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Over the past few years, Tower Hamlets Schools Library Service has developed its service to primary and secondary schools to include a series of cultural events as well as the usual lending of resources and providing advisory and support services.
English consultants working in the borough had already started talking to schools about planning their reading year, and soon after this, the Reading Agency, Society of Chief Librarians and ASCEL began working on the universal reading offer which also highlighted reading 'spikes' throughout the year.
Our reading offer is: The Tower Hamlets Book Award in the Autumn term, a creative writing competition in the Spring term, and a poetry slam in the Summer term. All the events are supplemented by author/illustrator/poet/storyteller visits at times of the school's choosing. Schools can sign up for all the events, or pick and choose. Significant discounts are offered to schools selecting all!
When developing this idea the Poetry Society was the obvious choice of partner to work with on the poetry slam. They have been providing slams across the country for many years as part of SLAMbassadors, their national youth slam. Indeed they had involved many Tower Hamlets schools over the years. The Schools Library Service first worked with the Poetry Society as part of the pilot 'Find Your Talent' programme that was funded by the last government, but was sadly ended by the current government.
So, with the new initiative in place, in 2011, six secondary schools subscribed to our 'creative literature package' and were therefore entitled to take part in the SLAMbassadors programme. The package consisted of a twilight INSET for teachers, two days of a poet in school, a performance workshop for the pupils chosen to perform their work and a showcase final at a West End theatre, where the poems written are performed and the rest of the class come along to cheer.
The INSET is designed to give teachers and school librarians a taste of what they will be asking the pupils to do - i.e. to be inspired to write poetry. It's a demystification process, and a confidence booster so that the staff feel they can support the students through the programme. During the session staff work in pairs and on their own...