Debby Thacker, the new Chair of Trustees, welcomed librarians, teachers, trustees, judges, funders and guests to the event, thanking those members of the Board who have retired: Jonathan Taylor and Sir Michael McWilliam, along with Susan Emson, and welcoming new Board members and Pat Lipinski, the new Advisor/Administrator. She explained that this is the first time that the David Vaisey Awards have been expanded to include school libraries and reading initiatives.
To mark this new initiative, the guest speaker was Alison Tarrant, Chief Executive of the School Library Association and Co-chair of the Great School Library Campaign. She spoke movingly about her dedication to libraries and left the audience with an inspiring sense of purpose.
Debby Thacker announced the shortlists for schools and libraries. According to the Head Judge, John Dougherty, who was unable to attend, submissions had, as ever, presented our judging panel with a very difficult task, but they managed to choose two shortlists from a field of high-quality entries.
Schools shortlist:
Dene Magna: the only secondary school in the Forest of Dean currently rated “outstanding”, Dene Magna serves a very mixed and in many instances impoverished demographic. Generally speaking, reading is not highly valued in the school’s local culture, and the initiative submitted for this year’s award is a library-centred attempt to change that for the better. The projected programme includes a reading buddies plan whereby targeted pupils will be mentored by older students and will then themselves help to encourage primary school children,
Gloucester Academy: the school is already running a project with Read With Me, another local charity that trains volunteers to work with children on a one-to-one basis in both primary and secondary schools, focusing on younger pupils with low reading ages. The submission aims to expand the project both into the upper years and out into the wider community, involving parents and families, including a focus on those for whom English is a second language.
The Shrubberies: the very special needs of some of the pupils at The Shrubberies means that books left out in the classroom are likely to be damaged or destroyed. The submitted project aims to develop ways of enabling staff to keep books permanently on display in the classrooms and accessible for reading choices while reducing the risk of damage to them.
Stratton: Changing Life Stories is a multi-faceted project aimed at developing the Reading for Pleasure culture in a school with a higher-than-average and still growing number of pupils with Special Educational Needs. One strand which particularly impressed the judges was the training of Year 5 pupils to work with children from the local preschool in order to enthuse the little ones about reading before they start school.
Libraries shortlist:
Cinderford: Storytelling with the Royal Forest Centre. The Storytelling project aims to help the Royal Forest Centre in its work with people with learning disabilities, providing an immersive and tailored storytelling experience in the library. The scheme has already attracted interest from another local school and there are plans to expand it further.
Chipping Camden: Sensory Garden for Mindfulness and Wellbeing. Some years ago the library at Chipping Camden was granted National Lottery funding to improve its courtyard area. The Sensory Garden project aims to improve the courtyard further, in order to provide quiet space for library users, particularly during the busy summer months.
Joint bid – Matson, Tuffley, Cinderford, Hesters Way, Oakley, Dursley: Gloucestershire Family Festival. Aiming to attract around 750 people, of whom it is hoped at least 50% will never have visited a public library, the Gloucestershire Family Festival will be held on six different days at non-library venues throughout the county, engaging children and their families in quality arts, culture, and creative activities linked to literacy, storytelling, and imagination, with the aim of enhancing community engagement with libraries.
Moreton-in-Marsh: Book Buddies at Moreton Library. Department for Education statistics show that around 1,700 children were educated at home in Gloucestershire during the 2022-23 summer term. The Book Buddies project will aim to provide the equivalent of a school library for home-schooled children, hosting fortnightly sessions linking books to themed craft activities, with the possibility of extending the projects to other Gloucestershire libraries..
Debby Thacker closed the formal part of the event with thanks to all participants, supporters and funders, and announced the date of the Awards event: Sunday, 6 October at 4.30 – 6 in the Regency Suite, Queens Hotel, Cheltenham.
From left to right, Vicky Giles and Sally Chilton, Joanna Palmer, Kim Lawrence and Emily Redford from Gloucestershire Libraries; Alison Tarrant, CEO of The School Library Association.
