In this Newsletter:
- Schools Library Association Enterprise of the Year award winner!
- The latest news about the 2025/26 Picture Book Award
- Autumn CPD programme: Webinars and Primary Book Chat
- Project Loans - it's not too late or too early!
- School visit to the SLS in Worthing Library
- SLS presence at the EMTAS conference in Walberton
- West Sussex Record Office would like to know what you are looking for
- More news from the SLS team and world of books and libraries
We are thrilled to announce that Thomas a Becket Infant School, Worthing, has won the SLA (Schools Library Association) Enterprise of the Year Award for their library refurbishment project ‘The Shore.’ The Schools Library Service team supported this community-led project by providing an edit of the school’s own books, relocating the books to the new library space, and organising the collection and furniture to showcase the new, welcoming and engaging space that reflects pupils’ needs.
At the Award ceremony on 06 November, deputy head Collette Wade said: "Creating The Shore was a project that truly united us - the love, kindness and contributions that we found in our local community was amazing. It was all about the children. We kept the library project completely secret from our pupils and it was incredible to see the children's faces when they walked into the space for the first time. The legacy of this project will live on."
If you would like the Schools Library Service to save you time and money with a upcoming library refresh or refurbishment, get in touch! We are also running a free webinar during the summer term, ‘School Libraries of the Future: Everything you need to successfully redevelop and refresh the library space in your school.’ You can sign-up for this, and all our other CPD courses, on our website.
West Sussex Schools Library Service Picture Books to Shout About! 2025-2026
All participating schools will soon receive a minimum of two copies of each of the four shortlisted titles and access to the West Sussex Picture Book Award portal full of electronic resources to support schools in championing the four shortlisted titles.
The winner, as voted for by the participating schools, will be announced on World Book Day 2026. Look out in social media for more news from participating schools and shortlisted authors and illustrators (find us on Instagram @westsussexlibraries and Facebook: WestSussexLibraries #WestSussexSchoolsLibraryService)
The Schools Library Service team offers a FREE programme of training, webinars and regular online book chat sessions for teachers, school staff or anyone interested in children’s books and school libraries.
The West Sussex SLS CPD programme for 2025-26 is available now; sign up to our eNewsletter to keep up-to-date and register your interest in any of the virtual courses on offer.
It's not too late for schools who would like to request Project Loans for the autumn term. Project Loans can be requested via our online Project Loan form where you will be prompted to select the public library of your choice for collection. If you would like to find out more about our Project Loan service, please call us on 01903 704828 or email and we will be happy to help.
Buckingham Park Primary School booked their regular visit to the SLS in Worthing Library to select their books for their termly exchange. As you can see from the photo the teaching staff and children enjoyed their visit very much. They were able to choose books for the whole school and have their lunchbreak at the tables in the concourse just outside the SLS entrance. They also benefited from a 'behind the scenes' tour of Worthing Library, including admiring Worthing Library's new 'blue plaque' which commemorates Marian Frost, Head Librarian between 1876 and 1935, and inspiration behind the building of Worthing Library.
A teacher from the school said:
"It is always such a lovely, relaxing and interesting trip. The children love learning about the library and choosing books. The staff are so helpful and enthusiastic. I would definitely recommend a visit."
One of the children said:
"It was incredible and it felt so calm...The library had so much choice! I loved it!"
If you would like to book a visit to the SLS in Worthing, please email or phone us on 01903 704828 to agree a date and we will ensure a member of staff is available to support the visit.
Did you see the SLS stand at the EMTAS conference this autumn? Is there anything you would like to know about how the SLS can support schools with books and library accessibility for children whose mother tongue is not English and for the Gypsy Romany Traveller community? If so, then please do email us or phone 01903 704828 and we will be happy to arrange an MS Teams call to discuss the school's needs and how we can support you.
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West Sussex Record Office(WSRO) will celebrate its 80th birthday in 2026 and as part of their forward planning, have sent out a questionnaire to all schools to obtain an overview of how schools currently interact with WSRO and what you would like to see in future programmes. The questionnaire is open until Monday 1st December and hard copies have been distributed to all schools via the school courier. If you have any queries about the questionnaire or would be interested in joining an advisory group to support the WSRO in their work with schools and young people, please email Nichola.court@westsussex.gov.uk
WSRO offer a range of local history workshops for school groups. To arrange a visit to the Record Office or invite them to visit your school, go to West Sussex Record Office | West Sussex Services for Schools where you will also find free online resources on Farming and Land Use; The Land Army; Suffrage in West Sussex; Castles in East Sussex and West Sussex; and Queen Elizabeth II.
Social Media
In light of the media attention surrounding X (Twitter) the SLS social media accounts have become streamlined with the West Sussex Library Service social media accounts.
Do you have an Instagram or Facebook account? In addition to the SLS Newsletter (sign up here), we post monthly on these two platforms to keep our followers up-to-date and promote all the amazing things we do! It's also a good way to keep uptodate with SLS events, children's publishing and to read about the latest books and how teachers and schools are using them.
You can find us on:Instagram @westsussexlibraries and Facebook: WestSussexLibraries #WestSussexSchoolsLibraryService
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