The Ofsted report, Poetry in Schools (2006/07) found that ‘pupils in schools visited enjoyed poetry' and ‘pupils in primary schools, in particular, enthused about opportunities to read aloud and perform poems to a larger audience'.  However, the Ofsted report also found that many teachers, especially in primary schools, did not know enough about poetry 'to provide effective lessons' with well-chosen activities. 

The ‘Teachers as Readers Report' for the UKLA (2006-07) discovered that when asked to name 6 good poets, only 10% of teachers surveyed were able to do so.  59% could only name one, two or no poets.

A recent summit concerning children's poetry attended by key organisations, including the National Literacy Trust, Poetry Book Society and the Children Poet Laureate, Michael Rosen, endorsed these findings.  The summit aimed to highlight the cultural and educational importance of poetry and to look for ways to enhance its profile in the UK.

Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust, "Poetry is a vibrant and engaging experience of literacy which all children deserve to experience.  Recent research had indicated many children miss out on poetry in the classroom.  Resources which promote poetry are therefore vital in bringing alive a love of poetry in a new generation."

In a positive step to help primary teachers improve their use of poetry and to provide poetry performance workshops for primary schools with limited resources, Scholastic magazine's Literacy Time PLUS has appointed Paul Cookson as its Poet-in-Residence. 

Paul is one of Britain's leading children's poets and is helping the Literacy Time PLUS team with the exciting new project.  The September issues will see the first in a three part series - Paul Cookson Performance Poetry Workshops.  To launch the series, there will be a two-page introductory article by Paul which will appear both in print and online.  Part 1 will feature a film online of Paul performing four poems in a primary school in Warwickshire and the text versions of all four poems performed will be available to download.  Parts 2 and 3 of the workshop series will appear in the January and May 2009 issues and each will feature films of in-school workshops.

"Through this project, we aim to bring performance poetry within the reach of all primary school children", said Helen Watts, Editor of Literacy Time PLUS.  "We are delighted to be able to work with Paul.  I have seen him perform in primary schools and heard teachers saying how inspired they are by his work. Watching the faces of his young audiences is a joy. Young and old are completely captivated by his lively and entertaining style and subject matter. Paul writes about things that really do appeal to children - not what we think ought to appeal to them. But he is also able to mix up humorous poems with poignant ones which touch and move you."

In addition to the online workshops, Paul will be writing a regular ‘Paul Cookson Page' in every issue from July 2008 to May 2009 and there will be special features on the website dedicated to Paul's blog and poems.  On his new role Paul said "I'm honoured to be asked!  Readers can look forward to lots of things - news, projects, how a poet works .... I'll even give you a sneak preview of new and unpublished poems - perhaps even some of the cheeky ones that have yet to make it into print! 

For more information: Contact Sarah Sandland <"http://mailto:ssandland@scholastic.co.uk">ssandland@scholastic.co.uk (Tel: 01926 333336)

The summer exhibition is Imprentit: 500 years of the Scottish printed word. It celebrates the 500th anniversary of the start of printing in Scotland and explores the impact that printing and publishing have had on Scottish life.

Visitors can see highlights from the printed treasures including books, magazines, pamphlets and fanzines, starting with the Chepman and Myllar Prints, a volume containing unique copies of the three <"http://www.nls.uk/firstscottishbooks/index.html">earliest books printed in Scotland. Among other items on display are:

• Scotland's first newspaper
• The first Scottish medical book
• The first book written by a written by a Scottish woman and printed in her lifetime
• A leaflet revealing Logie Baird's first television apparatus
• The Book of Common Prayer that caused a riot and led to the signing of the National Covenant
• Keir Hardie's groundbreaking monthly journal for Scottish miners from the days before he founded the Labour Party.

Imprentit is free and open daily until Sunday 12 October. Find out more on the <"http://www.nls.uk/events/printing-exhibition/index.html">printing exhibition page

We do apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you.

The promotion aims to showcase the wealth and quality of audio books. Included in the top 40 are: The Wit of Cricket by Brian Johnston et al and P G Wodehouse's Summer Lightning in the humour category; Anthony Horowitz's Snakehead and Michael Bond's A Bear Called Paddington in children's; Yann Martel's The Life of Pi and Paul Torday's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen in fiction/classic/crime; and Simon Barnes' A Bad Birdwatcher's Companion (Naxos) and Andrew Marr's A History of Modern Britain in non-fiction/poetry/plays.

The list was chosen from more than 160 books submitted by publishers. Judges made their selections based on quality of literary content, abridgement, reading, production value and sound quality. The public can <"http://www.40bestaudiobooks.co.uk,">vote for their favourites online with a chance to win £500 of National Book Tokens. A top 10 will be revealed on 21st July and an overall winner on 31st July.

The NYR is enabling visitors to download free samples of the titles from its website.

<"http:// http://www.thebookseller.com/news/61839-best-of-best-in-audiobooks.html">Full audiobooks list

Nearly 2,000 free film screenings are being held in over 500 locations across the UK as part of the 13th National Schools Film Week.

Up to 320,000 children are expected to take part in what is now the biggest festival of its kind in Europe ... and for 60 per cent of children who attend, this will be their first ever cinema experience!

Films for Primary schools include: Igor, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Golden Compass, Kung Fu Panda, WALL-E, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Dr Seuss' Horton Hears A Who! whilst older students will be attending screenings of: The Kite Runner, Persepolis, Happy Go Lucky, Juno, Son of Rambow, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.

A number of filmmakers will be holding Masterclasses with children including two-time BAFTA winning director Kevin McDonald (The Last King of Scotland), Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, Dirty Pretty Things) and Abi Morgan (Brick Lane).

Filmmaker and Film Education Patron Lord Attenborough comments: ‘National Schools Film Week offers a wonderful range of international films which capture the imagination of young children across the UK. The films are a way of introducing serious and important issues to children through creative means.'

Film Education Director Ian Wall adds: ‘It's amazing to see how National Schools Film Week has grown in just 13 years. When Film Education launched it, we didn't dare to dream that it would become this big, with this many separate events and locations. We believe passionately that film can play a pivotal role in education. For many kids across the country, this will be their first magical experience of cinema.'

This year, the week will launch in London's Leicester Square on 17th October followed by the Young Film Critic of the Year Ceremony.

• Supporting and promoting research about school librarianship, especially in Europe
• The dissemination of information about school libraries and the work carried out by professional school librarians
• Advocacy of school libraries/media centres and the profession of school librarianship
• Communication among professionals in the field of school librarianship
• Promoting the professional development of school librarians/information specialists.
  
  
  More information about the ENSIL Foundation (Stichting ENSIL) can be found on the <"http:// http://www.ensil.eu">website.

At last Thursday's meeting between the Publishers Association, the Society of Authors and Philip Pullman (on behalf of almost 3,000 signatories of the <"http://www.notoagebanding.org">online statement which now include J K Rowling), both sides presented conflicting research into the issue. The SoA said that 77% of authors were against age guidance, while publishers insisted that 75% of authors have agreed to it.

The sticking point in the dispute remains whether authors should be able to refuse to have age banding on their books. Publishers have confirmed 'that there has been, and remains, no question of age guidance being added to a book without full consultation with the author'. But they added: 'The remaining point of difference, which is to be considered further, was that those speaking for authors feel strongly that authors should have the right to refuse to have age guidance on their books.'

<"http://www.thebookseller.com/news/62808-summit-fails-to-end-age-guidance-row.html">More

• Take positive steps to increase the representation of people writing from or about different cultural perspectives, whose work is published in Britain today.
• Promote new writing for children, especially by or about people whose culture and voice are currently under-represented.
• Recognise that as children's books shape our earliest perceptions of the world and its cultures, promoting writing that represents diversity will contribute to social and cultural tolerance.
• Support the process of writing rather than, as with the majority of prizes, promoting the publication.

The winners of student writing and poetry competitions were also presented with their prizes by the Mayor, Cllr Loraine Sladden.

The writing competition was judged by David Fulton, lecturer in creative writing at Brunel University and the poetry competition was judged by Musarat Younis, a poet.  Winners were presented with a book token and a signed children's book. All shortlisted students were given an anthology containing their work.

The winners in the writing competition were:
First place - A Light Flickered in the Distance by Antonia Perna, Woodford County High School
Second place - Starry Night by Tanya Li-Chay-Chung, Woodford County High School
Third place - Am I so Different? by Ruby Muir, Wanstead high School

The poetry competition winners were:
First place - Mazy Mirror by Slam Perveen, Woodford County High School
Second place - Reflection/Mirror's Eye by Chiraag Shah, Seven Kings High School
Third place - by Ahishek Ambekar, Ilford County High School