Tag: SLIF

£150,000 investment in school library improvement scheme 

School libraries across Scotland are set to benefit from a £150,000 funding injection earmarked for projects supporting the development of employability skills, digital literacy and family learning, through the 2025/26 School Library Improvement Fund (SLIF).

Administered by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) on behalf of the Scottish Government, SLIF supports creative and innovative projects in line with the key aims of ‘Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools’ – the national strategy for the development of school libraries in Scotland.

Open to all state-run nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools in Scotland, this year’s fund will prioritise project applications which promote the themes of cross curricular working and developing employability skills, delivering digital literacy and exploring digital creativity, and cluster working and family learning.

The 2025-26 SLIF brings the total investment from the Scottish Government to £1.87 million over the lifetime of the scheme.

Announcing the opening of the fund for 2025-26, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Jenny Gilruth, said: “School libraries are a vital part of the learning community across Scotland and we know they can help foster habits of reading for pleasure among our young people from an early age, which can support learning and help close the poverty related attainment gap.

“I am determined to ensure that our school libraries continue to prosper and would encourage all head teachers who think their school could benefit for this important funding to apply for a share of this £150,000 of investment from the Scottish Government.

“This year’s fund will support family learning and help deliver more digital literacy and creativity, in line with our ambition to develop an innovation nation and support greater whole family support.”

17 projects across Scotland benefited from last year’s funding boost of £150,000 which focused on developing literacy and numeracy, information and media literacy, and mental health support.

Successful projects included ‘reading picnics’ in Edinburgh’s Craigentinny Primary, the ‘s’more reading for mental health’ initiative across Aberdeenshire school libraries, and ‘building empathy through reading’ in Falkirk’s Braes High School.

Alison Nolan, chief executive officer of SLIC, said: “The SLIF supports creative, innovative projects within Scotland’s school libraries and every year, we are struck by the ingenuity of the forward-thinking services that drive progress with trailblazing projects that best meet the evolving needs of their school communities.

“With the latest funding pledge of £150,000 for school libraries announced, it’s the perfect time for services to reflect on what’s possible. We encourage teams to think boldly about how they can develop and transform their offering, and submit an application that brings those ideas to life in support of pupils, parents and colleagues.”

Schools can submit 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 the country.

The School Library Improvement Fund 2025-26 is now open. Applications will close on 27 August 2025.

To find out more and apply, visit: The School Library Improvement Fund – The Scottish Library and Information Council.

School libraries to receive £200k funding boost to help combat racism

School libraries across Scotland will receive a £200,000 funding boost for projects supporting anti-racism and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion to recognise the issues that matter to our children and young people.

The School Library Improvement Fund (SLIF) is the Scottish Government-supported national funding programme which supports creative and innovative projects within the school library sector.

Available to all state-run nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools, the 2023-24 fund once again puts a priority focus on project applications which support anti-racism and racial equality. The scheme officially opens for applications on Wednesday (23 August).

The 2023/24 fund will build on the anti-discrimination work undertaken in schools last year – including Ross High School in Tranent’s ‘Stand Up and Be Counted’ project, which developed a racial equality digital resource to recognise, represent and celebrate diversity in school libraries and communities across East Lothian.

Last year’s funding also supported the collaborative Academy programme in Clackmannanshire, which saw a series of progressive diversity and equality workshops launched with the Empathy Lab as part of the ‘Building Empathy Through Books’ initiative.

Apportioning funding to initiatives which help school library services achieve the key aims of ‘Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools: A National Strategy for School Libraries in Scotland 2018-2023’ – the strategic document for the development of school libraries, the announcement of this year’s fund brings the total investment from the Scottish Government to £1.7m over the lifetime of the School Library Strategy strategy.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “School libraries play a vital role in the learning experiences of children and young people across the country. They are also places where positive values can be celebrated and developed, which is why I am delighted to continue our support for them through this fund.

“I am determined that inclusion, diversity and representation will be at the heart of our education system. This fund’s focus on developing anti-racism resources will help ensure that children and young people understand the harmful consequences of racism and discrimination, and encourage them to actively challenge it wherever it occurs.”

Pamela Tulloch, Chief Executive of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) which administers the fund on behalf of the Scottish Government, added: “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, so it’s great to see this level of Scottish Government funding pledged to support the aims of ‘Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools’ once again.

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

“As we continue to put a focus on projects advocating for anti-racism and anti-discrimination, we would encourage every nursery, primary and secondary school to consider how they can help lead the way in developing our services and apply for funding today.”

Schools can apply via individual application 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 2023-24 is now open to applications and will close at 12pm on Wednesday 20 September 2023.

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

Edinburgh schools awarded grant to support anti-racism library project

Edinburgh’s school libraries have been awarded funding for a progressive anti-racism project, as part of the 2022/23 School Library Improvement Fund (SLIF).

Administered by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), on behalf of the Scottish Government, the Fund supports creative and innovative projects within the school library sector in Scotland.

Available to all state-run nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools with a library, this year’s funding priority was given to applications which focused on supporting anti-racism and racial equality.

The £200,000 2022/23 SLIF has been allocated to a total of 18 initiatives across Scotland, including the ‘The Library is Anti-Racist’ project in Edinburgh.

The funding will support the creation of an anti-racism toolkit and collection of travelling resources for Edinburgh’s school libraries to ensure the service is diverse, inclusive and reflective of the school and its wider community.

This brings the total investment from the Scottish Government to £1.5m over the lifetime of SLIF, playing an important role in helping school library services achieve the key aims of ‘Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools: A National Strategy for School Libraries in Scotland 2018-2023’ – the strategic document for the development of school libraries in Scotland.

Congratulating the successful applicants, Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “School libraries play a key role for young people by providing access to educational resources, supporting learning and helping to close the poverty-related attainment gap.

“The School Library Improvement Fund continues to support creative and innovative projects in school libraries.

“The anti-racism focus of the projects will allow school libraries to engage with pupils on the importance of belonging, inclusion and social justice.”

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

Pamela Tulloch, Chief Executive of SLIC, said: “School libraries play a valuable role in education and learning, and ensuring every young person has the chance to fulfil their full potential. 

“Projects funded through programmes like SLIF help to improve and expand the services school libraries can provide, so it’s great to see such strong applications coming in from schools eager to further develop these resources.

“We’re particularly proud to award support to those advocating for anti-racism and anti-discrimination through this year’s Fund and we can’t wait to see these initiatives come to fruition.”

For more information on The School Library Improvement Fund, visit: 

https://scottishlibraries.org/funding/the-school-library-improvement-fund/

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