There are 419 children in Llandaff City Church in Wales Primary. That means 419 children will be taught to read during their time in school. The power of reading is a skill you use for the rest of your life. But it is simply not enough just to teach children how to read. As a school we must give them something worth reading. In a place where imaginations can be stretched, providing children with appropriate reading material will help them make sense of their own lives and ultimately help them to encourage others to pick up a book and read.
We encourage our children to find a favourite book, and then to sit in a safe environment where their imagination can run wild surrounded by quality reading material.
Our school Library is in desperate need of upgrading, despite our efforts to improve to the layout in recent years. We have worked with the wider community accepting book donations, have gratefully received help from parents to revamp the collection of books and the Library décor, but the area still falls short of the standards our children deserve.
The school Library should promote a love for reading giving children the chance to read a wide range of materials. This is the detail behind our funding request. We are aiming to provide our pupils with a variety of reading materials suitable for children in the early stages of reading to higher up the school. We especially require more quality up to date fiction and non- fiction books. During the early stages of Primary school children should be given the chances to develop their confidence and independence through enjoyable reading experiences, this will help them develop a preference and to make sense of what they read. Our Library falls short here, as some of the books we found during the Library revamp dated back to the 1800s!
Children should become independent and productive readers, with the ability to extend their reasoning and comprehension abilities when learning about their world. Without up to date quality reading material and an enriching space for them to read, this will not happen.
At the start of the year we gave our Year Six children the opportunity to put themselves forward to become a Librarian. This is to help keep our school Library tidy and organised. The number of volunteers to help in the Library was disappointing. We believe that this is because the Library isn’t a very nice place to visit. It is not perceived as a comfortable or inviting area.
Recent research suggests that providing children with an enhanced reading environment will play a significant part in encouraging them to read. Consequently, we are really keen to improve the look to our library. After listening to children’s feedback they would like comfortable seats, colourful and helpful displays with areas and shelves that display our books making them easy to find.
Our school relies on support from parents and the wider community. We also want to give something back to them. If the Library became a welcoming area we would publicise this within our community and offer open days to share our new, improved area. This is why we need your vote. A famous author Dr Seuss once said - “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” As a school we are committed to our children and would welcome your support in providing them with reading materials which will enhance what they know and take them to places where they will want to go.
We are really proud of our school children who volunteer as librarians to improve usability. The school has a designated teacher for development and a supportive PTA. We are really excited about making this library a fantastic resource hub for the children and the wider school community.