green

Nature Study/Plants Animals

574-589

Brown Fluorescent Pink

How Things Work

Grey Yellow

Arts And Sport

Beige

Poetry And Plays

Orange

History And Geography

590-599

Inventions Technology Farming, food Materials Medicine The body, health Architecture Houses, castles Craft, music Sports, leisure Poetry

600-699

600-608

800-899

821

Costume, clothes Archaeology History Geography

900-999

391 900-913 929-990 910-919

620-694 610-614 700-799

Colour