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Support for Primary Schools

This new section provides advice and support for any SLA members working in primary schools.

SLA Advice and Support

All members of the SLA have free access to our advisory and support services. Tel.: 01793 530166; E-Mail: sally.duncan[at]sla.org.uk; our full postal address can be found on the Contact page. Please add your membership number or school name to any email or letter.

In addition, SLA Members have free access to our wide range of online advisory and support documents here on our website. See below for a full listing (most of the documents are only available to logged-in SLA Members).

If you or your school are not yet a member of the SLA, please contact the SLA Office, where staff will be happy to advise you on membership, or visit our membership page.

Position Statements

These Position Statements have been produced by the SLA Board as a record of what the Association recommends on the topics listed below. Please use them to advocate for your library  and your staff and your own position in your school. These documents are available to all.

Learning About Libraries: a training course for primary school library coordinators

The Learning about Libraries Programme is a brand new online training course suitable for anyone working in a primary school library. It is designed to be followed independently and to be compatible with day to day work commitments. It is intended to complement training courses provided by local Schools Library Services and by the SLA.

The course consists of 6 modules, broken down into a number of Units. Participants need to undertake 4 modules altogether to obtain the final certificate from the School Library Association. Module 2 and Module 6 are compulsory as the SLA believe that managing the books effectively is an absolutely vital element in any good primary school library and evaluation and action planning are equally vital for improving the library.

It is recommended that all participants start with Module 2. There is also the additional option of undertaking all 6 modules to gain a certificate of advanced practice.

All modules, wherever possible, contain a mixture of online content and reading matter to ensure an interesting and varied delivery.

All candidates who register for the course will receive an initial pack when they enrol on the Programme, which includes a guide to study skills, a reading list and how to prepare material for assessment.

The 6 modules are:

  • Module 1: The Physical Library - available late 2011/early 2012
  • Module 2: Managing the Bookstock - available to study now
  • Module 3: Information Skills - available 2012
  • Module 4: Reading Promotion - available 2012
  • Module 5: Practical Paperwork -available 2012
  • Module 6: Evaluation and Action Planning - available 2012

Costs
Each module has an administration fee of £50 (for SLA members) and £150 (for non members) and the final assessment and certification is £15.

Introduction to Learning about Libraries Programme