Teachers, librarians, literacy leaders from all 40 primary schools taking part in Book Award 2020 spent the day sharing ideas on how to make best use of the project in their schools.

Book Award 2020 was officially launched to schools at a packed conference on 20th November 2019 at the University Centre Shrewsbury.

The conference explored the theme of ‘Empathy’ and how to pick out and explore empathy within texts and how stories are an incredibly powerful medium for teaching social skills, empathy, resilience, reflection and diversity.

Speakers and workshop leaders – Prue Goodwin, Jon Biddle, Jo Cotterill and Sara Stanley shared proven strategies to inspire children to read for pleasure, visual literacy, being creative with books and explored approaches to help children develop a deep love of reading.

“…inspiring conference – brings life to teaching again
enabling us to be creative with the curriculum.”

“…lots of fantastic ideas to bring back to school.
A chance to reflect and network about teaching practice.”

“Interesting topics covered and good ideas
for practical application in school.”

“…really ignites passion to get children to want to read.”

“…great resources.”

“…excellent speakers: broadens my knowledge,
challenges me to try new things.”

PRUE GOODWIN:  Prue is a freelance lecturer in literacy learning and children’s books. Her work includes running courses; speaking at conferences; consultancy to publishers of children’s books; and, researching literacy development in schools. Whilst lecturing at the University of Reading (between 1992 and 2010), she organised highly popular in-service courses for teachers and publishers, tutored trainee teachers and ran an MA module on Children’s Books in Education.

Prue’s publications include Literate Classroom (4^th ed. Routledge 2018), The Articulate Classroom (Classic ed. Routledge 2017) Literacy through Creativity (David Fulton 2004) and Understanding Children’s Books (SAGE 2008), a collection of articles by leading figures in the world of children’s books. She is also the author of many chapters, articles and booklets offering practical advice to teachers and librarians; for example, Creating Readers: A Reflective Guide for School Librarians and Teachers published in 2013 by the School Library Association (SLA).

She works as a consultant to children’s publishers and alongside colleagues in organisations concerned with national standards of literacy (e.g. Book Trust, CILIP and National Literacy Trust). Prue returns to schools whenever possible to introduce teachers and children to new books and using her personal, as well as her professional, enthusiasm to infect readers – no matter what their age – with a passion for literature.

SARA STANLEY:  Every day poses philosophical dilemmas for our young children in their learning environments. Concepts such as Freedom, Identity, Power, Jealousy, Courage, Friendship, Fear and Happiness. This practical workshop offered delegates opportunities to bring stories to life and co

nsider the role of children’s literature in fantasy

play and the creation of story world.  The workshop explored how to pay attention to the narratives of childhood and bring them to life through questioning and critical thinking. Central to the workshop was how to use quality picturebooks to help children make playful connections with their increasingly philosophical world.

Sara Stanley has over 30 years’ experience as an EYFS teacher and Consultant. She specialises in philosophical play and creating imaginative narrative storyplay worlds for literacy. She is currently undertaking  as much Post Graduate research as she can to pursue her ambition to become a researcher in the field of Imaginative play and democratic practice in the Early Years.  Sara has been involved in creating and volunteering in safe play spaces for displaced children in Northern France and continues to work as a consulting partner in Early Literacy Projects in Cape Town and the UK with Just Imagine Story Centre. Publications include ‘Why Think? Philosophical Play 3-11’  and contributions to the ‘Routledge International Handbook of Philosophy for Children’. 

JO COTTERILL:  When we read, our brains react as though the story is real. How can we use empathetic responses to deepen and encourage children’s engagement with texts? Acclaimed author Jo Cotterill will led us through child-based empathy-related activities and storytelling ideas as we walk in other people’s shoes.  Jo Cotterill is an award-winning writer with over forty books for children and young adults spanning a 14-year career and three Carnegie Medal nominations. Her book A Storm of Strawberries was highly popular among primary schools across Shropshire when it featured on the Shrewsbury Bookfest Book Award 2018 shortlist.

Jo loves writing books from ‘different perspectives’, and her books cover issues from bullying to Down’s syndrome to emotional neglect. Her latest novel Jelly features an overweight protagonist who is the life and soul of the classroom but who confides her misery only to her secret notebook until someone helps her to open up.  Jo lives in Oxfordshire with her two daughters and when she’s not reading and writing she loves arts and crafts. In December 2019 she’ll fulfil a dream by having a story published in a Doctor Who anthology!

Option 4:  JON BIDDLE – Using Empathy Texts in the Primary Classroom  This session examined strategies for creating a classroom Reading for Pleasure Culture, with a specific focus on how high-quality texts can help develop children’s empathy skills. It included ideas about selecting and using effective texts, as well as suggestions for engaging local communities in a school’s reading journey.

Jon Biddle is a senior teacher at Moorlands Primary Academy in Norfolk, which has been one of the EmpathyLab pioneer schools for the past three years. He has a passion for developing reading  cultures in schools, and is the winner of the 2018 Egmont Reading for Pleasure Teacher Award. He coordinates the national Patron of Reading initiative and is a member of the UKLA National Council. He contributes regularly to the Open University Reading for Pleasure website and is a reviewer for Books For Keeps and Just Imagine Story Centre. He writes a blog about developing Reading for Pleasure in schools and talks about books at every possible opportunity.