School Librarian of the Year Awards

I attended the awards for the School Librarian Of The Year on Thursday 6th November at the headquarters of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education in London. This was the culmination of a ten-month long submission process; I was privileged to be announced as one of the three members of the Honours List back in June. 

Author Anthony Horowitz with Mrs Fenton 

The keynote speaker for the evening was Stormbreaker, Foyles War and Magpie Murders author, Anthony Horowitz and he shared the transformative impact of his own school librarian, who was a key inspiration to his younger self as well as a passionate reflection on the inestimable value of reading and his thoughts on the current focus of the policy makers in Whitehall. Needless to say he was talking to an open door - there were about 50 librarians in the room, all nodding their heads vociferously to much of what he said! 

Whilst I didn't win the award, I came away feeling very proud of what I, with the support of my amazing colleagues and our wonderful students, have achieved over the last nine years in turning the library at Cheney into what it is today - a vibrant and supportive space that lies at the heart of the school. 

The SLOTY award is important because it creates a platform whereby excellence is celebrated and it gives school librarians the opportunity across the country to audit their work - most of us don’t think of everything we do, until we actually write it down. 

I am also of the opinion that, in the absence of the inclusion of school libraries in the OFSTED framework (a topic for another time) , that this award demonstrates the impact of a properly funded and staffed school library.  2026 is the National Year of Reading and school libraries lie at the heart of this initiative - and a room of books is only a library when you add a librarian to it! More about the National Year of Reading soon. 

Many congratulations to the well-deserved winners of the SLA awards - you can read more about the evening here.

Mrs Jill Fenton, Cheney Librarian.