National Year of Reading – Literacy Hive

Katy
0:11

Hi, I'm Katy

Ali
0:13

and I'm Ali and welcome to Mostly Book Talk.

Katy
0:16

This episode is one of a series we are doing about book-related charities and what they're doing in the national year of reading.

Ali
0:23

And in this episode, we're pleased to welcome Sian Hardy, who set up Literacy Hive. Welcome to Mostly Book Talk, and we are delighted to have Sian Hardy, who is the director and founder of Literacy Hive with us today, to tell us all about that. So, Sian, why don't you tell us a bit about what Literacy Hive is?

Sian
0:47

Okay, well, hello Katy. Hello, Alison. Thank you very much for inviting me to be on the podcast. I'm delighted to be here. So Literacy Hive is an open access signposting platform that connects busy educators to the literacy support available from across the sector and helps them find high-quality resources to support all areas of the literacy curriculum quickly and easily. Literacy Hive grew out of my 30 plus years of working in the children's book world in roles across publishing, bookselling, and the charitable sector. That breadth of experience made me aware of the many projects, programs, and services that were available to support the teaching of literacy, whether they were created by publishers, not-for-profits, educational businesses, or arts organizations. The trouble is, these resources are scattered across lots of different websites and take time to find. Time that busy educators simply do not have. I realized that valuable opportunities for literacy support and engagement were potentially being missed because educators simply didn't know that they existed.

Katy
1:54

Yeah, we can sympathize with that. I mean, we know that when we talk to teachers, a lot of stuff, they don't have lots of time. And it's it's sort of like, well, how do you just compare things? How do you know what works and the problem that you're trying to address, really?

Ali
2:09

Exactly. Is it a kind of searchable website? So can people search by key stage or themes, or how how does that work?

Sian
2:18

So the first thing to say is that Literacy Hive is much more than just a list of useful websites. Lots of organizations will signposts to partner organizations. But for me, I thought it was important to do a bit more than that. Because when teachers and school librarians go searching the internet, they aren't looking for generic literacy resources. They're looking for help to tackle a particular issue, perhaps help with a poetry module or ideas on how to engage struggling readers or resources to support a new pupil with English as an additional language. And that's why all the entries in the resource library are categorized into headings that cover different areas of the literacy curriculum or common literacy concerns. And then there are those additional filters for key stage, for price and resource type to help educators identify the right support for their needs. There are already over 300 separate entries in the resource library, and I'm adding new entries all the time. So the whole point of Literacy Hive was to provide a solution to that discovery issue, to create a one-stop site that would raise awareness of that wide range of literacy support available and then help teachers and school librarians find and choose relevant resources. For me, another point that was quite important is we talk a lot in education about the gap of disadvantage. But for me, that starts with ensuring that all schools, not just a handful, know about the opportunities on offer to help them deliver an engaging literacy curriculum for all their pupils.

Ali
3:53

I was gonna ask if there's a charge for the search engine or anything.

Sian
3:58

No, the platform is completely free to access. You don't even need to register to use it. Um, so it's there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all through the year.

Katy
4:09

So when you get that midnight urge to go, I'm gonna, I need to find a literacy resource, it's there. What do people look for most?

Sian
4:17

I think that depends sometimes on whether you're a teacher, whether you're a literacy lead or a school librarian. But reading for pleasure is certainly a key theme and something that that people are often looking for for help with.

Katy
4:29

That's interesting. And and it goes right the way through from what early years, right the way through into sixth form, does it?

Sian
4:35

I would say the core sector for literacy hive is key stage one to key stage three. It's it's very much literacy rather than English. So I would love to do more for EYFS, but but that's a sort of a whole different section. So I would say that at the moment that the prime target is key stage one to key stage three.

Ali
4:55

Yeah, brilliant. That's that's probably quite a lot, isn't it? And there's quite a lot. There's a fair amount out there for that, Adrian, yes. And they're also they're the ones who are reading, aren't they? I mean, in early years they're being read too and they're starting that journey, but it's key stage one, two, and three where the kind of core of reading and trying to read for fun and pleasure is is kind of where you're trying to embed that.

Sian
5:17

Yes. Although the platform does cover all areas of literacy. So it's not just about reading, it also there are resources there to support writing. I will be adding more resources to support voracy. So it is designed to sort of cover literacy in its widest sense, not just reading.

Katy
5:32

And you also, am I right in thinking, have like a calendar, do you?

Sian
5:37

Yes, as well as the resource library. There's also an online literacy year calendar of celebration days, book awards and shadowing schemes, literacy conferences and literature festivals. It's designed to help teachers and school librarians link their literacy curriculum to events in the wider world and support their planning. And each calendar entry includes a further resources feature with links to relevant book lists, any online author events or assemblies that might be happening, teaching plans, and other supporting resources. And the great thing about it being an online calendar is that it can be easily updated as new resources become available so that users always have the latest information at their fingertips. It's probably one of the most popular areas of the platform.

Katy
6:26

Good to be able to find out. And I think we find keeping track of all of the various children's book prizes is a job in itself, really. It certainly is. There are plenty of them.

Ali
6:37

And new ones all the time, actually. There's a new, what was the one I saw the other day? There's a kind of verse novel one, isn't there? Verse novel one. With John Biddle, I think, and Marie Zarrow. I was like, oh, that's a new one. Hooray!

Katy
6:51

Yeah. And I think we know somebody who's trying to do a spooky horror one as well, aren't they? Yeah. Um, so that may appear. Yeah. Right. I'll keep my eye open for that one then. So have you been doing anything particular for the National Year of Reading?

Sian
7:04

Well, perhaps not surprisingly, given my background in the world of children's books, Reading for Pleasure has always been an important part of Literacy Hive. But to support the National Year of Reading, there is now a dedicated Reading for Pleasure hub on the platform. It's organized around the themes of the campaign and key strands of Reading for Pleasure pedagogy and is designed to help teachers, literacy leads, school librarians, and anyone who's looking to build a strong reading culture in their school access the full range of support from across the literacy sector. Signpost to everything from author engagement opportunities, initiatives to promote rich book talk to great sources of book recommendation, like mostly book talk.

Ali
7:45

Oh, brilliant. Oh, that's nice very much. Thank you. We're kind of three-quarters of the way through the National Year of Readings. We wondered what your kind of reflections or hopes for the year are.

Sian
7:57

So I think one of the most important aspects about the National Year of Reading is that it recognises that we need to work together if we want to halt the long-term decline in Reading for Pleasure. Changing attitudes to Reading for Pleasure across the nation isn't something that any one school, charity, or organization can achieve on its own. So for me, the campaign has provided an important catalyst for change and an opportunity for everybody to come together to raise awareness of the many benefits that come from choosing to read. But if we're going to ensure that the impact of this national campaign extends beyond 2026, we need a strong legacy of systems and structures that will keep the momentum moving forward. So my hope is that when the National Year of Reading ends, the partnerships it's created will carry on and that we end up with a literacy sector that is more visible, more collaborative, and easier for schools, libraries, parents, and communities to access and engage with. And by helping educators navigate and connect with the considerable support that's already out there, I hope that Literacy Hive can be part of that legacy.

Ali
9:10

So it's the kind of start of something, isn't it? It's like putting things together that going forward will make a lasting difference.

Sian
9:16

Yes, I think so. And I think that's something that the recent report from the Education Committee has sort of highlighted. So, I mean, Rome wasn't built in a day. And this has been an issue that we've been talking about in the sector in the book world for a very long time, certainly for as long as I've been in children's books, which as I say is over 30 years. So I think, yes, it is going to take a while, sustained effort over a period of time.

Katy
9:44

Yeah, I mean, I think you just need to take into account how long it takes schools to pick up on some initiatives because they've got really crowded agendas already, that the National Year of Reading was kind of sprung quite late in the day. And so a lot of the sort of planning in terms of, say, the spring term will have already been done when the kind of announcements started happening, whether that was around joining in events or whether it was around some of the CPD opportunities that have been offered and things like that. I mean, our experience is that it a school can come and talk to you and say they want they want to do something, and it can be a good one, two, even three terms before everything's lined up that they actually do start doing it. So I think the idea that we can all change everything within a year was always quite optimistic. I mean, I don't think that was the, I think that's unfair, that wasn't the aspiration, but I think just that sort of sense that these things need to roll on, the resources need to continue to be available. And I think they are.

Sian
10:47

I think that's the great thing. I mean, obviously, as I say, the campaign has been an amazing catalyst and an incredible opportunity, but the support is already out there and and it's just a question of making it visible. I think, again, that's where I hope that Literacy Hive can help. The support exists, the challenge sometimes for schools, particularly and for parents, is finding it because it is dispersed across so many different websites.

Katy
11:14

So, in terms of finding you, if you're a school or a librarian or someone wanting to find resources, they just need to find a website.

Sian
11:24

Yes, they do. So, I mean, the Reading for Pleasure Hub is actually signposted from the National Literacy Trust's National Year of Reading School portal. That's always quite a big mouthful. But otherwise, you can simply head over to www.literacyhive.org. And as I've already said, it's completely free to access. You don't have to register. It's just there. Click on a subject heading and start browsing, see what you can.

Katy
11:47

And if you're a literacy charity, say you're running an event that you think a new book prize or something else that you want to make sure that you're aware of, are there links there that people can contact you on to add that to your event calendar?

Sian
12:05

Yes, I think the best thing to do is to just drop me an email on the Inquiries at, so through the contact form on the website, which is monitored very regularly. So I I will see that. I mean, because I am always adding new resources. So yes, happy for people to drop me a line on inquiries at literacyhive.org.

Katy
12:23

Okay.

Sian
12:24

Yeah, and then you can add the add those in. Brilliant. Brilliant. So have you got a busy autumn coming up? Yes, the autumn calendar is always busy. So over the next couple of weeks, I'll be sort of checking that that's fully up to date, all the new dates for things like anti-bullying week or, you know, making sure that that's all ready to go, adding any supporting resources that people start to release. So that is there for everyone to use. Yeah. But I think the whole point of Literacy High, the reason I created it, was to support and empower teachers. I mean, they do such a vital role, as school librarians as well. They do such a vital role, and we depend on them for the work that they do in creating that next generation of readers. Because without that next generation of readers, the book world will not have a new generation of book buyers. So let alone industry won't have the people that it needs to drive growth and drive the economy forward. So anything that we can do to support scores, I think is vitally important. And I hope Literacy Hive goes a little way towards doing that.

Katy
13:29

Yeah, excellent. Well, also the other bit of that is actually the future authors and illustrators to the next generation. They've got to actually, they're not going to do it if they haven't read anything or they haven't, you know, seen something that that's caught their eye. So yeah. Brilliant. Well, thank you. Is there anything that we've missed, Sian, that we should be adding in, do you think, that we haven't asked you about?

Sian
13:50

I think that's the main thing. I mean, as I say, I set up the platform to support and empower teachers. It's designed to be a place of discovery, but also to give them that overview that allows them to sort of to see different resources and compare them. Because, you know, when literacy budgets are under such pressure, I think it's more important than ever that schools know what's available so that they can make informed buying decisions when they decide that they need something. And also because actually there's a surprising number of free resources out there. So, you know, it's good to know that those are there so that you can make that literacy budget work just a little bit harder. So, as I say, the support exists, the challenge sometimes is finding it, and and that's the problem that Literacy Hive was set up to solve.

Katy
14:35

Brilliant. Right. Thank you. Thank you very much.