One of Britain’s top children’s poets, Brian Moses, performed poems with children at Rudyard Kipling primary school in Brighton on Wednesday 29 March to help celebrate the re-opening of the school’s ‘totally transformed’ library.
A professional writer for nearly 30 years, Brian Moses has given more than 2,500 performances and sold more than a million books.
Also joining in the fun was the Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Councillor Pete West.
Julia Tooke is a coordinator of the school’s Every Child A Reader programme. Like many local schools Rudyard Kipling uses this to help make sure pupils reach expected levels in reading and writing by the end of Key Stage 1
Through the programme pupils who struggle with reading get intensive support. It’s been incredibly successful, with pupils often making two years of progress in only four months.
Ms Tooke said: “Reading is a vital skill that can make the biggest difference of all to children’s life chances.
“We’ve totally transformed the library space and book collection. It used to be a space where books were kept, but there was no space for the children to cosy down with a book
“It is now Jungle Book-themed to match our school name, and is bright, colourful, cosy and inviting.
“The book collection has been revamped, and every child has chosen a book to go into the new library.
“It really has brought reading to life for our lovely children. They are so proud of their library and love using it.”
Watch this video about the revamped library: