The opening of Astley Primary's new school library!
Friday 2nd December sees the opening of Astley Primary's new school library!
We caught up with Mr Seager, Deputy Head and Primary English Lead both at Astley and across Synergy Trust, to find out more about this exciting project.
Mr Seager, can you tell us why a school library is important to the pupils of Astley?
A thriving school library is the beating heart of reading within a school. We want children to have access to a range of books to cover all interests – whatever they may be! Our aim at the school is to develop a real love of reading throughout a child’s journey at Astley - and having a library full of wonderful books is a key aspect of this!
Please tell us in what ways the school library has been re-vamped and why change was important?
Since joining the school we have worked hard to improve reading at the school, with initiatives such as ‘Big Read’, ACE Book Share and our brand new reading scheme books. Despite this, we always knew that the library didn’t match up to everything else great at the school involving reading – so we needed to act! The library has been completely re-decorated, with a ‘fairy-tale’ theme, has a new carpet and seating and most importantly – lots of ACE new books!
Can you explain who has been involved in this big library change and how staff have helped in this process?
We were lucky to have used the considerable artistic talents of Miss Le-Rose to come up with a design for the painting. Her team have done an amazing job, I’m sure you will agree! The superb team at the Norfolk Children’s Book Centre spent three days sorting, labelling and organising our wonderful new books. Overall, so many Astley staff have contributed in one way or another –just another reason why Astley is such an ACE school!
How has the library project been funded and why has Astley's special guest, Duncan Baker, come to open our new library?
Our ACE Astley Community has come together as a team in support of our library project! Our parents and carers have supported our special Friends of Astley in tirelessly fundraising a huge sum of money. We were lucky to get donations from the Holt Society and were one of Tesco Sheringham’s chosen charities earlier in the year. Duncan Baker visited our school last year and has since offered help and support – culminating in him running one of his charitable miles in the London Marathon on behalf of the Friends – raising an additional £1500! So of course, he was the perfect choice to come and open our library.
What can parents expect to see in the new library and in what ways will pupils use the space both in groups and as individuals, once it's re-opened?
Hopefully parents will enjoy the books as much as their children! Children will have a free pick of books, both non-fiction and fiction and we really hope they enjoy sharing these with parents at home. Each class will have a regular weekly time in the library – not just to pick books, but to listen to stories and read with one another. We hope to have lunch clubs and other special events in the library so watch this space!
In what ways will the school library be different when it's opened and how will the school keep the new library organised and welcoming as a space for pupils to enjoy?
As well as the differences to the way the library looks and the new books, we hope that the new library will be easy to use for all! All books are clearly labelled and children will be able to search by author name and also by topic to find the perfect book for them! We are keen to ensure that the library is a calm, relaxing space for children to immerse themselves in books. As part of this, we will be using both staff and student librarians to keep the library organised – we hope that every child and adult within the school will always be proud of the ACE way it looks!
How will pupil's use of the library feed into other areas of school life and the ACE Curriculum?
Children will have the chance to choose books related to many different curriculum areas – the new non-fiction information books are stunning! All books are categorised so children can find the books they are interested in easily. As well as this, class teachers will choose a selection of books for the classroom which can match the current ACE curriculum area – so children can get fully immersed in a topic!
Finally, could you describe to us your vision for the library over the next twelve months?
First and foremost, I want the library to be a place of excitement for the children -where they can’t wait visit to get new books, or listen to a story. We aim to continue to bring in new books to develop a love of reading at Astley –the library won’t stand still! Competitions, events, clubs, author visits – the library is the start of another exciting chapter in the Astley ACE fairy story.
Thank you, Mr Seager, for telling us all about exciting times ahead for Astley's ACE new library!
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A huge thanks also goes to Norfolk Children's Book Centre for all their amazing support. 
