SLA School Librarian of the Year 2014

The SLA School Librarian of the Year Award is the School Library Association’s prestigious honour to recognize the excellent work that is carried out in school libraries every day and highlights the best practice of those whose work is outstanding.

This year Liz Millett, Teaching Assistant/Library Co-ordinator at Weatherfield Academy, Dunstable, has been awarded the honour of the SLA School Librarian of the Year 2014 at a celebration at the Hotel Russell in London on 6 October. Award-winning author and artist

Chris Riddell  (Macmillan Children’s Books) presented her with the award. 

Weatherfield Academy (http://www.weatherfield.beds.sch.uk) is a special school for students aged 7 to 19 with Moderate Learning Difficulties and additional complex needs. There are 117 pupils in the school with 52% attracting Pupil Premium funding and entitled to free school meals and 32% in social care. Much of the curriculum is aimed at giving students lifelong skills. In 2009 a room was adapted for the library and Liz Millett took on the job of developing it. The pupils make good levels of progress, as judged by Ofsted in 2013.

Liz says “My aim is to increase their pleasure from reading whatever level they are at to make sure they are not frightened by books or put off them, so that they will come to see reading as something they will always have for themselves.”

To read more about Liz go to:

http://www.sla.org.uk/liz-millett.php

Ginette Doyle, Chair of the SLA School Librarian of the Year Selection Committee said:

“What we found so inspiring about our winner was that the students she deals with were

confident and efficient library users. Liz Millett uses whatever means she can to ensure that

they have books that they can access, at their level, and the response that the students

gave us, their enthusiasm for the Library and for Liz herself, showed that she is doing an

outstanding job for Weatherfield Academy.”

SLA School Librarian of the Year Award 2014