A reading scheme developed by the US country singer Dolly Parton is a proving a big hit in the UK
Elizabeth Smith was in hospital having had her first child when she learned about the free books. The nurses gave her the form as part of an information pack and six weeks later a book – a Peter Rabbit story – addressed to her son, Aaron, slipped through the letterbox of her Rotherham home. The following month, another book arrived for Aaron and another the next month, until the little boy became used to the sight of the postman delivering a fresh title every month.
"He calls it 'Aaron post' and he knows the books are for him," says his mother. "When the postman comes Aaron runs to check, and if there is a book he wants me to open it straight away. The books have been a wonderful way to bond, and reading the stories before bedtime has become part of his routine." Aaron is now 22 months and he will go on receiving a new book a month until his fifth birthday. He is one of 13,000 children in Rotherham, aged under five, who are sent a book every month because of a woman the children refer to as 'The Book Lady', but who is better known as Dolly Parton.
Parton is one of the all-time great country singer–songwriters, but for the past 15 years she has also been spearheading a campaign to get children reading. Her Imagination Library started in her home town of Sevier County in Tennessee where she had grown up in a two-room wooden shack with her 11 siblings. When I met Parton in Dollywood, the theme park she co-owns in eastern Tennessee, she explained why she started the library. "Many of my own relatives didn't get a chance to go to school or get an education," she told me, "and my dad didn't learn to read and write because he was born into a very large family and they had to go out and work in the fields to make money. My dad felt crippled by that – so I thought this book scheme would be a wonderful tribute to him."
From those modest beginnings the Imagination Library has grown. "In 1999, the library was mailing books to 2,300 children every month", says David Dotson, president of the Dollywood Foundation, which looks after the administration of the scheme. "Today, it is mailing to just under 700,000 children every month in the US, Canada and, since 2008, Britain. The scheme was launched with a visit by Parton to Rotherham in December 2007."
"Rotherham borough council was the first to sign up and we started registering children at the start of 2008", explains Alison Lilburn, project manager for the scheme in the town, "and since then we have registered over 18,000 children and we are sending out books to just over 13,000 children each month – which is 85% of the population under five years old."
I met some of those children, along with their mothers, at the Coleridge children's centre, which offers family learning programmes that look at the benefit of sharing books and the importance of reading out loud to children. One woman told me that reading to her baby had inspired her to start reading more herself, to set a good example; while an Asian woman said that the books were helping illiterate parents to learn to read English – the children were reading to their parents.
Rotherham's council leader, Roger Stone, heard about the Imagination Library while on a visit to the US. Convinced the book scheme could raise literacy standards in Rotherham, he set about trying to bring it to the UK. Following Rotherham's lead, Sheffield, Luton, Sheerness, Nottingham, Wigan and two communities in London have joined in, and recently the Scottish Book Trust announced that it would be adopting the scheme for "looked after" children across the whole of Scotland, funded by the Scottish government.
There are, of course, other book schemes operating in Britain – Bookstart, for example, offers free books to children before they start school and the National Literacy Trust has many reading schemes. "The Imagination Library complements other book-gifting programmes", says Natalie Turnbull, the UK director of the scheme, "simply by the volume of the books we send – one a month – and also the fact that the books are being delivered by post to the home, so there is a guarantee that the book is going to reach that child."
The fact that the scheme carries Parton's name has led some to think that Parton herself funds the library; in fact, while her Dollywood Foundation pays for all the administration costs in maintaining the database, it does not pay for the actual books. It is, however, able to ensure that the books are bought at a hugely discounted rate: Penguin, which supplies all the books, sells them to the scheme for an average price of £2, which is up to a quarter of their usual cost.
In Rotherham the cost of the scheme is met through donations from the Chamber of Commerce, the NHS and, this year, the local authority. In Luton, the scheme is being paid for by the Wates group and it is anticipated that around 24,000 books will be sent out each year.
While the scheme is undoubtedly laudable, is there any need to spend money giving families free books when they can easily visit their local library? "Not everybody is that way inclined", says Lilburn. "The difference with this scheme is that the book is addressed to the child and, based on all the parental feedback we get, the children are really excited when that book comes through the door."
Rotherham is now trying to measure the impact of the Imagination Library. "Because we have other initiatives to assist reading, it isn't easy to measure how much the Imagination Library has helped," says Lilburn. "But we do know that year on year Rotherham has improved in terms of its education, language and literacy development and we are now the same level nationally, when in previous years we have been way below the national average."
By the time children start school they are coming to the end of their eligibility for the Imagination Library, but schools in Rotherham are, Lilburn says, increasingly recognising the part that the book-gifting scheme can play in developing reading. "What we are getting back from teachers is that where they use Imagination Library books, the response from children is really positive," she says. "There is a commonality among kids because they know each other has had the book, and they are familiar with the books."
Aaron has not yet started school, but he has already started putting sentences together from books he has read with his mother. She believes the Imagination Library should be expanded so that every child has the opportunity that her son has. "I don't think it is just schools' job to encourage reading," she says. "What is so great about the Imagination Library is that it is not means-tested. When things are means-tested it means that there can be a stigma to being part of the scheme, but with the Imagination Library every child has the opportunity to allow their imagination to grow."
• Sarfraz Manzoor's programme, How Dolly Got Rotherham Reading, is on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday at 10.30am
A reading scheme developed by the US country singer Dolly Parton is a proving a big hit in the UK
Elizabeth Smith was in hospital having had her first child when she learned about the free books. The nurses gave her the form as part of an information pack and six weeks later a book – a Peter Rabbit story – addressed to her son, Aaron, slipped through the letterbox of her Rotherham home. The following month, another book arrived for Aaron and another the next month, until the little boy became used to the sight of the postman delivering a fresh title every month.
"He calls it 'Aaron post' and he knows the books are for him," says his mother. "When the postman comes Aaron runs to check, and if there is a book he wants me to open it straight away. The books have been a wonderful way to bond, and reading the stories before bedtime has become part of his routine." Aaron is now 22 months and he will go on receiving a new book a month until his fifth birthday. He is one of 13,000 children in Rotherham, aged under five, who are sent a book every month because of a woman the children refer to as 'The Book Lady', but who is better known as Dolly Parton.
Continue reading...A reading scheme developed by the US country singer Dolly Parton is a proving a big hit in the UK
Elizabeth Smith was in hospital having had her first child when she learned about the free books. The nurses gave her the form as part of an information pack and six weeks later a book – a Peter Rabbit story – addressed to her son, Aaron, slipped through the letterbox of her Rotherham home. The following month, another book arrived for Aaron and another the next month, until the little boy became used to the sight of the postman delivering a fresh title every month.
"He calls it 'Aaron post' and he knows the books are for him," says his mother. "When the postman comes Aaron runs to check, and if there is a book he wants me to open it straight away. The books have been a wonderful way to bond, and reading the stories before bedtime has become part of his routine." Aaron is now 22 months and he will go on receiving a new book a month until his fifth birthday. He is one of 13,000 children in Rotherham, aged under five, who are sent a book every month because of a woman the children refer to as 'The Book Lady', but who is better known as Dolly Parton.
Continue reading...Why do people love festivals – is it the music? The beer? Or a place to forget your rubbish job?
You fetch up at a festival, bop to the bands, get trashed and then hunker down in your sleeping bag for a nice bit of shut-eye. It's been a heavy night, and you wait for the inevitable hangover to arrive. As the smell of frying sausages drifts across the early morning damp of the camping field, how do you reckon you feel when an academic researcher comes knocking on your tent flap asking if it would be all right to ask you a few questions?
Though he doesn't say how many retreated swiftly, Dr Andrew Bengry-Howell, visiting fellow at the University of Bath, confirms that he and his team managed to persuade 98 people at four of the UK's largest music festivals to have a chat.
Prompted by his earlier research into how alcohol is marketed and consumed, and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, these breakfast conversations made up part of Bengry-Howell's study examining what festival-goers get out of attending this kind of live music event.
"We became interested in the sponsorship of festivals by large drinks companies at the end of the previous piece of work," Bengry-Howell explains.
As the number of music festivals soared by over 70% between 2003 and 2007, various big brands, he continues, began exploring what they call "experiential marketing".
"The idea is that you can attach a brand to a particular experience, like music festivals, where that experience is quite intense," he says. "People then – the marketers hope – associate the brand with that experience."
When Bengry-Howell was planning his research, "quite a few festivals were completely branded by beer companies," he explains. However, after the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and Alcohol suggested in 2006 that sponsorship of festivals attracting under-18s should be banned, the alcohol industry started to shift away from completely branding events – a notable exception being T in the Park, sponsored by Tennents Lager. Instead, they focus on sponsoring bars at festivals, and certain companies, including Tuborg Lager, have bought up the "pouring rights" at festivals so that they are the only beer that can be sold there.
As well as visual reinforcement of the brand around the festival site, the enforcement of pouring rights can be strict, with security guards searching festival-goers' bags to ensure that no alcohol is brought in from outside.
Most of the major festivals operate this type of sponsorship restriction, says Bengry-Howell.
"We were interested in how this very regulated environment was being marketed to people as a place where they could be free. But we were also interested in how people perceived that environment, in the context of going to festivals, which are traditionally seen as anti-corporate."
The University of Bath team mapped out where and how brands were profiled on each festival site, and noted how they were being marketed and sold.
"A lot of brands were making great claims about their ethics and how those ethics resonated with the values of the festival," says Bengry-Howell. "Brands were consciously positioning themselves within festival culture."
While his interviewees downed their first cup of coffee of the day, Bengry-Howell quizzed them. Did they mind that big companies had become so deeply embedded in their festival experience? What did they reckon to having just the one choice of beer for which they had to cough up £4 a pint? How did their hopes for the festival experience compare with the reality when they arrived?
"We found... that a lot of the younger people didn't really care or see it as an issue," he says.
"A small minority were irritated by the cost of brands. Some moaned that they had to pay so much for a lager they didn't particularly like. I think some people did feel ripped off, but had resigned themselves, because they felt sponsorship kept these events going."
Dispiritingly for the companies themselves, who pour millions into sponsorship, it looks as if some of this could be going down the drain. In follow-up focus groups, Bengry-Howell found that some interviewees had "ended up going away not having the sense of it being a branded event".
What most surprised him, however, was the way people talked about why they chose to go in the first place. Having expected them to rave about the music, the message he got was that festivals were a way to help them to cope with their increasingly dull and stressful lives.
"One person said that without music festivals there'd be no point in living in this country at all," he recalls.
"Others talked about freedom and being able to totally forget about your rubbish job in a call centre. Many started talking about the pressure they felt under ... and about seeing festivals as havens."
There was a sense of release in being able to drift aimlessly and not feel guilty while inside the protected "world" of the festival site. Some said they tried to "disappear" into a festival and would purposely leave their mobile phones at home.
The overall message was that festivals provided an escape for young people who felt ground down by the competitive nature of finding work that wasn't either satisfying or enriching, the constant pressure to achieve and the sense they got from society that it was their personal failure if they didn't manage to make the grade – financially, socially and on the career ladder.
"I'm interested in this idea about festivals being where people go to experience a kind of freedom, and that they feel so restricted even though we now have more freedoms than ever," says Bengry-Howell.
If that all sounds rather sombre, Bengry-Howell notes more optimistically that his interviewees were also consciously using their time at these events to develop a sense of belonging and community with other like-minded people.
A possible new area for research is the post-event flurry of social networking that now occurs – a way for people to maintain the communities they start to build while at the festivals and to deal with the festival "come-down", he says.
Why do people love festivals – is it the music? The beer? Or a place to forget your rubbish job?
You fetch up at a festival, bop to the bands, get trashed and then hunker down in your sleeping bag for a nice bit of shut-eye. It's been a heavy night, and you wait for the inevitable hangover to arrive. As the smell of frying sausages drifts across the early morning damp of the camping field, how do you reckon you feel when an academic researcher comes knocking on your tent flap asking if it would be all right to ask you a few questions?
Though he doesn't say how many retreated swiftly, Dr Andrew Bengry-Howell, visiting fellow at the University of Bath, confirms that he and his team managed to persuade 98 people at four of the UK's largest music festivals to have a chat.
Prompted by his earlier research into how alcohol is marketed and consumed, and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, these breakfast conversations made up part of Bengry-Howell's study examining what festival-goers get out of attending this kind of live music event.
"We became interested in the sponsorship of festivals by large drinks companies at the end of the previous piece of work," Bengry-Howell explains.
As the number of music festivals soared by over 70% between 2003 and 2007, various big brands, he continues, began exploring what they call "experiential marketing".
"The idea is that you can attach a brand to a particular experience, like music festivals, where that experience is quite intense," he says. "People then – the marketers hope – associate the brand with that experience."
When Bengry-Howell was planning his research, "quite a few festivals were completely branded by beer companies," he explains. However, after the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and Alcohol suggested in 2006 that sponsorship of festivals attracting under-18s should be banned, the alcohol industry started to shift away from completely branding events – a notable exception being T in the Park, sponsored by Tennents Lager. Instead, they focus on sponsoring bars at festivals, and certain companies, including Tuborg Lager, have bought up the "pouring rights" at festivals so that they are the only beer that can be sold there.
As well as visual reinforcement of the brand around the festival site, the enforcement of pouring rights can be strict, with security guards searching festival-goers' bags to ensure that no alcohol is brought in from outside.
Most of the major festivals operate this type of sponsorship restriction, says Bengry-Howell.
"We were interested in how this very regulated environment was being marketed to people as a place where they could be free. But we were also interested in how people perceived that environment, in the context of going to festivals, which are traditionally seen as anti-corporate."
The University of Bath team mapped out where and how brands were profiled on each festival site, and noted how they were being marketed and sold.
"A lot of brands were making great claims about their ethics and how those ethics resonated with the values of the festival," says Bengry-Howell. "Brands were consciously positioning themselves within festival culture."
While his interviewees downed their first cup of coffee of the day, Bengry-Howell quizzed them. Did they mind that big companies had become so deeply embedded in their festival experience? What did they reckon to having just the one choice of beer for which they had to cough up £4 a pint? How did their hopes for the festival experience compare with the reality when they arrived?
"We found... that a lot of the younger people didn't really care or see it as an issue," he says.
"A small minority were irritated by the cost of brands. Some moaned that they had to pay so much for a lager they didn't particularly like. I think some people did feel ripped off, but had resigned themselves, because they felt sponsorship kept these events going."
Dispiritingly for the companies themselves, who pour millions into sponsorship, it looks as if some of this could be going down the drain. In follow-up focus groups, Bengry-Howell found that some interviewees had "ended up going away not having the sense of it being a branded event".
What most surprised him, however, was the way people talked about why they chose to go in the first place. Having expected them to rave about the music, the message he got was that festivals were a way to help them to cope with their increasingly dull and stressful lives.
"One person said that without music festivals there'd be no point in living in this country at all," he recalls.
"Others talked about freedom and being able to totally forget about your rubbish job in a call centre. Many started talking about the pressure they felt under ... and about seeing festivals as havens."
There was a sense of release in being able to drift aimlessly and not feel guilty while inside the protected "world" of the festival site. Some said they tried to "disappear" into a festival and would purposely leave their mobile phones at home.
The overall message was that festivals provided an escape for young people who felt ground down by the competitive nature of finding work that wasn't either satisfying or enriching, the constant pressure to achieve and the sense they got from society that it was their personal failure if they didn't manage to make the grade – financially, socially and on the career ladder.
"I'm interested in this idea about festivals being where people go to experience a kind of freedom, and that they feel so restricted even though we now have more freedoms than ever," says Bengry-Howell.
If that all sounds rather sombre, Bengry-Howell notes more optimistically that his interviewees were also consciously using their time at these events to develop a sense of belonging and community with other like-minded people.
A possible new area for research is the post-event flurry of social networking that now occurs – a way for people to maintain the communities they start to build while at the festivals and to deal with the festival "come-down", he says.
George Washington counted everything from ships and horses to peas and beans. But was this a clinical obsession?
"Of all the presidents we have had, George Washington was the only who really counted." That single sentence with its double meaning comes at the end of a four-page monograph published in 1978 in the Alabama Journal of Mathematics. The report's title is, George Washington: He Liked to Count Things. The author Pete Casazza, a mathematician who writes under multiple pen names, adds fuel to a tiny fire of his own creation, suggesting that the number one number one official of the United States of America was a little obsessed.
Casazza, now a maths professor at the University of Missouri, wrote this under the pseudonym Cora Green, back when he was at Auburn University of Montgomery, Alabama.
Casazza/Green specifies more than 40 specific things that America's first president counted. They are mere examples, he emphasises, plucked from a myriad: "First, and foremost, he liked to count things on his plantation at Mount Vernon. He counted and recorded his horses, cataloging them by color, working mares and others, unbroken or not, as well as recording their height, age and weight. He counted ewes, hogs, calves, yearlings, spades, axes, and knives..."
In wartime, as commander of the rebel American army, General Washington counted "soldiers and armies (as well as the distances between them), guns, ships, horses, mortars, batteries ... the number of casualties suffered by his army ... listing time periods, killed and wounded, and separating it into colonels, Lt colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, and privates."
In peace time, President Washington counted how many bushels of wheat were sown on his farm, and how many trees — oak, yew, hemlock, aspen, magnolia, elm, papaw, lilacs, fringe, swamp berry — were planted.
He counted nuts. He counted seeds. He counted miles travelled, and compared them with the sometimes inaccurate distances marked on maps.
Washington was originally a surveyor by profession, and perhaps also by inclination. Casazza/Green writes: "He recorded in his diary on May 11, 1788, that he had spent the entire Sunday at home counting different kinds of peas and beans ... He found it took exactly 3,144 of the small round peas known as gentleman's peas to fill a pint, 2,268 peas of the kind he brought from New York, 1,375 of the peas he had brought from Mrs Dangerfield's, 1,330 of those he had been given by Heziah Fairfax, 1,186 of the large black-eyed peas, and 1,473 bunch hominy beans. Having arrived at his count, he next calculated the number of hills a bushel of each kind of peas and the beans would plant, allowing five to a hill."
The monograph supplies no clear evidence as to whether Washington actually enjoyed totting. Who, under any circumstances, can say for sure what was in another person's mind? But neither does it try to persuade us that this was a psycho-medical problem, an undiagnosed case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. And for that, we might choose to count our blessings.
• This article was amended on 20 July 2011. The original caption and text said that George Washington counted how many bushels of wheat were sewn on his land. This has been corrected.
George Washington counted everything from ships and horses to peas and beans. But was this a clinical obsession?
"Of all the presidents we have had, George Washington was the only who really counted." That single sentence with its double meaning comes at the end of a four-page monograph published in 1978 in the Alabama Journal of Mathematics. The report's title is, George Washington: He Liked to Count Things. The author Pete Casazza, a mathematician who writes under multiple pen names, adds fuel to a tiny fire of his own creation, suggesting that the number one number one official of the United States of America was a little obsessed.
Casazza, now a maths professor at the University of Missouri, wrote this under the pseudonym Cora Green, back when he was at Auburn University of Montgomery, Alabama.
Casazza/Green specifies more than 40 specific things that America's first president counted. They are mere examples, he emphasises, plucked from a myriad: "First, and foremost, he liked to count things on his plantation at Mount Vernon. He counted and recorded his horses, cataloging them by color, working mares and others, unbroken or not, as well as recording their height, age and weight. He counted ewes, hogs, calves, yearlings, spades, axes, and knives..."
In wartime, as commander of the rebel American army, General Washington counted "soldiers and armies (as well as the distances between them), guns, ships, horses, mortars, batteries ... the number of casualties suffered by his army ... listing time periods, killed and wounded, and separating it into colonels, Lt colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, and privates."
In peace time, President Washington counted how many bushels of wheat were sown on his farm, and how many trees — oak, yew, hemlock, aspen, magnolia, elm, papaw, lilacs, fringe, swamp berry — were planted.
He counted nuts. He counted seeds. He counted miles travelled, and compared them with the sometimes inaccurate distances marked on maps.
Washington was originally a surveyor by profession, and perhaps also by inclination. Casazza/Green writes: "He recorded in his diary on May 11, 1788, that he had spent the entire Sunday at home counting different kinds of peas and beans ... He found it took exactly 3,144 of the small round peas known as gentleman's peas to fill a pint, 2,268 peas of the kind he brought from New York, 1,375 of the peas he had brought from Mrs Dangerfield's, 1,330 of those he had been given by Heziah Fairfax, 1,186 of the large black-eyed peas, and 1,473 bunch hominy beans. Having arrived at his count, he next calculated the number of hills a bushel of each kind of peas and the beans would plant, allowing five to a hill."
The monograph supplies no clear evidence as to whether Washington actually enjoyed totting. Who, under any circumstances, can say for sure what was in another person's mind? But neither does it try to persuade us that this was a psycho-medical problem, an undiagnosed case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. And for that, we might choose to count our blessings.
• This article was amended on 20 July 2011. The original caption and text said that George Washington counted how many bushels of wheat were sewn on his land. This has been corrected.
A surprise Fellowship presentation followed the CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award Ceremony on Wednesday 13 July.
Law librarian, Jackie Fishleigh, received a Fellowship, the highest award CILIP makes to its members, recognising and celebrating her achievements within the profession.
Meanwhile, ceremony host Alan Gibbons, was also recognised for his advocacy on behalf of libraries and information services with an Honorary Fellowship.
These were presented by Annie Mauger, CILIP CEO and Brian Hall, CILIP President at CILIP’s Umbrella conference.
Jackie Fishleigh citation available here
Alan Gibbons citation available herevia RSS Feed
When newly elected Fellows are presented with their Certificates, a citation is read that sums up the reasons for the award.
2011 Fellowship citation made at Umbrella 2011
2010 Fellowship citations 2009 Fellowship citations2007 Fellowship citations
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Fellowship is the highest award CILIP can make to its members. It recognizes achievement within the profession and celebrates members’ contribution to the profession
CILIP President, Brian Hall, presents Jackie Fishleigh with her Fellowship certifcate at Umbrella conference, July 2011
When Board Members discussed Jackie’s Fellowship application, they praised her style and said she was ‘an excellent communicator’. To this we should add ‘ her supreme determination’.
It was at the BIALL (the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians) conference in July 2010 that Jackie decided to make her Fellowship application. And by Christmas that same year, when other candidates might still have been thinking about putting pen to paper, she had submitted her portfolio application.
Jackie’s career has been a testament to her skills of communication and her determination. Her role as sole librarian and information officer at Payne Hicks Beach is a demanding one but she has made a great impression on her employer through her expertise and energy, raising not only her own profile but that of the library and information profession.
Invited to join CILIP’s Editorial Panel in 2004 because of her reputation for commitment, Jackie contributed to all aspects of Update, ensuring the journal spoke to all sectors of our profession.
In 2008 Jackie became President of BIALL. During the most challenging time in recent history for any sector of the library and information profession, she ensured the Association remained relevant to its members.
Jackie well deserves her Fellowship and I’m please that I am able to present it to her at Umbrella when we are celebrating the diversity and energy of the profession.
I’d like to finish with a quote from one of the letters of support that helped make the case for Jackie becoming a Fellow of CILIP and says a great deal about her, ‘one of her particular strengths is her willingness to challenge opinions and ask the tough questions which others may shy away from.”
Text of citation given by Annie Mauger, Chief Executive of CILIP, at Umbrella conference, 2011
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Honorary Fellowship has a number of purposes: it is a way for CILIP to honour those who have raised the profile of libraries and information services, have advocated on behalf of libraries and information services or who are distinguished in areas that are associated with libraries, information and research.
This year I am proud that we are able to recognize someone who has done so much for our profession and the services we deliver that he meets all these criteria.
He has made libraries and those committed to running them a central issue in the media; he has campaigned for public library services tirelessly and he is one of the UK’s best loved authors.
Alan Gibbons moved into the limelight of library activism this year when he launched the hugely successful National Libraries Day. This brought together CILIP, the Booksellers’ Association, Unison, the UK Literacy Association, the Royal Society of Literature, the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, the Bookseller, CILIP’s School Libraries Group, the Reading Agency, Booktrust and the Campaign for the Book.
Perhaps most importantly, National Libraries Day was the day when library users were able to have their voices heard to say what their public library meant to them.
Through his writing Alan encourages the love of reading in children which makes the work of children’s and school librarians so rewarding. Through his activism Alan strives to ensure that future generations and the wider society will continue to benefit from public library services which have made a positive contribution to so many lives, illustrated so well in the Library Change Lives award we have just witnessed.
It is for his writing and his energy, commitment and energy that we are privileged to honour Alan with Honorary Fellowship of CILIP.
Text of citation made by Annie Mauger, Chief Executive of CILIP, at Umbrella conference, July 2011
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Every year CILIP invites nominations for Honorary Fellowship. This award is made by Council to recognise distinguished service in promoting the purpose and objectives of CILIP as set out in the Royal Charter.
Citations for the award of Honorary Fellowship on Members' Day
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Making all the difference
Kent County Council Wins 2011 CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award
“Making the Difference”, an innovative project devised by Kent County Council’s library service which welcomes adults with learning disabilities into libraries, and helps them to lead more active lives in their communities has won CILIP’s prestigious Libraries Change Lives Award, one of the leading accolades in the library and information world.
Children’s author and prominent library campaigner, Alan Gibbons announced the result of the Award at The Umbrella Conference at the University of Hatfield today, commenting:
Libraries and librarians provide gateways to learning for all members of our communities; access to information, narratives and self empowerment regardless of their personal circumstances, income or background. I congratulate Kent County Council, and salute all such innovative projects. In difficult times such as these, the role of library and information professionals can't be overestimated.
Commending the winning project, Linda Constable, chair of the award judging panel and CILIP’s Community Services Group comments
“Making the Difference” is a hugely inspiring project, the name of which speaks for itself. By welcoming adults with learning disabilities into Kent’s libraries and working closely with them to develop services that meet their needs, the project has provided new opportunities, experiences and skills in a spirit of promoting independence and having fun.
“I have never felt so alive in my entire life”, commented one participant in the “Making the Difference” project. The Kent Libraries and Archives initiative sought both to get a better understanding of the needs of adults with learning disabilities, their carers and support workers; and to provide enjoyable new opportunities, skills and experiences. Since April 2010, well over 1,000 adults with learning disabilities have taken part in library activities. These have included supporting an information library, staffed by adults with learning disabilities employed as paid librarians; placing Easy Access collections of books and DVDs chosen by adults with learning disabilities in town centre libraries; providing volunteering and work experience opportunities, and holding regular Biblio Hour and Coffee and Chat sessions. A particular highlight of the project was the “Putting On the Ritz” 1920s fashion evening, pictured above.
Kent County Council Cabinet member for Customer and Communities, Mike Hill said:
Those involved in this group have worked hard to help people with disabilities to get involved and enjoy events at Sevenoaks Library. I am delighted that its members have gained so much from the experience. This is an example of how we are encouraging whole communities to get involved in what's on offer on their doorstep and take part in fun and informative activities.
Also shortlisted for the 2011 CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award were the NEALIS (North East Accessible Library and Information Services) project; and the Our Tyneside & The History Club project, devised by Newcastle City Libraries.
Now in its 20th year, the CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award, which is open to all UK libraries, highlights and rewards partnership projects that change lives, bring people together and demonstrate innovation and creativity. Since it began in 1992, the award has had a significant impact on the library world and local communities nationwide. Previous winners include Bookstart - first piloted by Birmingham Libraries - which has now reached 3 millions babies and their parents across the UK, and has been recognised as making a significant difference to literacy and numeracy levels in primary schools.
The winning library service receives a trophy and prize money of £4,000, whilst the other two finalists each receives prize money of £1,500.
Video footage about each of the projects can be found online at www.cilip.org.uk/lcla
Press contact
Kasey Butler, Communications and Campaigns Manager, CILIP
Tel: 0207 255 0653
Email: kasey.butler@cilip.org.uk
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A new Ofsted report praises 'nurture' groups for their life-changing work. So why are so many closing?
"People are very kind to me here and I learn about doing nice things to people," says eight-year-old Jamie. "It makes me feel happy coming here and I laugh more. It makes me feel calm," says seven-year-old Alice.
The two children are talking about the time they have spent in the nurture group at Hayesdown First school in Frome, Somerset. The nurture group is a class of eight to 12 children, separate from other classes, and designed to give special care and attention to children who are struggling because of problems at home, family bereavement, abuse or other difficulties. Among the nurture group they learn social skills such as listening, sharing and turn taking and they are given the attention they need to improve their self-esteem. In most of these groups children stay for up to four terms and are then reintegrated back into the classroom.
An Ofsted report out today has found that these early intervention groups can have a "highly significant and far-reaching" impact on children who might otherwise be at risk of losing their way at school, of behaviour problems, or even of exclusion.
"Nurture groups help to support some of the country's most vulnerable children," says Ofsted's chief inspector, Miriam Rosen. "Well-planned, rigorous intervention that focuses on academic as well as social, emotional and behavioural progress can make a huge difference to the lives of children who might otherwise be left behind."
And yet while Ofsted is lauding the success of nurture groups, and MP Graham Allen is calling for more spending on early intervention, nearly 100 nurture groups have already closed this year due to cuts in funding.
A survey carried out by the Nurture Group Network (NGN) found that 87 have closed, while others are running reduced hours or are under threat of closure.
Some nurture groups are funded by their local authority; some schools use their own budget, while others get grants from charities.
Hannah Millinship, executive assistant at NGN, says: "Some of these groups were given very little warning and there has been very little time for them to find alternative provision."
Nurture groups do need their own classroom and dedicated, trained staff, and generally cost around £50,000 a year to run, but NGN's national director, Irene Grant, is adamant they are cost-effective. "In this time of economic constraint, research has shown that nurturing is one of the most cost-effective methods of early intervention for young people with a range of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties," she says. "Graham Allen MP talks about the importance of early intervention. With nurture groups, we can turn these kids around so quickly if we get them at an early age."
Grant points to figures from the London Borough of Enfield, which show the price of running a place in a nurture group is £5,500 per child per year – three times less expensive than full-time local authority support.
Grant hopes that things will improve with more schools seeking academy status and receiving more funding. "In theory, this should be good news for nurture groups as schools will have more money and more flexibility," she says. "We have found that schools which run them quickly recognise their value and fight tooth and nail to keep them," she says.
Glasgow city council has vowed to protect the 69 nurture groups it funds although it is making cuts in other areas, and even wants to roll out the scheme to nursery and secondary schools.
In Scotland, all nurture groups are run by a teacher and a teaching assistant. In England and Wales, the model is slightly different. Sometimes they are run by a teacher, but sometimes by two teaching assistants, making them marginally cheaper. The nurture group at Hayesdown First school runs for four afternoons a week and is completely funded by the school budget.
The headteacher, Liz Stokes, says: "I would love to run it full-time, but I can't afford to. We did have problems originally convincing the other staff, as it meant taking two teaching assistants away from the classroom. But if I tried to get rid of it now, there would be an outcry. It is vital for the child and it also helps the other classes as it gives them a breather, as some of these children can be quite challenging."
The group, which was set up seven years ago, takes 12 children aged between four and nine, and each session follows a rigid routine. "It means there are no surprises, which makes it very safe and secure for them," explains Clare Kennedy, who leads the group.
At the end of the session, all the children lay the table and eat together so they can have a "family-type experience".
Denise Bultitude, assistant leader of the group, says: "We have children who don't even have a table at home and never sit at a table to eat, so it is very alien to them."
Many of these children are unable to do simple social interactions, so the group begins with an exercise called "stand and greet", where the children take it in turns to go up to another child and shake their hand and say hello.
"Basic things like reading facial expressions are very hard for some of these children, so we practise doing angry faces and happy faces. A lot of these children are either just happy or sad. Life is very black and white for them. Some children are withdrawn, some have very low self-confidence and self-esteem, and some behave aggressively." One of the children is in care and five are on the child protection register, says Kennedy.
The group works on turn-taking, sharing and feelings such as empathy and eye contact. They learn about cooperation and teamwork through parachute games, and the children get lots of praise and encouragement.
"We give them things to do that they can achieve at, which boosts their confidence. We have children who were permanent fixtures in the head's office and once they start coming here, she never sees them again. We find if we build up a relationship with them and gain their trust, we don't get them kicking off. Their listening and concentration skills improve, which helps them to access the curriculum," she adds.
There are around 1,500 nurture groups in the UK, with the majority in primary schools, although there is an increasing number in secondary schools.
In its report out today, Supporting Children with Challenging Behaviour through a Nurture Group Approach, Ofsted looked at 29 of these and evaluated their impact.
Inspectors found pupils improved their behavioural, social and emotional skills as a result of the nurture group provision, with a third making substantial progress.
Pupils in the groups had sometimes previously been excluded from school or were in danger of permanent exclusion. Others had experienced severe trauma outside of school. Almost all the nurture group pupils in the schools surveyed were working below the academic level expected for their age.
However, despite this need to improve their academic learning, some schools put academic learning on hold while the pupils were in the nurture group, because they believed the pupils should learn to socialise first. This led to them falling further behind, said the report.
The best schools ensured that "pupils made progress with their literacy, numeracy and other academic skills, so that they did not fall behind while they were in the nurture group".
In the report, inspectors called for schools to ensure that all intensive interventions enable pupils to make academic as well as social and emotional progress.
• Children's names have been changed
A new Ofsted report praises 'nurture' groups for their life-changing work. So why are so many closing?
"People are very kind to me here and I learn about doing nice things to people," says eight-year-old Jamie. "It makes me feel happy coming here and I laugh more. It makes me feel calm," says seven-year-old Alice.
The two children are talking about the time they have spent in the nurture group at Hayesdown First school in Frome, Somerset. The nurture group is a class of eight to 12 children, separate from other classes, and designed to give special care and attention to children who are struggling because of problems at home, family bereavement, abuse or other difficulties. Among the nurture group they learn social skills such as listening, sharing and turn taking and they are given the attention they need to improve their self-esteem. In most of these groups children stay for up to four terms and are then reintegrated back into the classroom.
An Ofsted report out today has found that these early intervention groups can have a "highly significant and far-reaching" impact on children who might otherwise be at risk of losing their way at school, of behaviour problems, or even of exclusion.
"Nurture groups help to support some of the country's most vulnerable children," says Ofsted's chief inspector, Miriam Rosen. "Well-planned, rigorous intervention that focuses on academic as well as social, emotional and behavioural progress can make a huge difference to the lives of children who might otherwise be left behind."
And yet while Ofsted is lauding the success of nurture groups, and MP Graham Allen is calling for more spending on early intervention, nearly 100 nurture groups have already closed this year due to cuts in funding.
A survey carried out by the Nurture Group Network (NGN) found that 87 have closed, while others are running reduced hours or are under threat of closure.
Some nurture groups are funded by their local authority; some schools use their own budget, while others get grants from charities.
Hannah Millinship, executive assistant at NGN, says: "Some of these groups were given very little warning and there has been very little time for them to find alternative provision."
Nurture groups do need their own classroom and dedicated, trained staff, and generally cost around £50,000 a year to run, but NGN's national director, Irene Grant, is adamant they are cost-effective. "In this time of economic constraint, research has shown that nurturing is one of the most cost-effective methods of early intervention for young people with a range of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties," she says. "Graham Allen MP talks about the importance of early intervention. With nurture groups, we can turn these kids around so quickly if we get them at an early age."
Grant points to figures from the London Borough of Enfield, which show the price of running a place in a nurture group is £5,500 per child per year – three times less expensive than full-time local authority support.
Grant hopes that things will improve with more schools seeking academy status and receiving more funding. "In theory, this should be good news for nurture groups as schools will have more money and more flexibility," she says. "We have found that schools which run them quickly recognise their value and fight tooth and nail to keep them," she says.
Glasgow city council has vowed to protect the 69 nurture groups it funds although it is making cuts in other areas, and even wants to roll out the scheme to nursery and secondary schools.
In Scotland, all nurture groups are run by a teacher and a teaching assistant. In England and Wales, the model is slightly different. Sometimes they are run by a teacher, but sometimes by two teaching assistants, making them marginally cheaper. The nurture group at Hayesdown First school runs for four afternoons a week and is completely funded by the school budget.
The headteacher, Liz Stokes, says: "I would love to run it full-time, but I can't afford to. We did have problems originally convincing the other staff, as it meant taking two teaching assistants away from the classroom. But if I tried to get rid of it now, there would be an outcry. It is vital for the child and it also helps the other classes as it gives them a breather, as some of these children can be quite challenging."
The group, which was set up seven years ago, takes 12 children aged between four and nine, and each session follows a rigid routine. "It means there are no surprises, which makes it very safe and secure for them," explains Clare Kennedy, who leads the group.
At the end of the session, all the children lay the table and eat together so they can have a "family-type experience".
Denise Bultitude, assistant leader of the group, says: "We have children who don't even have a table at home and never sit at a table to eat, so it is very alien to them."
Many of these children are unable to do simple social interactions, so the group begins with an exercise called "stand and greet", where the children take it in turns to go up to another child and shake their hand and say hello.
"Basic things like reading facial expressions are very hard for some of these children, so we practise doing angry faces and happy faces. A lot of these children are either just happy or sad. Life is very black and white for them. Some children are withdrawn, some have very low self-confidence and self-esteem, and some behave aggressively." One of the children is in care and five are on the child protection register, says Kennedy.
The group works on turn-taking, sharing and feelings such as empathy and eye contact. They learn about cooperation and teamwork through parachute games, and the children get lots of praise and encouragement.
"We give them things to do that they can achieve at, which boosts their confidence. We have children who were permanent fixtures in the head's office and once they start coming here, she never sees them again. We find if we build up a relationship with them and gain their trust, we don't get them kicking off. Their listening and concentration skills improve, which helps them to access the curriculum," she adds.
There are around 1,500 nurture groups in the UK, with the majority in primary schools, although there is an increasing number in secondary schools.
In its report out today, Supporting Children with Challenging Behaviour through a Nurture Group Approach, Ofsted looked at 29 of these and evaluated their impact.
Inspectors found pupils improved their behavioural, social and emotional skills as a result of the nurture group provision, with a third making substantial progress.
Pupils in the groups had sometimes previously been excluded from school or were in danger of permanent exclusion. Others had experienced severe trauma outside of school. Almost all the nurture group pupils in the schools surveyed were working below the academic level expected for their age.
However, despite this need to improve their academic learning, some schools put academic learning on hold while the pupils were in the nurture group, because they believed the pupils should learn to socialise first. This led to them falling further behind, said the report.
The best schools ensured that "pupils made progress with their literacy, numeracy and other academic skills, so that they did not fall behind while they were in the nurture group".
In the report, inspectors called for schools to ensure that all intensive interventions enable pupils to make academic as well as social and emotional progress.
• Children's names have been changed
Phonics tests, the baccalaureate and the cost of higher education
Last week Warwick Mansell reported on pleas by literacy experts for a U-turn on the plan for phonics testing of six-year-olds.
There's an obvious point that the so-called literacy experts seem to miss. Of course there is more to reading than understanding that C-A-T makes the sound "cat". Nevertheless, if you can't do that basic step, you're going to find it much more difficult to read than if you can. So asking six-year-olds what sound G-L-I-M-P makes is just a basic test to see something hasn't gone wrong. Unfortunately, I agree it is likely that teachers will concentrate too much on getting their pupils to pass the "glimp" test and not enough on the rest of reading. But that is the fault of the teaching profession for being depressingly unambitious.
sadoldpedant via EducationGuardian.co.uk
• What are the odds on girls being better than boys in this test? Whatever happened to the understanding that children all develop at different rates?
swordedge70 via EducationGuardian.co.uk
Headteacher Paul Luxmoore, in discussing the vocational baccalaureate (A broader bacc, 5 July), says: "There have been fears – which have largely been overcome – that the new qualification could dilute the IB brand." Dilution has already occurred with Michael Gove's invention of an "English baccalaureate", which merely consists of his pet GCSE subjects. And this is not to be confused with Andrew Adonis's "technical baccalaureate". Unfortunately the word "baccalaureate" is being used as a go-faster stripe or "GT" badge of quality education, designed to silence critical voices.
Derrick Cameron
Stoke-on-Trent
• In Switzerland, a massive 70% of 15- to 19-year-olds do apprenticeships combined with classroom learning. Only 20% attend senior secondary school to gain entrance to traditional universities. The apprentices have the option of additional studies leading to a vocational baccalaureate. Around 10% take this path. Others do further training instead. The equivalent of a chartered acountant in Switzerland can take the training course route, steadily building a portfolio of experience in a bank or a company as they go. They are earning all the way, from the age of 15. And no doubt laughing all the way to the bank.
Margaret Oertig-Davidson
FHNW, University of Applied Sciences, Basel
Last week Peter Scott argued that the higher education white paper will do the opposite of most of its aims.
I agree that the white paper is a mess and that there will have to be more regulation to control costs. But you are wrong to complain about the intention of keeping fees at sensible levels. The problems the government faces have arisen from two errors – raising the fee cap way beyond the level necessary; and failing to appreciate the sheer scale of the financial risk they were imposing on future taxpayers.
The loan book will in a few years total £100bn and rising. If the government's estimate of the amount they will get back in repayments is out by 20%, this will cost us £20bn. The Higher Education Policy Institute points out that the estimates depend on the average graduate earning £100k in today's money in 30 years' time. You don't have to lower the government's speculative estimates of future wage growth by much to end up with an enormous hole. In short, this is PFI and the universities find themselves in the role of the PFI contractors. The mess may be the government's fault, but there is no alternative to keeping fees at sensible levels.
anorak3 via EducationGuardian.co.uk
Phonics tests, the baccalaureate and the cost of higher education
Last week Warwick Mansell reported on pleas by literacy experts for a U-turn on the plan for phonics testing of six-year-olds.
There's an obvious point that the so-called literacy experts seem to miss. Of course there is more to reading than understanding that C-A-T makes the sound "cat". Nevertheless, if you can't do that basic step, you're going to find it much more difficult to read than if you can. So asking six-year-olds what sound G-L-I-M-P makes is just a basic test to see something hasn't gone wrong. Unfortunately, I agree it is likely that teachers will concentrate too much on getting their pupils to pass the "glimp" test and not enough on the rest of reading. But that is the fault of the teaching profession for being depressingly unambitious.
sadoldpedant via EducationGuardian.co.uk
• What are the odds on girls being better than boys in this test? Whatever happened to the understanding that children all develop at different rates?
swordedge70 via EducationGuardian.co.uk
Headteacher Paul Luxmoore, in discussing the vocational baccalaureate (A broader bacc, 5 July), says: "There have been fears – which have largely been overcome – that the new qualification could dilute the IB brand." Dilution has already occurred with Michael Gove's invention of an "English baccalaureate", which merely consists of his pet GCSE subjects. And this is not to be confused with Andrew Adonis's "technical baccalaureate". Unfortunately the word "baccalaureate" is being used as a go-faster stripe or "GT" badge of quality education, designed to silence critical voices.
Derrick Cameron
Stoke-on-Trent
• In Switzerland, a massive 70% of 15- to 19-year-olds do apprenticeships combined with classroom learning. Only 20% attend senior secondary school to gain entrance to traditional universities. The apprentices have the option of additional studies leading to a vocational baccalaureate. Around 10% take this path. Others do further training instead. The equivalent of a chartered acountant in Switzerland can take the training course route, steadily building a portfolio of experience in a bank or a company as they go. They are earning all the way, from the age of 15. And no doubt laughing all the way to the bank.
Margaret Oertig-Davidson
FHNW, University of Applied Sciences, Basel
Last week Peter Scott argued that the higher education white paper will do the opposite of most of its aims.
I agree that the white paper is a mess and that there will have to be more regulation to control costs. But you are wrong to complain about the intention of keeping fees at sensible levels. The problems the government faces have arisen from two errors – raising the fee cap way beyond the level necessary; and failing to appreciate the sheer scale of the financial risk they were imposing on future taxpayers.
The loan book will in a few years total £100bn and rising. If the government's estimate of the amount they will get back in repayments is out by 20%, this will cost us £20bn. The Higher Education Policy Institute points out that the estimates depend on the average graduate earning £100k in today's money in 30 years' time. You don't have to lower the government's speculative estimates of future wage growth by much to end up with an enormous hole. In short, this is PFI and the universities find themselves in the role of the PFI contractors. The mess may be the government's fault, but there is no alternative to keeping fees at sensible levels.
anorak3 via EducationGuardian.co.uk
This week on the Guardian Teacher Network there is a wealth of resources for teaching children about biodiversity in the world's forests
Species extinction is now occurring at a faster rate than at any time in Earth's history, while at the same time thousands of new creatures are being discovered, mostly in the world's forests.
How can children at home and in schools get their heads around this vast subject? We have some wonderful resources on the Guardian Teacher Network to provide a way in.
The perfect introduction for primary children (and beyond) is an animation made by and for children with the help of the conservation organisation WWF. This film crystallises pretty much all the issues involved.
2011 is the UN International Year of the Forests, and to celebrate, WWF launches the Big Forest Picnic project today, planning events all over the UK on 20 August.
The idea is to encourage people to celebrate their local woodland and to think about how important forests are.
You'll find a set of WWF's inspiring posters on forests and sustainability issues, together with key questions, activity ideas and background.
There's no doubt that wildlife imagery is an effective means of building environmental awareness. The team at ARKive library have produced some rich resources.
In Biodiversity Hospital, lower secondary students work in teams and learn how to balance the competing priorities for the conservation of an endangered species.
For the ultimate in inspiring images, look at some photographs taken by wild crested black macaque in the forests of Indonesia after they borrowed a wildlife photographer's camera.
Read an introduction on how scientists are working in the field to discover new species, including the 10cm Berthe's mouse lemur now named as the world's smallest known primate. Read about the newly discovered fungi now called SpongeBob SquarePants.
• The Guardian Teacher Network offers more than 70,000 pages of lesson plans and interactive materials. This is being added to every day: 35,000 teachers have already registered. Go to teachers.guardian.co.uk. There are also nearly 2,000 jobs and schools can advertise free: schoolsjobs.guardian.co.uk
This week on the Guardian Teacher Network there is a wealth of resources for teaching children about biodiversity in the world's forests
Species extinction is now occurring at a faster rate than at any time in Earth's history, while at the same time thousands of new creatures are being discovered, mostly in the world's forests.
How can children at home and in schools get their heads around this vast subject? We have some wonderful resources on the Guardian Teacher Network to provide a way in.
The perfect introduction for primary children (and beyond) is an animation made by and for children with the help of the conservation organisation WWF. This film crystallises pretty much all the issues involved.
2011 is the UN International Year of the Forests, and to celebrate, WWF launches the Big Forest Picnic project today, planning events all over the UK on 20 August.
The idea is to encourage people to celebrate their local woodland and to think about how important forests are.
You'll find a set of WWF's inspiring posters on forests and sustainability issues, together with key questions, activity ideas and background.
There's no doubt that wildlife imagery is an effective means of building environmental awareness. The team at ARKive library have produced some rich resources.
In Biodiversity Hospital, lower secondary students work in teams and learn how to balance the competing priorities for the conservation of an endangered species.
For the ultimate in inspiring images, look at some photographs taken by wild crested black macaque in the forests of Indonesia after they borrowed a wildlife photographer's camera.
Read an introduction on how scientists are working in the field to discover new species, including the 10cm Berthe's mouse lemur now named as the world's smallest known primate. Read about the newly discovered fungi now called SpongeBob SquarePants.
We are asking schools to tell us about their A-level and GCSE results online
This summer, the Guardian is asking schools to tell us all about their A-level and GCSE exam successes. We are asking schools to respond to a few quick questions as soon as possible – on August 18 for A-levels and August 25 for GCSEs.
www.guardian.co.uk/gcse-results-2011
www.guardian.co.uk/a-level-results-2011
No special login is needed.
We want to tell our readers how well your pupils have performed: please get ready to tell us.
We are asking schools to tell us about their A-level and GCSE results online
This summer, the Guardian is asking schools to tell us all about their A-level and GCSE exam successes. We are asking schools to respond to a few quick questions as soon as possible – on August 18 for A-levels and August 25 for GCSEs.
www.guardian.co.uk/gcse-results-2011
www.guardian.co.uk/a-level-results-2011
No special login is needed.
We want to tell our readers how well your pupils have performed: please get ready to tell us.
Last July, year 6 pupils told Education Guardian how they felt as they looked forward to starting secondary school. A year on, how have they got on? Have their hopes and fears been realised?
Moving up to "big school" is a worrying prospect for all 11-year-olds. But for children in one of the 36 local authorities that still have selective education, it can be even more daunting. These children also have the 11-plus examination to contend with and the subsequent divide between those who will go to grammar school and those who won't.
Last summer, we met a group of year 6 children who were about to leave St Saviour's primary in Westgate-on-Sea in Kent. They told us about their hopes and fears for the future. Two were off to grammar and three to a non-selective high school. A year on, how are they faring?
Last year Gabriel said: 'If I get a detention my dad will kill me.'
I'm not the most organised person, so I was a bit worried about how I would cope with the homework at secondary school. There's supposed to be a homework timetable, but the teachers don't always stick to it. One night, we got six subjects.
There's a pass mark for most pieces of work we do, and if you get less than 70% you have to do a retest. So far I've managed to keep up. I've also avoided getting any detentions, which my dad wouldn't have been happy about at all.
There are a few naughty students here, and a handful who struggle with the pace of the work, but generally people just get on with it. If someone gets a really good mark, we go "Bod" or "Bodrick", which means they are really clever. People are proud of doing well here and few misbehave. A few of the older boys sometimes try and trip me and my friends up, for a laugh, but that's really about as bad as it gets.
I'm not sure I would have achieved as much as I have this year if I wasn't in a grammar school. They are always trying to push you that extra mile. The kids here are also lucky because their parents generally help them revise for tests and exams – not all children get that support from their parents.
Alex Hampton-Saint, Gabriel's father
We've seen a massive change in Gabriel this year, particularly in his first term at Dane Court, when he seemed to do an awful lot of growing up. He's really thrown himself into school life, joining the Glee club and getting involved with the school production of Grease.
As parents, the biggest challenge has been keeping on top of the homework. Gabriel isn't great at writing down work he's been set, so his homework diary can be a bit vague. The level of work is quite challenging too, and we've had to brush up on some subjects – maths particularly – so we can help him if he gets stuck.
Last year Ellie said: 'In secondary schools on TV there is always bullying, people taking other's lunch money, teachers shouting and lots of chaos.'
When I started at King Ethelbert, getting to school was the worst bit. I didn't like the bus. The other children were bigger than me, and just too loud and pushy. Now I walk or get a lift from my mum.
I'd heard that lots of horrible things go on at secondary schools, like bullying, but it hasn't been as bad as I thought. Some of the boys in my class call me names, but it doesn't bother me too much. It's the sort of thing that goes on at every secondary school. It's part of life and you have to learn to deal with it.
I was worried we might get a lot of homework, but I think we actually got more in primary school. We tend to do projects that last a few weeks rather than individual subjects, which is easier to manage.
We've been on some great trips this year, including London and Disneyland, Paris. I like dancing and I've taken part in two school shows, including a production of We Will Rock You. That was quite scary at first, as I was one of the youngest performers, but some of the older ones kind of take you under their wing.
I do have times when I wish I could be back in the safety of my old primary school, but most days I feel ok.
Angela Perry-Taylor, Ellie's mother
We visited King Ethelbert several times last summer as part of the school's transition programme and the head said that often the parents are more nervous about the move than the children. I think that's definitely the case with us.
We've been surprised at how well Ellie has settled into her new school. Apart from a couple of hiccups in the first few weeks – mainly because Ellie didn't like the school bus – it's been absolutely fine.
The most difficult thing to get used to has been having less contact with staff. When Ellie was at primary school, I felt I could pop in at any time to speak to the teacher. Now I have to phone the school and wait for someone to call me back. I imagine it's how all secondary schools work, but I do find it frustrating sometimes.
Last year Cameron said: 'I'm worried whether I'll take the right books on the right days.'
I wasn't happy in the first class I was put in as some of the children were quite naughty. At the end of the first term, I asked to be moved to a different class. I'm much happier now.
At my old school, I was bullied at lot because I was quiet, but I have made some really good friends here. I'm not an outdoors person, so I go to skills club, which is a lunchtime activity group for people like me who don't like anything too noisy. We play board games and talk, and I've made friends from all different year groups.
Everyone has mobile phones and Facebook accounts now, so bullying doesn't just happen in school. Bad kids will try and bully you online. I just ignore it and type "go away" and click off the site.
I think I've definitely got much louder since I started secondary school. I'm quite sporty and have enjoyed trying out rounders, basketball, American football and baseball in PE lessons.
Barry Millen, Cameron's father
We were a bit worried when Cameron started secondary school as we had recently found out he might have traits of autism. He likes routine and we were worried how we might cope in a much bigger school, with lots of different teachers.
But he has really surprised us. He has coped well with the changes, and walking to school every day has made him feel much more independent.
Cameron was initially put in a class with a few boisterous characters, which made him feel very uncomfortable, and we are proud of the way he raised his concerns with the school. He still needs a nudge about doing homework, but has matured at an incredible pace during the year.
Last year Tayla said: 'I'm worried I might get lost.'
On my first day at Dane Court, I thought I'd never find my way around the school in a million years. After a week, I knew exactly where everything was.
In the first few months, some of the older pupils would tease us a bit about being the youngest in the school, but that's pretty much stopped now.
After being one of the brainiest pupils at my primary school, it was a bit of a shock meeting people who were much cleverer than me. I'm still in the top half of my year, but some people don't have to revise and they still seem to get good marks.
It's competitive here, but not in a nasty way. If someone is doing really well, it motivates you to do better. I want to be a barrister or a judge when I leave school, so I know I need to work really hard.
I don't miss primary school at all. I have a new routine and new friends. It's brilliant.
Nicola Gaspa, Tayla's mother
I'm really pleased with the way Tayla has settled in. She is really enthusiastic about school – even the homework. It's quite a pressurised envronment and the pupils are pushed as far as they can go, but I think she can handle it.
There have been teething problems, though. Although Tayla has made friends, there have been a few issues with a couple of the girls, but the school is very much on top of it. It only seems like yesterday that Tayla was at primary school. Now at weekends, she is going shopping with friends or to the cinema. I can't believe how grown up she is.
Last year Lewis said: 'I'm a bit scared. I've never been on a bus on my own. I might get off at the wrong stop or older kids might say bad things or swear.'
Hardly any of my friends from primary school came with me to King Ethelbert, so I was worried I would be on my own. But I went up to people and said "Hi, my name is Lewis, what's yours?" I made five friends on the first day.
I was also worried about getting dressed for PE in the boys' changing rooms, with loads of people I didn't know. Now I'm at the end of year 7, it's hard to believe I was ever worried about something like that.
Secondary school gives you experience of what is going to happen in the big wide world, where you won't have teachers and friends holding your hand all the time. It can be hard, but it toughens you up for life.
When you're outside playing football, people can get a bit rough and push you out of the way and there aren't many teachers and dinner ladies around to go to if you're in trouble. If you do tell, people snitch on you for telling tales and take the mick out of you.
I had a few people calling me "four eyes" because I wear glasses. I started leaving them at home, but I couldn't see too well, so I had to start wearing them again. Now I just ignore the comments.
My advice to children in year 6 starting secondary school is not to worry about what people think. Some of the older pupils might bug you a bit, but if you ignore it they'll get bored eventually.
I'd also say: don't be afraid to put up your hand in class. And don't be mean to the teachers because that's not very nice. Most of all, have fun at school — it's not a torture chamber.
Jo Baker, Lewis's mother
Lewis was worried about walking to school by himself, so I walked some of the journey with him at first, but he's much more confident now.
He has complained of a bit of teasing from others in his year group, but I am trying to encourage him to stand up for himself. He is much more willing to stand his ground with other children now.
When I went to the open evening, Lewis's head of year said he was really proud of how he had settled in and all that he had achieved. I couldn't have been more pleased.
Last July, year 6 pupils told Education Guardian how they felt as they looked forward to starting secondary school. A year on, how have they got on? Have their hopes and fears been realised?
Moving up to "big school" is a worrying prospect for all 11-year-olds. But for children in one of the 36 local authorities that still have selective education, it can be even more daunting. These children also have the 11-plus examination to contend with and the subsequent divide between those who will go to grammar school and those who won't.
Last summer, we met a group of year 6 children who were about to leave St Saviour's primary in Westgate-on-Sea in Kent. They told us about their hopes and fears for the future. Two were off to grammar and three to a non-selective high school. A year on, how are they faring?
Last year Gabriel said: 'If I get a detention my dad will kill me.'
I'm not the most organised person, so I was a bit worried about how I would cope with the homework at secondary school. There's supposed to be a homework timetable, but the teachers don't always stick to it. One night, we got six subjects.
There's a pass mark for most pieces of work we do, and if you get less than 70% you have to do a retest. So far I've managed to keep up. I've also avoided getting any detentions, which my dad wouldn't have been happy about at all.
There are a few naughty students here, and a handful who struggle with the pace of the work, but generally people just get on with it. If someone gets a really good mark, we go "Bod" or "Bodrick", which means they are really clever. People are proud of doing well here and few misbehave. A few of the older boys sometimes try and trip me and my friends up, for a laugh, but that's really about as bad as it gets.
I'm not sure I would have achieved as much as I have this year if I wasn't in a grammar school. They are always trying to push you that extra mile. The kids here are also lucky because their parents generally help them revise for tests and exams – not all children get that support from their parents.
Alex Hampton-Saint, Gabriel's father
We've seen a massive change in Gabriel this year, particularly in his first term at Dane Court, when he seemed to do an awful lot of growing up. He's really thrown himself into school life, joining the Glee club and getting involved with the school production of Grease.
As parents, the biggest challenge has been keeping on top of the homework. Gabriel isn't great at writing down work he's been set, so his homework diary can be a bit vague. The level of work is quite challenging too, and we've had to brush up on some subjects – maths particularly – so we can help him if he gets stuck.
Last year Ellie said: 'In secondary schools on TV there is always bullying, people taking other's lunch money, teachers shouting and lots of chaos.'
When I started at King Ethelbert, getting to school was the worst bit. I didn't like the bus. The other children were bigger than me, and just too loud and pushy. Now I walk or get a lift from my mum.
I'd heard that lots of horrible things go on at secondary schools, like bullying, but it hasn't been as bad as I thought. Some of the boys in my class call me names, but it doesn't bother me too much. It's the sort of thing that goes on at every secondary school. It's part of life and you have to learn to deal with it.
I was worried we might get a lot of homework, but I think we actually got more in primary school. We tend to do projects that last a few weeks rather than individual subjects, which is easier to manage.
We've been on some great trips this year, including London and Disneyland, Paris. I like dancing and I've taken part in two school shows, including a production of We Will Rock You. That was quite scary at first, as I was one of the youngest performers, but some of the older ones kind of take you under their wing.
I do have times when I wish I could be back in the safety of my old primary school, but most days I feel ok.
Angela Perry-Taylor, Ellie's mother
We visited King Ethelbert several times last summer as part of the school's transition programme and the head said that often the parents are more nervous about the move than the children. I think that's definitely the case with us.
We've been surprised at how well Ellie has settled into her new school. Apart from a couple of hiccups in the first few weeks – mainly because Ellie didn't like the school bus – it's been absolutely fine.
The most difficult thing to get used to has been having less contact with staff. When Ellie was at primary school, I felt I could pop in at any time to speak to the teacher. Now I have to phone the school and wait for someone to call me back. I imagine it's how all secondary schools work, but I do find it frustrating sometimes.
Last year Cameron said: 'I'm worried whether I'll take the right books on the right days.'
I wasn't happy in the first class I was put in as some of the children were quite naughty. At the end of the first term, I asked to be moved to a different class. I'm much happier now.
At my old school, I was bullied at lot because I was quiet, but I have made some really good friends here. I'm not an outdoors person, so I go to skills club, which is a lunchtime activity group for people like me who don't like anything too noisy. We play board games and talk, and I've made friends from all different year groups.
Everyone has mobile phones and Facebook accounts now, so bullying doesn't just happen in school. Bad kids will try and bully you online. I just ignore it and type "go away" and click off the site.
I think I've definitely got much louder since I started secondary school. I'm quite sporty and have enjoyed trying out rounders, basketball, American football and baseball in PE lessons.
Barry Millen, Cameron's father
We were a bit worried when Cameron started secondary school as we had recently found out he might have traits of autism. He likes routine and we were worried how we might cope in a much bigger school, with lots of different teachers.
But he has really surprised us. He has coped well with the changes, and walking to school every day has made him feel much more independent.
Cameron was initially put in a class with a few boisterous characters, which made him feel very uncomfortable, and we are proud of the way he raised his concerns with the school. He still needs a nudge about doing homework, but has matured at an incredible pace during the year.
Last year Tayla said: 'I'm worried I might get lost.'
On my first day at Dane Court, I thought I'd never find my way around the school in a million years. After a week, I knew exactly where everything was.
In the first few months, some of the older pupils would tease us a bit about being the youngest in the school, but that's pretty much stopped now.
After being one of the brainiest pupils at my primary school, it was a bit of a shock meeting people who were much cleverer than me. I'm still in the top half of my year, but some people don't have to revise and they still seem to get good marks.
It's competitive here, but not in a nasty way. If someone is doing really well, it motivates you to do better. I want to be a barrister or a judge when I leave school, so I know I need to work really hard.
I don't miss primary school at all. I have a new routine and new friends. It's brilliant.
Nicola Gaspa, Tayla's mother
I'm really pleased with the way Tayla has settled in. She is really enthusiastic about school – even the homework. It's quite a pressurised envronment and the pupils are pushed as far as they can go, but I think she can handle it.
There have been teething problems, though. Although Tayla has made friends, there have been a few issues with a couple of the girls, but the school is very much on top of it. It only seems like yesterday that Tayla was at primary school. Now at weekends, she is going shopping with friends or to the cinema. I can't believe how grown up she is.
Last year Lewis said: 'I'm a bit scared. I've never been on a bus on my own. I might get off at the wrong stop or older kids might say bad things or swear.'
Hardly any of my friends from primary school came with me to King Ethelbert, so I was worried I would be on my own. But I went up to people and said "Hi, my name is Lewis, what's yours?" I made five friends on the first day.
I was also worried about getting dressed for PE in the boys' changing rooms, with loads of people I didn't know. Now I'm at the end of year 7, it's hard to believe I was ever worried about something like that.
Secondary school gives you experience of what is going to happen in the big wide world, where you won't have teachers and friends holding your hand all the time. It can be hard, but it toughens you up for life.
When you're outside playing football, people can get a bit rough and push you out of the way and there aren't many teachers and dinner ladies around to go to if you're in trouble. If you do tell, people snitch on you for telling tales and take the mick out of you.
I had a few people calling me "four eyes" because I wear glasses. I started leaving them at home, but I couldn't see too well, so I had to start wearing them again. Now I just ignore the comments.
My advice to children in year 6 starting secondary school is not to worry about what people think. Some of the older pupils might bug you a bit, but if you ignore it they'll get bored eventually.
I'd also say: don't be afraid to put up your hand in class. And don't be mean to the teachers because that's not very nice. Most of all, have fun at school — it's not a torture chamber.
Jo Baker, Lewis's mother
Lewis was worried about walking to school by himself, so I walked some of the journey with him at first, but he's much more confident now.
He has complained of a bit of teasing from others in his year group, but I am trying to encourage him to stand up for himself. He is much more willing to stand his ground with other children now.
When I went to the open evening, Lewis's head of year said he was really proud of how he had settled in and all that he had achieved. I couldn't have been more pleased.
Universities' access targets are published today. But some question the ethics of widening participation
An assumption lies behind universities' agreements with the Office for Fair Access, published today. Over months of negotiations about whether institutions had done enough to attract students from underrepresented groups, and therefore earned the right to charge fees of £9,000, one issue was never in doubt – that encouraging these students into higher education was a good thing.
But a seminar to be held on Thursday by the Society for Research in Higher Education will question that assumption, suggesting not only that the policy of so-called widening participation may be wrong, but that it could be unethical.
It is a debate that has been rumbling since the widening participation agenda came to the fore under New Labour. But it has gained new impetus from recent changes to funding that will leave most graduates thousands of pounds in debt and in increased competition for graduate jobs; figures released last month showed that 83 graduates were chasing every vacancy, up from 69 in 2010.
"What I find unethical is pushing them into university at 18 to 21, allowing them to believe that that will put them in as good a position as more advantaged kids," argues Michael Watts, freelance researcher and affiliated lecturer at the University of Cambridge's faculty of education, and one of the speakers at the seminar. "There will always be exceptions to the rule, but for the majority it won't happen like that."
He argues that the best jobs and salaries will still tend to go to those who enjoyed the most social and financial support before they went to university, and that higher education is not the only means of achieving well-being.
Jacqueline Stevenson, reader in widening participation at Leeds Metropolitan University, who is also addressing the seminar, says: "A lot of the widening participation agenda is about class and working-class social mobility. I'm saying stop and think. Is it ethical to intervene? Are we engaged in a sort of 'Educating Rita' process?"
Her job demonstrates that she is committed to the idea of more, and more diverse, people benefiting from higher education, she says, but she believes that both government and individual institutions need to think through some of the issues, including whether people are being forced to conform to middle-class definitions of success.
Research carried out by Alasdair Forsyth and Andy Furlong at the University of Glasgow in the last 10 years has shown that students from lower socio-economic groups are more likely than their more advantaged peers to change courses, drop out because of debt or repeat a year, and less likely to achieve a degree or progress to post-degree study.
Stevenson says: "Before we rush down the route of saying 'you can come here, you will benefit, it's wonderful', we have to consider: are we setting them up to fail?"
It is a question others have been asking, too. Spencer Mehlman, managing director of the website notgoingtouni.com – set up two-and-a-half years ago to promote alternatives to higher education – says: "We think too many are pushed towards university when, with the current fee structure and state of the economy, unless you are doing the right degree in the right subject and you are going to get the right grade at the right university, it may not be worthwhile." He suggests that for some people, distance learning or an apprenticeship could be a better option and asks whether it is morally right to impose high debt levels on young people when they could reach their goals through other, cheaper, routes.
Lee Elliot Major, director of research and policy at the Sutton Trust, which aims to improve educational opportunities for young people from non-privileged backgrounds, agrees that students need to be more discriminating about their courses, and acknowledges that more needs to be done to support non-traditional students while they are at university. But he says lives can be transformed by higher education and calls it "deeply patronising" to suggest that people from less privileged backgrounds should not be encouraged to take up that opportunity.
Holly Threlfall, in her third year of a four-year course in law and Australian law at Nottingham University, would agree. She got her place after attending a summer school run by the university and the Sutton Trust.
Neither of her parents are graduates, and she never considered that a Russell Group university would be open to her, but the summer school made her believe it was possible.
"Once you get here, you mix with loads of different people and the doors keep opening and keep opening," she says. For example, she is able to tap into the contacts the law school has with a huge variety of legal employers.
The applications process for a bursary gave her a good idea of what studying at the university would be like, she says, and was more competitive than the standard applications process for some courses.
"I would promote university to anybody," she says. "I think it's an amazing opportunity."
According to David Woolley, deputy head of widening participation at Nottingham, students who have attended the university's outreach programmes and summer schools tend to get slightly better degree classifications than the more traditional students.
But even if a student from a disadvantaged background did not do so well, they would still generally be doing better than one who did not go to university, and would benefit from the connections they made there, argues Fiona Devine, professor of sociology at Manchester, who is researching working-class disadvantage in education and employment. She adds that university is not the end of the story – graduates from any background still have to prove themselves in the workplace.
"I am the daughter of a postman," she says. "My initial experience of HE was to be quite daunted by it all, but people get through these things and I did have a good time. I did OK afterwards, too, I guess!"
Universities' access targets are published today. But some question the ethics of widening participation
An assumption lies behind universities' agreements with the Office for Fair Access, published today. Over months of negotiations about whether institutions had done enough to attract students from underrepresented groups, and therefore earned the right to charge fees of £9,000, one issue was never in doubt – that encouraging these students into higher education was a good thing.
But a seminar to be held on Thursday by the Society for Research in Higher Education will question that assumption, suggesting not only that the policy of so-called widening participation may be wrong, but that it could be unethical.
It is a debate that has been rumbling since the widening participation agenda came to the fore under New Labour. But it has gained new impetus from recent changes to funding that will leave most graduates thousands of pounds in debt and in increased competition for graduate jobs; figures released last month showed that 83 graduates were chasing every vacancy, up from 69 in 2010.
"What I find unethical is pushing them into university at 18 to 21, allowing them to believe that that will put them in as good a position as more advantaged kids," argues Michael Watts, freelance researcher and affiliated lecturer at the University of Cambridge's faculty of education, and one of the speakers at the seminar. "There will always be exceptions to the rule, but for the majority it won't happen like that."
He argues that the best jobs and salaries will still tend to go to those who enjoyed the most social and financial support before they went to university, and that higher education is not the only means of achieving well-being.
Jacqueline Stevenson, reader in widening participation at Leeds Metropolitan University, who is also addressing the seminar, says: "A lot of the widening participation agenda is about class and working-class social mobility. I'm saying stop and think. Is it ethical to intervene? Are we engaged in a sort of 'Educating Rita' process?"
Her job demonstrates that she is committed to the idea of more, and more diverse, people benefiting from higher education, she says, but she believes that both government and individual institutions need to think through some of the issues, including whether people are being forced to conform to middle-class definitions of success.
Research carried out by Alasdair Forsyth and Andy Furlong at the University of Glasgow in the last 10 years has shown that students from lower socio-economic groups are more likely than their more advantaged peers to change courses, drop out because of debt or repeat a year, and less likely to achieve a degree or progress to post-degree study.
Stevenson says: "Before we rush down the route of saying 'you can come here, you will benefit, it's wonderful', we have to consider: are we setting them up to fail?"
It is a question others have been asking, too. Spencer Mehlman, managing director of the website notgoingtouni.com – set up two-and-a-half years ago to promote alternatives to higher education – says: "We think too many are pushed towards university when, with the current fee structure and state of the economy, unless you are doing the right degree in the right subject and you are going to get the right grade at the right university, it may not be worthwhile." He suggests that for some people, distance learning or an apprenticeship could be a better option and asks whether it is morally right to impose high debt levels on young people when they could reach their goals through other, cheaper, routes.
Lee Elliot Major, director of research and policy at the Sutton Trust, which aims to improve educational opportunities for young people from non-privileged backgrounds, agrees that students need to be more discriminating about their courses, and acknowledges that more needs to be done to support non-traditional students while they are at university. But he says lives can be transformed by higher education and calls it "deeply patronising" to suggest that people from less privileged backgrounds should not be encouraged to take up that opportunity.
Holly Threlfall, in her third year of a four-year course in law and Australian law at Nottingham University, would agree. She got her place after attending a summer school run by the university and the Sutton Trust.
Neither of her parents are graduates, and she never considered that a Russell Group university would be open to her, but the summer school made her believe it was possible.
"Once you get here, you mix with loads of different people and the doors keep opening and keep opening," she says. For example, she is able to tap into the contacts the law school has with a huge variety of legal employers.
The applications process for a bursary gave her a good idea of what studying at the university would be like, she says, and was more competitive than the standard applications process for some courses.
"I would promote university to anybody," she says. "I think it's an amazing opportunity."
According to David Woolley, deputy head of widening participation at Nottingham, students who have attended the university's outreach programmes and summer schools tend to get slightly better degree classifications than the more traditional students.
But even if a student from a disadvantaged background did not do so well, they would still generally be doing better than one who did not go to university, and would benefit from the connections they made there, argues Fiona Devine, professor of sociology at Manchester, who is researching working-class disadvantage in education and employment. She adds that university is not the end of the story – graduates from any background still have to prove themselves in the workplace.
"I am the daughter of a postman," she says. "My initial experience of HE was to be quite daunted by it all, but people get through these things and I did have a good time. I did OK afterwards, too, I guess!"