Bookbug training

The Scottish Book trust is offering training which include, practical activities, group discussions and up-to-date research and policy information, with a fun and relaxed approach

Free early years courses

Below is our offering for people who work in the early years and want to lead Bookbug activities with families – run by our expert team and funded by Scottish Government and Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative at no cost to the attendee. Click the links to book or find out more.

Bookbug Training – Free Early Years Courses – Scottish Book Trust

Books have the power to shape the way children see themselves and the world. They can act as mirrors that reflect what we know about ourselves and the world we live in. They can also act as windows into worlds and experiences that are different to our own.

We have boxes of our recommended books for each level that can be loaned out for free to settings and schools in the Inverness area. If you would like to borrow a box of books, please contact info@highlandoneworld.org.uk.  Please also get in touch if you find this resource useful, as we’d love to hear from you.

We’re delivering free professional learning sessions based on this resource.

• Online on 7 May 2025 4.30-5.30pm Book via Eventbrite
• Face to face at Inverness Royal Academy on Monday 2 June (In service day) 10am – 11.30am. Book via Highland Council CPD site ID: 90103.

For more information, please visit: https://highlandoneworld.org.uk/for-teachers/resources/mirrors-windows-developing-anti-racist-education-through-books/

We are up to 68 schools that are at some point of their Reading School accreditation journey in Highland now!

If you would like to find out more, you will find two free online webinars which staff can sign up for at the Eventbrite links below.

Shared Practice– Inspiring and Sustaining Reading for Pleasure, Secondaries

Join us for our online Reading Schools shared practice for insights into research and how to inspire reading motivation in adolescence.

School Improvement Planning with Reading Schools

Join Scottish Book Trust to hear more about how Reading Schools can support your school improvement planning.

Did you know that the words monster and demon, probably comes from mon – meaning warn, advise.

If you are looking for a quick Hallowe’en activity with a literacy focus, why not ask the children to create and name their own Hallowe’en Monsters.

Children could draw their monsters, and then using Greek or Latin roots create a name for their monster.

They could then write a description of their monster and where it lives.

How are you going to mark Dyslexia Awareness Week in your school?

Here is some information on next week’s Dyslexia Awareness Week.

Click on the link below to find out more and sign up to Dyslexia Scotland’s free events (face to face and online). 

 Get ready for Dyslexia Awareness Week Scotland 🧠 (campaign-archive.com) 

We are looking forward to having the Talk for Writing Trainer working with some of our Highland Council Staff on Monday 16th September (inset day). We still have some spaces left, so if you are interested in joining in, please be in touch with me by the end of Thursday. You will need to have permission for this from your Head Teacher and know that there will be a change. I can let you know about that when you contact me.

Reply to: jenny.wilson@highland.gov.uk

As our new academic year gets underway, it recommended that all Primary One children are screened for Phonological Awareness in the first few weeks.  This is so that we know which areas to target as we organise our learning and teaching environment and interact throughout the day with the children.

You will find the Phonological Awareness Screen here and further information around supporting phonological awareness development, here.

We should daily be making sure that all areas of phonological awareness are being engaged with and there are natural opportunities for children to practise. 

This can be done through:

• our daily reading to children and talking about words and asking them to join in with repetition and rhyming words,
• singing songs and saying nursery rhymes, clapping out rhythms or dancing to the beat,
• clapping out the syllables in words,
• and teaching simple alliterative tongue twisters
• and during our many quality adult/child interactions

As you engage with children in their different activities, think of quick activities that will help to develop and strengthen their phonological awareness.  Quick activities which are enjoyable, done frequently in different situations are most effective.

There are training and support networks throughout the year. To sign up for those, please go to the Highland Council CPD calendar.

Emerging Literacy

27/08/24            E.L. Initial Training 1 

Oral Language and Phonological Awareness                               15:45 – 17:00

• 24/09/24            E.L. Initial Training 2 

Concepts of Print and Pre-handwriting skills                               15:45 – 17:00

• 10/10/24            E.L. Network 1 – share best practice

Phonological Awareness Screen                                       15:45 – 17:00

• 21/11/24            E.L. Network 2 – share best practice

Concepts of Print/Reading                                                    15:45 – 17:00

• 16/01/25            E.L. Network 3 – share best practice around

Progression/Writing                                                               15:45 – 17:00

• 24/04/25            E.L. Network 4 – share best practice

Transition and Achievement of a Level.                                          15:45 – 17:00

If you need any help with aspects of this, please contact jenny.wilson@highland.gov.uk

Oral Language and Phonological Awareness

Dear Colleagues

We are running Session One of Emerging Literacy – Oral Language and Phonological Awareness on Thursday 13^th June from 3:45 to 5:00pm.

The code for joining the session is: https://meet.google.com/jyq-freu-kmb

If you are new to Highland Council, are a probationer, new to Primary One next year, or would simply like a refresher in these two aspects of Emerging Literacy, please join us and encourage other teachers in your school to join too, if they have not done the Oral Language and Phonological Awareness session before or would like a refresher.

If you have done the Emerging Literacy training in the past and have been working with the children in your school using the Emerging Literacy strategies and assessments and would like to be a lead practitioner either across Highland Council or within your ASG, please contact me to chat around possibilities and ideas.

Regards

Jenny Wilson

Faigh a-mach tuilleadh mu Reading Schools (Bun-sgoil agus Àrd-sgoil) ann an sgoiltean far a bheil Foghlam tro Meadhan na Gàidhlig.

Discover more about Reading Schools (Primary and Secondary) in settings that include Gaelic Medium education (GME).

I just wanted to let you know about an upcoming ‘drop-in’ event with Reading Schools for Gaelic Medium settings.

Reading Schools Drop-in session (GME focus) Tickets, Wed, Jun 19, 2024 at 4:00 PM | Eventbrite

At any stage of the Reading Schools journey, whether a setting is right at the beginning and just thinking about getting involved or further on with it, these sessions are an opportunity for an informal chat to ask questions and hear more about how Reading Schools works.

This ‘drop-in’ support session will offer learning professionals the opportunity to meet with Scottish Book Trust team members and ask questions about their participation in the programme from a Gaelic Medium Education perspective, as well as meeting fellow GME Reading Schools participants to share ideas, challenges and solutions.  

I will be in the session as will my Reading Schools colleagues in Edinburgh, Liam and Clara and we would love to have you there if you can make it along. Our hope is that hearing from other GME settings who have been through the process will give other schools a valuable insight into how it can work.

Best Wishes,

Jen Grainge

As we move towards the Euro24, are you thinking of ways to harness the excitement for many of the children in your class and use it within literacy?

Here are a few resources that I have come across that are worth looking into.

https://seet.org.uk/euroquiz-resources has some great resources including European Passports and quizzes.

https://literacytrust.org.uk/programmes/sport-and-literacy/ You will find many good ideas and free resources for sport and literacy as well as or The Euros at this link.  It is worth a look.  There is even Footy Phonics!

And there are more resources here. https://girlsfootballinschools.org/uefa_euro_2024.php