£150k funding boost announced for Scotland’s school library services

School libraries across Scotland are set to benefit from a £150,000 funding boost for projects supporting literacy, numeracy and mental health support, as part of the 2024/25 School Library Improvement Fund (SLIF).

The national funding programme, administered by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) on behalf of the Scottish Government, supports creative and innovative projects within the school library sector.

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Jenny Gilruth, announced the launch of the fund during a visit to Leith Primary School on Wednesday (22 May) where she officially opened the newly refurbished school library.

Ms Gilruth said: “School libraries have an important role in inspiring children and young people to read for pleasure, while providing vital access to resources that support learning and helps to close the poverty-related attainment gap.

“I’m very grateful to the staff here at Leith Primary School for showing me around their new refurbished library, which I have no doubt will be of huge benefits to the pupils here.

“The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that our school libraries continue to grow and thrive, which is why I am delighted to announce £150,000 of investment from the Scottish Government through the School Library Improvement Fund.

“This year’s fund will support more creative and innovative projects that align with our commitment to improve both literacy and numeracy across Scotland’s schools.”

Available to all state-run nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools in Scotland, the 2024-25 fund will prioritise project applications which support the key aims of ‘Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools’ – the national strategy for the development of school libraries in Scotland.

A particular focus will be put on three key priorities of the strategy:

• promoting literacy and numeracy (especially targeting 4-8 year olds)
• information and media literacy
• mental health support

The 2024/25 SLIF brings the total investment from the Scottish Government to £1.85m over the lifetime of the funding scheme.

Last year, SLIF supported anti-racism and racial equality projects, including the creation of a ‘Holistic Inclusion Hub’ to help parents and pupils from diverse backgrounds feel more included in the school community in Edinburgh; changes to the curriculum in Inverclyde to teach pupils Black, Asian and minority ethnic history as part of learning on local, historical links to slavery; and a new ‘Lending Library’ scheme in East Ayrshire designed to support families who have recently arrived from Ukraine, Poland and Russia.

Grants were also awarded to a series of initiatives specifically aimed at English as an Additional Language (EAL) school communities, including the ‘Traditional Tales – Story Gathering with Roma Communities’ project in Glasgow, created in partnership with local community organisation Romano Lav, to improve the literacy skills of children from the Roma community.

Pamela Tulloch, chief executive of SLIC, said: “School libraries play a central role in helping children and young people gain the knowledge, skills and attributes needed for learning, life and work. They ensure every young person has the chance to fulfil their full potential with equal access for all.

“From physical and digital resources to collaborative workshops and initiatives, SLIF grants can help school libraries improve and expand the services they offer to empower their pupils, staff and the community around them.

“We would encourage every nursery, primary and secondary school to consider how they can help lead the way in developing our school library services and apply for a SLIF grant today.”

Schools can apply as an individual or collaborative application, with SLIC accepting up to two individual applications per local authority and an unlimited number of collaborative applications, to ensure equal opportunities across Scotland.

The School Library Improvement Fund 2024-25 is now open. Applications will close on Wednesday 4 September 2024.

For more information on how to apply, visit: https://scottishlibraries.org/funding/the-school-library-improvement-fund/.