Medstead Primary School
This Hampshire primary school is a small one-form entry institution with just over 200 students. Despite having limited staffing of the library, the school cultivates a strong reading culture by empowering Year 6 students to manage the library using Reading Cloud, helping younger students check out books when the part-time librarian is unavailable.
Read on to find out how Reading Cloud is supporting this school to create a busy and bustling library that can be enjoyed by students independently.
Creating a bustling library and nurturing independent readers
About the school
Medstead Church of England Primary is a small, one-form entry school with just over 200 students, including a specialised hearing impairment unit, based in Hampshire. With up to 30 students per class and an on-site preschool feeding into Reception, the school maintains an inclusive learning environment with a strong commitment to improving literacy attainment and nurturing a love of reading, both fiction and nonfiction.
Integrating Reading Cloud to support students’ access to books
Despite working with limited resources, namely a part-time librarian who works just Thursday and Friday lunchtimes, the library functions as a dynamic learning space serving as both a library and occasional phonics classroom.
The library is a hubbub of activity with weekly scheduled class visits for students to choose new books and is open every day through an innovative student librarian initiative. These Year 6 students have been trained up on the Reading Cloud platform and play an active role in managing the library spending their break and lunch times helping younger students check out books when the librarian is not there, as well as creating displays and writing book reviews. Carol White, the part-time librarian, explained, “We tend to keep things simple as the library essentially has to run itself. Reading Cloud is a child-friendly platform with an easy-to-use check out functionality, meaning that our students can use the library very independently.”
The platform’s library management functionality has proven to be very effective for the school’s needs and Carol finds it very efficient for managing book loans, renewals, returns, and automatic reminders. Carol says, “We see a lot of value in using Reading Cloud and it has what we need in terms of basic library management which fits our need. Most schools in the local area also use Reading Cloud and my general sense is that it’s a very usable system.”
The school also benefits from working with the Hampshire Schools Library Service. They most recently carried out an audit of the school’s library and the school uses their topic books as well as attends their termly meetings for advice and guidance.
Conclusion
Overall, Reading Cloud allows Medstead Primary School to maintain an organised and functional library, helping to support the school’s literacy goals. Reading Cloud ensures students can access the books they want through an easy-to-use check in and check out system with little need for adult intervention.
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