Childrens reading

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Childrens reading learning in Framework for
the Futures National Offers

• Jonathan Douglas
• Head of Learning and Access
• MLA

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MLA

• The organisation previously known as Resource
• Established 2000
• Non-Departmental public body so funded by
  government
• Sponsoring body Department of Culture, Media and
  Sport
• Strategic agency operating on behalf of museums,
  archives and libraries
• 9 Regional Agencies up and running
• All have learning and access staff in place
• Minimum 25 of spend focused on learning and
  access
• All committed to supporting ILFA

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Vision

• Museums, Archives and Libraries connect people to
  knowledge, learning and information, creativity
  and inspiration
• MLA is leading the drive to unlock this wealth
  for all

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Challenge

• Relevance to policy, culture, communities and the
  individual

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Policy

• Shift to a skills based economy
• A crisis in citizenship, identity and community
• The drive to modernise public services
• Vulnerability of children

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Cultural Drivers

• Multi-literate society
• Diversity
• Choice
• Personalisation
• Individualisation rather than community
• Value is a monetary concept

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Reading the answer

• Identity in stories
• Celebrating diversity
• Learning all the time!
• Cross-fertalisation of literacies
• The reader is in charge
• It brings people together

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•   Why do I read?
•      I just can't help myself.
•      I read to learn and to grow, to laugh and to
  be motivated.
•      I read to understand things I've never been
  exposed to.
•      I read for strength to help me when I feel
  broken, discouraged, 
•                            and afraid.
•      I read when I'm angry at the whole world.
•      I read when everything is going right.
•      I read to find hope.
•      I read because I'm made up not just of skin
  and bones, of sights,
•                            feelings, and a deep
  need for chocolate, but I'm also made up
  of words.
•       Words describe my thoughts and what's
  hidden in my heart.
•       Reading isn't passive -- I enter the story
  with the characters, 
•                            breathe their air,
  feel their frustrations, scream at them to 
•                            stop when they're
  about to do something stupid, cry with
•                            them, laugh with them.
•         Reading for me, is spending time with a
  friend.
•         A book is a friend.
•         You can never have too many.

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Why I write - Orwell

• Sheer egoism
• Aesthetic enthusiasm
• Historical impulse
• Political purpose

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Where we are now the inside

• Investing in Children 1996
• National Year of Reading/Launchpad 1999
• Introduction of fair funding 2000
• Introduction of Library Sure Start target 2001
• Code of Practice for Study Support in Public Libs
  1999-2000
• Start with the Child 2002
• Bookstart funding announcement 2004

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Where we are now the outside

• Sure Start and Childrens Centres
• Every Child Matters
• Cultural Entitlement
• Youth Green Paper
• Learning to Listen
• DfES 5 year strategy for children and learners

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Childrens Green Paper

• Supporting parents and carers
• Early intervention and effective prevention
• Accountability and integration local, regional
  and national
• Workforce reform
• 5 key outcomes

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Workforce Reform

• Proposals for cross-cutting client-focused sector
  skills council
• Current focus on Common Core generic skills
• These would be common to all professions who work
  with children

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Cultural Entitlement

• Models developed at local level Oxfordshire,
  Gateshead etc
• Subject of joint DCMS/DfES SR04 bid
• Huge enthusiasm at local and regional level
  models created through 04-06 Museums Strategic
  Commissioning
• Eventual model unclear but probably around
  regional delivery of national offer

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Schools by 2008

• Personalisation of learning a key priority
• Continuing push on literacy skills particularly
  at KS2
• All primary schools secondary schools offering
  extended services
• Key development role for Childrens Trusts
• 3 year funding cycle for schools
• Clusters of schools empowered to commission
  services

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Library agendas for change

• Framework for the Future
• New professional qualification framework
• Revision of Public Library Standards

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Framework for the Future

• A ten year vision for the future of public
  libraries
• The first step in a re-ordering of the way in
  which we work
• Identifying weakness
• Analysing good practice
• Taken forward in a 3 year action plan led by MLA

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Challenges identified by Framework for the Future

• Best practice disparate and patchy
• Confusion about services offered
• High approval - low take up
• Need to focus on local interpretation of national
  programmes delivering
• Reading and informal learning
• Access to digital skills and services
• Community identity and citizenship
• Workforce and leader development

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• A modern mission based on
• Promotion of reading and learning
• Engagement with e-technology and access to
  digital skills
• Community engagement and tackling exclusion
• Underpinned by
• Advocacy
• Marketing
• Workforce development
• New approach to partnerships

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(No Transcript)
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Reading and Learning

• New strategic direction agreed Feb 04
• Five national delivery priorities
• Building on USPs
• Reflecting genuine community need
• Directly related to key policy themes

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The famous five

• Early years
• Out of school hours learning opportunities
• Teenage engagement
• Adult learners
• High quality adult reading experiences

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Each national offer

• Market research, effectiveness studies and
  delivery analysis
• Quality Framework
• Tools to support national, regional and local
  delivery
• Link to marketing strategy
• Link to workforce development activity

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Fulfilling their Potential Building a national
offer for engaging young people

• Agree vision/define service
• Develop new partnerships, new materials and tools
  and additional capacity
• Quality framework defined by Childrens Act
  outcomes
• The chance for young people to get involved
• Inspiring relevant reading
• A place for independent information study
  support
• The community space for young people

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Study Support in Public Libraries

• New relationships with schools
• When are we doing study support?
• The evidence that our study support works
• What our key messages should be
• How we make study support a national offer

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Study support
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• Peoples Network fulfilling potential virtual
  library, e-democracy, personalised learning
• Access points for services for people with
  disabilities
• Library management peer review programmes
• Create new links between business and libraries

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Childrens librarians the future

• Champions of the child
• Services defined by partnerships not structures
• Moving across professional boundaries
• Sharing skills and learning
• Experts on children and books

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YLGthe challenge

• Core skills
• Links outside of the profession
• Relationship between professionals, the
  profession and professional skills
• A new, more strategic role
• A new advocacy push at regional level
• An integrated approach to best practice
  dissemination setting themes linked to
  priorities and national offers

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• The communist rump has its day!