Reading Schools Accreditation
Reading is an essential part of our School life. It positively impacts students’ attainment across curriculums while supporting their wellbeing, critical thinking, creativity, empathy, and resilience. That’s why our staff aim to embed a love of reading from as early as Nursery.
You need only look to our Junior School’s Silver Reading Schools Award or the 40-plus student librarians that eagerly assist Miss Lauren Thow, SMC Librarian, to see how important reading is to our School community.
In recognition of that, the Scottish Book Trust has awarded SMC a Reading Schools Core Accreditation. This officially makes SMC a member of the Reading Schools programme, which aims to cultivate a love of reading amongst school communities.
Reading Initiatives
The Scottish Book Trust recognised us with a Reading Schools Award thanks to the inventive reading initiatives facilitated by Miss Thow. This includes educational outreach, such as training other staff members on the benefits of reading for pleasure, having a library stall present at Parents’ Evenings, and creating curated displays featuring different book titles and themes to suit different interests.
It also includes fun, creative activities designed to get students excited about reading, such as speed dating with books, book Jenga, regular author visits, and distributing conversation-starter ‘Ask Me What I’m Reading’ badges amongst the School community.
You can hear more about Miss Thow’s tips on getting young people excited about reading in her Principal Catch-Ups podcast episode.
Next Steps
As we move to becoming fully co-educational in August, Miss Thow, who will be looking after the new Erskine Stewart Melville Senior School Library, says she’s looking forward to seeing our student librarian teams come together to work towards the Reading Schools programme’s Silver and Gold Awards.
