Inspiring Young Readers
Whilst on a visit to a primary school in the West Midlands to deliver a series of dinosaur workshops, we had the opportunity to view the well-stocked library. The school, part of The Federation of Abbey Infant and Abbey Junior Schools has been rated as “Good” by the most recent Ofsted inspection.
A Librarysaurus
We were also able to see and admire many examples of the children’s work on display in the uncluttered corridors. Our dinosaur expert had been asked to work with Foundation Stage classes, the day of teaching involved conducting sessions with the three Reception classes as well as working with morning and afternoon Nursery.
Everything Dinosaur stocks a range of dinosaur themed toys and games, all tested and approved by our teaching team: Educational Dinosaur Toys.
The venue was the spacious school hall, which also contained a wonderful library resource.
The Well-Stocked Library in the Primary School
A librarysaurus on show in the school library. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
We were most impressed by the unusual way in which some of the books were stored. Our dinosaur expert nick-named the two dinosaur themed book storage units “Librarysaurus”. A well-stocked, inviting library with dinosaurs can provide the stimulation to young children to explore books, a passion for reading could develop that might last a lifetime. During a break from our dinosaur themed workshops, our expert was able to peruse the shelves, lots of non-fiction and fiction titles for the children to read.
Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Everything Dinosaur.
Ofsted Comments
We noted that in the most recent Ofsted report (focusing on Abbey Infant School), the inspector stated:
“Pupils enter Year 1 with skills slightly above those expected for their age. Due to good quality teaching, they continue to make good progress in Years 1 and 2 and are well-prepared for their move to the juniors. They leave Year 2 with standards above those normally expected for their age in reading, and well above in writing and mathematics.”
Perhaps the dinosaur inspired library furniture helps to enthuse the children. During our visit we observed lots of pre-knowledge being demonstrated by the Foundation Stage children. There was also some examples of applied learning, clearly, under the expert and enthusiastic tutelage of the teaching team the children had enjoyed learning all about dinosaurs.
To learn more about Everything Dinosaur’s outreach work: Contact Everything Dinosaur.