To all of our friends, clients, schools, teachers and partners, a brief summary statement of our current position
During these uncertain times, we would like to reassure you that Just Imagine is continuing to provide support and training, operating within the guidelines that have been set by the Chief Medical Officer. Our dedicated team is working both at headquarters and from home to ensure continuity of our services and we are contactable to discuss enquiries about our resources, training and book supply.
We have moved this year to offer more online provision and over the coming weeks, we have plans to increase remote training opportunities and webinars that support Take One Book, The Reading Journey, Reading Gladiators and Ha Ha Boing. A lot of this support will be free to access and especially useful, should teachers find that they must self-isolate, or in the event that schools have to close.
The Reading Journey app, which is free to UK schools can be accessed from home on iPads once the school has registered and been approved. (Android and Kindle versions are in the test phase and we hope to have news about their release soon.) After setting up the class on the dashboard, teachers can remain in touch with children about their independent reading. Children can use the inbuilt reading journal, send challenges to the teacher and add in their own titles, as they continue to build their personal reading journey. Watch out for the forthcoming webinar that shows how to use the app to its full potential if children are using it at home.
And finally, we are aware of how much anxiety can be passed on unwittingly to children (and adults) via wall-to-wall news coverage and social media as we try to keep abreast of the latest news and advice. One of the best escapes from this ‘noise’ is to dive into a book or listen to a story. Humour especially is a brilliant release of tension. Offer your children some lightness. The world is a beautiful place and we need to laugh together.
With warmest wishes to all of you.
Nikki Gamble
Director
Just Imagine
This post was written by Nikki Gamble
Nikki GambleFormerly a teacher (secondary and primary) and university lecturer, with over 40 years’ experience, Nikki is Director of Just Imagine. She has worked extensively in schools across the UK and internationally. She is the author of Exploring Children’s Literature now in its fourth edition (Sage, 2019) and co-author of Guiding Readers, winner of the UKLA Academic Book Award (UCL, 2016). Nikki runs workshops for teachers, librarians, students and researchers on different aspects of children's literature, an online summer school and hosts literary events. Contact nikki@justimagine.co.uk