Press release: Edinburgh primary is the first in the city to be named as a Reading School

Canal View Primary in Wester Hailes has become the first school in Edinburgh to be given the prestigious Reading School accreditation by Scottish Book Trust.

The successful Reading Schools programme(this link will open in a new window), developed by Scotland’s national charity changing lives with reading and writing, supports schools to build a reading culture, where every pupil is encouraged to feed their imagination through books.

Reading for pleasure is central to supporting wellbeing, improving attainment across the curriculum, and boosting critical thinking, creativity, empathy and resilience.

Canal View Primary is one of over 400 schools in Scotland to have been accredited through the programme and having achieved the first level, the school is now working towards progressing to silver status. The third, and top level, to be achieved is gold status.

Susannah Jeffries, Depute Head Teacher of Canal View Primary School said: ‘We are so excited to be recognised as the first accredited Reading School in Edinburgh. Our whole school community is so proud that, in Edinburgh - the first ever UNESCO City of Literature – we are the first school to receive this award. We are also absolutely delighted to represent our community in Wester Hailes in such a positive way!’

Samuel, the primary seven Reading Leader said: ‘Everyone’s worked hard to get the Reading School accreditation, especially the Reading Leaders. It’s great that everyone gets to share what they like to read as a whole school. I am proud and grateful that I could help the team get the award and spread the reading bug to everyone in our school.’

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: ‘We are thrilled that Canal View Primary has achieved the honour of being the first school in Edinburgh to be accredited as a Reading School.

‘A Reading Schools accreditation is a fantastic accomplishment for pupils and teachers alike, and achieving this status is a way of demonstrating a school’s commitment to developing vibrant reading cultures and the many benefits this brings.’

Notes to editors

Please direct all media requests to Caroline Young, Marketing and PR Manager at Scottish Book Trust at [email protected](this link will open in a new window).

Scottish Book Trust

Scottish Book Trust is a national charity that believes everyone living in Scotland should have equal access to books. Our work provides opportunities to improve life chances through books and the fundamental skills of reading and writing. Access to books and a love of books bring many important benefits from family bonding and advancing children’s learning, to unlocking creativity, helping employability and improving mental health and wellbeing. Scottish Book Trust aims to support all communities across Scotland, with particular focus on those who are vulnerable and under-represented.

Our programmes and outreach work include:

• Gifting books to every child in Scotland to ensure families of all backgrounds can share the joy of books at home, through Bookbug and Read, Write, Count
• Working with teachers to inspire children to develop a love of reading, creating innovative classroom activities, book awards and author events such as Authors Live with the BBC and our Scottish Friendly Children's Book Tour
• Supporting and nurturing Scotland's wide-ranging literary talent, both emerging and established through our training, awards and writing opportunities including New Writers Awards
• Creating events to share books and connect writers with communities, including Book Week Scotland
• Providing support to people living with dementia and their carers through Reading is Caring

In addition to the funding we receive from the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland, we need the constant support of trusts and foundations, corporate sponsors and individual donors.

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