Alan Gibbons’ Blog

Dear Alan

There are various models of library provision in schools. Not all schools in England have a dedicated library area (Ofsted, 2006 ‘Good SchoolLibraries’). They may have an on-site school library managed by a librarian; the collection may be managed by teachers and/or volunteers; or the onsite library may be run with or without the support of a Schools Library Service (SLS). 

SLS’s are optional services run by local authorities.  Where there is no school library, book loans and professional advice are usually provided by an SLS.  The Ofsted report 2006 states that ”Schools Library Services provided good support for schools, including specialist audits and advice, additional resources, training and opportunities for networking”.

I agree that libraries are a key resource for pupils and teachers and that librarians can provide valuable support in sourcing information and teaching resources and can help children learn about information retrieval.  They support the National Curriculum by providing books and ICT equipment and, at their best, they are a valuable asset to teachers and a source of enjoyment and learning for children and young people.

Devolved funding that a Local Authority (LA) gives to a school is earmarked and must be spent by the school on the purpose for which it was devolved. Schools must use the funding for libraries and services purchased from an SLS.

Delegated funding cannot be earmarked – if the LA delegates funding for library services to schools as part of their budget share, schools may spend this money “for the purposes of the school”, including buying books or buying into an SLS, but the decision on this remains with the school.

The option of how to allocate funding to primary schools rests primarily with the LA. All funding for secondary schools must be delegated by the LA (so funding cannot be earmarked).

Leona Smith
Public Communications Unit
www.dcsf.gov.uk

Dear Leona

Thank you for your considered reply and I do appreciate that devolved funding plays a central part in the decision to make room for a library within a school. No doubt it also affects the question of employment of a Chartered and qualified post graduate professional school librarian.

However, you have not addressed the dilemma of the National Curriculum guidelines that I posed in my letter. Headteachers will inevitably choose to resource their schools in accordance with what is suggested in the resources section of the guidelines published by your department

http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes3/

The resources section on your website rarely mentions the school library. In fact there is considerably more emphasis, when the word library does appear, upon using external facilities. Presumably, this omission stems from school libraries not being a statutory requirement and, as we know, many secondary schools, including some of the newly built academies do not have one.

A newly qualified teacher is likely to be directed towards your published guidelines and if the school library is not mentioned, they will use the other resources you recommend to plan their lessons. The Headteacher will not fund a library that is not used. Students and their teachers will then not only be deprived of information resources (both in print and electronic including Web 2.0 technologies) but will also miss out on expert guidance relating to information literacy that could be provided by a professional. Given that employers are crying out that school leavers do not possess such life skills I am surprised that your department does not choose to support the use of the services school libraries and librarians provide in your published standards.

I would be interested to hear your views on this matter aside from the funding issue.

Yours sincerely

Sarah Pavey

Dear Leona,

Thank you for the fuller response from the Department for Children, Schools and Families. I recognize the picture you paint. Where the Campaign for the Book parts company with current Government policy is the principle that it delegates budgets to schools without setting out strong guidance on the centrality of reading.

We understand that central Government should not place head teachers in a straitjacket. There has to be the freedom to make local decisions. Government can however set out specific principles and guidance and insist on minimum standards. If this is not done with sufficient rigour, Government is in danger of abdicating its responsibilities. In many areas of the curriculum the Government intervenes strongly. Curiously, it does not consider reading and information retrieval an area that needs similar strong direction. We think this is wrong.

You correctly state that school library provision is patchy. You then point to the important role of School Library Services. These services are vital. Sadly many SLSs are under threat of reduction or closure when they should be protected and expanded. Successful library provision will only be achieved through the effective partnership of three strands: public libraries, school libraries and School Library Services.

The presence of a school librarian in every secondary school and coordinated library support for every primary school are the essential building blocks of a thriving reading culture. Only recently Ofsted pointed to the weakness of reading for pleasure in many schools. PISA surveys point to the relative decline of the UK?s position in international reading comparison tables. There is no room for complacency.

In this context it is just not good enough for Government to describe the situation as it exists. It is time it took action to improve things. You will know that the MLA and the National Literacy Trust have asked Estelle Morris to chair a commission on school libraries. The Campaign for the Book believes this can be an important development. You will also know that Cilip is drawing up a policy document on statutory school libraries to be submitted soon. We hope the Government approaches these discussion with an open mind.

Yours faithfully,

Alan Gibbons

Organiser, The Campaign for the Book