Training

We know that reading for pleasure can have a profound impact on individuals, and on communities too. We run training courses that support people who are running our reading programmes.

"A very relevant and timely course when libraries are struggling to prove their worth in a world of shrinking budgets and staffing." Julie Potton, Principal Librarian, Libraries and Heritage, Derbyshire County Council who did the Making Reading Count course

Implementation training

Six Book Challenge training

Our next training day will be at the Free Word Centre in central London on Friday 9 November. This one-day course will equip practitioners to run the Six Book Challenge effectively in a range of settings, drawing on a growing range of transferable models from around the country. Delegates will gain:
- an understanding of the policy context for the Six Book Challenge
- examples of partnership working to underpin delivery of the Challenge
- information on how to make best use of the Challenge materials
- practical ideas for recruiting and supporting participants
- knowledge of the range of reading resources available for the main target audience
- a FREE pack of Six Book Challenge materials to cater for 50 participants!

Please contact jenny.warner@readingagency.org.uk for further details and a booking form.

"I feel I've got a much better understanding of the scope and potential of Six Book Challenge so very useful in this sense. I've now got several ideas for new partnerships and a better grasp of my own role." Delegate at training day at Free Word in London

The Reading Agency's annual Six Book Challenge is being used to engage thousands of adults in reading for pleasure in a range of settings including libraries, colleges, prisons and workplaces. It delivers on local priorities of social inclusion, partnership working, formal and informal adult learning and it supports literacy, ESOL and family learning tutors with student retention, progression and achievement for employability. This one-day course will equip practitioners to run the Six Book Challenge effectively, drawing on a growing range of transferable models from around the country.

For more information call Jenny Warner on 020 7324 2545 or email training

Chatterbooks training

Our next training day will be at the Free Word Centre in central London on Thursday 20th September

This is a training day for library staff, teachers, and other education and literacy staff, to build skills and knowledge, and get guidance and ideas, for planning and running Chatterbooks groups.

Participants in this training will
• gain a good knowledge of the Chatterbooks programme and how libraries and schools can use it to inspire children's reading for pleasure and support their targeted work with young readers
• consider useful partnerships for delivering Chatterbooks - eg with schools, and with publishers
• learn about the support available from the Chatterbooks network, resources and materials
• shape their own local plans for using Chatterbooks, and measuring its impact
• share and learn a range of tips and ideas for session planning & management, and for session activities

Trainers: Tricia Kings & Lynne Taylor, Programme Managers, The Reading Agency
Cost: £195 (£175 for each subsequent person from the same organisation/authority) per person, including lunch/tea & coffee

"Very worthwhile and thought-provoking" "...will go back to work with lots of ideas"
"Excellent in all respects and really helpful. Very relaxed atmosphere, but lots being taken in"

For more information call Jenny Warner on 020 7324 2545 or email training

Strategic training

We have developed a number of training offers to support strategic developments for library and information services:

Making Reading Count

This one day training course helps senior library managers to demonstrate the impact reading services have on local authority priorities and Local Area Agreement targets. It includes a case study from Janene Cox, Assistant Director (Culture & Libraries) Satffordshire, showing how reading and libraries can be positioned much more strategically - increasingly important in light of the changes that are happening to library services at the moment.

Feedback from participants has been excellent.

_"Libraries can be pulled in many different directions, but books and reading activity
remains at the heart of our business. We need to improve the evidence we collect which enables us to demonstrate the value of activity in this area,
where it matters. I found this course provided me with the information and motivation I needed to devote more time and energy to the increasingly important work of collecting evidence to enable real evaluation to happen." _
(Jane Mathieson, Regional Reader Development Co-ordinator, Time To Read, North West Region)

Next date to be confirmed

Participate - libraries and young people

Participate is our modular programme that helps libraries to meet young people's needs. Participate is offered as four linked modules - choose the route that best suits your service. Each module is fully supported by consultancy and online resources. As a whole programme participate builds to a model that enables you to deliver the full Library Offer to young people:

  • Making Change Happen- introduces your service to standards and frameworks for young people's participation and guides your service through self assessment, action planning and partnerships.
  • Involving young people- enables your service to develop the processes and skills to support effective consultation, accredited volunteering opportunities and involving young people in key decision making.
  • Creative Reading- enables your service to develop the key skills and activities to provide positive reading based activities and to build a 21st century reading service for young people. It includes a professional subscription to the new creative reading website for young people; groupthing.org
  • HeadSpace- if you are refurbishing or building a new library, HeadSpace is a holistic project based model for supporting your service to involve young people in designing space, accredited volunteering and delivering positive activities within a particular location.

Regional Skills Share Day - Reading for health and well-being

We are offering this day as a bespoke package for regions or sub-regional groups or clusters of authorities. The day helps you share good practice and experience around reading for health and well-being, find out what is going on in this field regionally and nationally, and explore strategies for working with health sector partners.

The aims are:

  • To explore the relevance of libraries work with reading to health and well being
  • To share good practice from within the region and explore a range of different models for reading and health activity
  • To map key partners/stakeholders
  • To develop understanding on how to work with the health sector and other key partners
  • To exploring potential linkages with other areas of work such as volunteering

To enquire about booking this course for your region or area, please contact Jenny.Warner@readingagency.org.uk.

Reading and outcomes for children

The Summer Reading Challenge together with Chatterbooks reading groups make for a powerful year round offer for children from librarie