Raasay Primary School is currently undertaking the Scottish Book Trust accreditation programme – Reading Schools. This is designed to build and sustain a whole school reading culture and the award system builds from Core through to Gold. We are currently working through the requirements for the Core element and, if successful, we hope to be moving on to the Silver Action Plan in August. At their recent Pupil Council meeting, the boys identified that upgrading the library area would help to make reading for pleasure even more enjoyable. As well as their cosy couch, we now have an armchair with reading light, a clock, barometer, desk, rug, blanket, fairy lights and a world globe. The idea was to create a comfortable, cosy space where the boys can relax with a book during the school day. Pupils have D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) time every day, whereby they stop their work to pick up their reading for pleasure book Staff also have a personal reader which they can read, thereby modelling good reading practice. The boys, on occasion, visit the Nursery to read a book to the Nursery pupils and they also benefit from our sessions with Pets as Therapy dog, Freya. Of course, reading doesn’t stop with the English language and the boys are currently reading, and learning, their Gaelic poems for the local Mod.

We think the library space is very inviting – and the boys seem to be enjoying it too!