SCHOOLS

Books That Help are excited to announce that we are working with The Grove Primary School in Totnes, Devon, on a pilot project to bring Books That Help into school communities. Working closely with teacher, Vikki Drew, our aims are as follows:

• To fundraise for books, building connections with an independent bookshop

• To raise awareness of Books that Help amongst children, parents, staff and the wider school community

• To set up a Books That Help library/ well-being corners in the school

• To look at Books That Help and their crossover with the PSHE curriculum

At the end of the pilot, we hope to create a free downloadable pack of resources to help schools run their own Books That Help projects.

“When Clare told me about the Books That Help project, I knew immediately that it was something that I’d love to be involved in. As a passionate advocate of children’s books and using them in my teaching across the whole curriculum, I know how books can make subjects accessible to children and open up thinking and discussion. Being able to identify with characters and stories is immensely powerful for children as it makes them feel understood and helps them to make sense of the world they live in.

The project will allow our school to share stories on a number of sensitive topics which can often be difficult to discuss, through the familiar experience of sharing a book.

I can’t wait to get started on building our Books That Help Library and supporting the children and parents of our school.”

(Vikki Drew, The Grove Primary School)

RESOURCES:

• A downloadable PDF of Books That Help quotes from authors, illustrators and booksellers

• A video of Books That Help quotes from authors, illustrators with an introduction from Sue Atkins.