Helen Cleaves, SLA School Librarian of the Year Honour List

Helen Cleaves is School Librarian at Kingston Grammar School, an independent co-educational day school, and this is how her work and the library impressed the judges.

Founded in 1561 by Royal Charter, in the centre of Kingston-upon-Thames, Kingston Grammar School (KGS) has about 830 students aged 11-18 years. With its vaulted ceiling and excellent natural light, the Frayn Library is an inviting and inspirational space in the centre of the school offering unrestricted access to students of all ages between 7.45am and 4.45pm. There are large six-seater rectangular study tables in the centre and round three-seater study carrels with power along the non-fiction side. Fiction is divided into Junior and Adult Fiction with separate Graphic Novels, YA, Classics and Quick Reads collections. In the fiction area there are colourful seats for individuals and small groups, and two sofas to create a cosy and relaxed environment conducive to reading. Library activities are split between the (main) Frayn Library and library classroom to best accommodate silent study and access to the resources. In addition to weekly library lessons for every Year 7 and 8 class, and inductions for new and Sixth Form students, there are also ad hoc lessons, typically for History and English coursework, but also for EPQ and Academic Scholars. Of particular importance to the library and the school is the Year 7 independent project, run jointly by the library and academic departments. For this, Helen teaches key research skills including mind-maps, effective searching, keywords, plagiarism, note-taking, referencing and bibliographies and she also marks the research skills element. The best project overall is acknowledged at Junior Prizegiving. Commendations are given for any achieving 90%+. This project establishes the School's expectations for information literacy and provides a basic grounding. It also establishes Helen's credentials and expertise as an information literacy teacher. Further up the school, many students remark on how useful the project was, even if it may not have felt like it at the time! In terms of regular clubs, younger keen readers enjoy debating their favourite books at Trinity Schools Book Award Club (TSBA) and Carnegie Club or being put through their paces at Lit Quiz Club in preparation for competitions. The Junior and Senior Lit Quiz teams are the current inter-borough champions. Students of all ages also get stuck into craft club, from decorating poetry-inspired rocks for National Poetry Day to making origami bookmarks for Mental Health Awareness Week. External speakers provide a dynamic line-up and a range of different activities. For example, in the past year the film maker, explorer and author Matt Dickinson ran sessions with A Level Geographers on hostile environments based on his experience of Everest; the author Alex Wheatle shared his inspiring life story with students of all ages during a 'KGS meets' session on World Book Day; the author and library activist Alan Gibbons ran creative writing sessions to prepare students for the Second Year (Year 8) Short Story competition; former Slam poetry World Champion Harry Baker jammed with our younger Academic Scholars and ran poetry writing sessions with A Level English classes; author Sarah Govett was a special guest at TSBA Club; and Carnegie Club enjoyed a Skype chat with Marcus Sedgwick. When Helen was informed of her inclusion on the Honour List for School Librarian of the Year 2019, the SLA asked her some questions about her job and here are her responses: Q: Which aspect of your job do you most enjoy? A: Nothing beats the conversation with a student who has just finished a book that they loved, and so discovered a new favourite author to explore further. Q: Where do you get ideas from for developing what your library offers and how it works? A: I follow other librarians and libraries on Twitter, read School Librarian, attend local SLA branch meetings, visit other libraries, chat to teachers and ask students for input. Q: What are your favourite library CPD resources (websites, twitter feeds, conferences etc)? A: The virtual School Librarians Network (groups.io/g/SLN) is an invaluable source of insider info. This is my go-to place for details of new books, author events, conference bursaries, and a day doesn't go by when I don't learn something from it. I really like the collaborative nature of the network, where sharing as well as gleaning information, insights and experience is an opportunity to reflect and develop too. Q: What other tools help you most in your job and why? A: Tea and cake - rarely are these not the answer! Q: What have you learned on the job which you never learned about at library school? (if relevant) A: That being a school librarian is so much more varied than you may think. Wearing so many different hats - from buyer to events organiser, counsellor to teacher, human Google to team coach - and not knowing which one you will be required to wear when as it all depends which student happens to walk through the door next, means that no two days are the same. Q: Why do you think the Great School Libraries Campaign is important and how would you complete this sentence: "School libraries matter because.... " A: Until school libraries are a statutory requirement we have to shout about what school libraries do so that the decision to close them or not even build them into new schools is as difficult and anguished as possible. Having robust statistics and case studies for the first time will provide much-needed evidence to enable us to make the case for school libraries that cannot be easily dismissed. School libraries matter because... reading is the key that unlocks opportunity, the window on different life experiences that exposes prejudice and shows us hope and the antidote to stress-inducing 24/7 connectivity. Q: What's the last book you read which you have since been pressing into people's hands and what makes it so special? A: I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan - I defy anyone to read this stunning debut and not be moved by this powerful coming-of-age thriller that the author, a Maths teacher in South London, felt compelled to write when three British schoolgirls from Bethnal Green flew out to Syria to join IS in 2015. Muzna is a truly unforgettable character - funny, fierce and vulnerable - and, as a multi-dimensional Muslim teenager who dreams of being a writer, a vital foil to today's relentless Islamophobia and agenda of 'othering' by those determined to set us against one another. She is also the much-needed voice of a teenage experience that is seriously under-represented in books. I have recommended I am Thunder to students and grown-ups of all ages: not only is it a compelling story of friendship dilemmas, teen rebellion and first love, but by shattering stereotypes and showing how easily teenagers may become radicalised, it invites empathy and seeks to connect, as all the best books do. Find out more about Kingston Grammar School: Website: www.kgs.org.uk/ Twitter: @KGS_Library