General

Welcome Back

It’s fantastic to see children back in school after so long a break, and we know how hard staff have had to work to implement all the new (and changing) procedures to get to this stage.

Here at Badger Learning we have been working on updating our products to make sure we have what you need to ensure children are supported in their reading journey and with their wellbeing. We know that the pandemic has put a huge strain on some children’s mental health and wellbeing and as much as we hope that will all be eased now they are back at school, some will need additional resources. Primary teachers may want to take a look at our PSHE Through Stories Collection.  For secondary schools, our Minding Your Mental Health and Supporting Your

As parents, we know reading is better for children than watching TV or playing online games, but are we all aware how much better and why schools place such an emphasis on getting kids reading?

With schools closed and normal life suspended for everyone we are all scrabbling around trying to think how best to support our children. Parents are taking on a new role as home educators, even though most of us have very limited experience in this and children and young people may additionally be scared, worried and frustrated.

There are a huge number of digital resources out there, and schools will be sharing links with families on what systems they are using to keep children learning their school subjects. However, there is also a hugely important additional way you can support children academically and emotionally and that is to encourage them to read.

Children who read for pleasure do better in school and in life than children who don’t. There are a number of academic s

With the Covid-19 Pandemic impacting all aspects of our daily lives we would like to reassure our customers, suppliers, partners and employees, in the UK and around the world, that we are treating this with all seriousness; and we are monitoring the situation as it unfolds. We continue to align our response with guidance from Government and public health authorities and are taking business continuity measures to ensure that we are well prepared as the situation develops.

We are working to continue to serve our customers in these uncertain times – in sharing knowledge and suppling resources both for teachers who are planning for when children return to school, and for parents looking for books for home reading. We aim to ensure that schools and parents receive the same professionalism, care and service level that they have come to expect from us, whilst also looking after the health and wellbeing of our employees.

Badger Learning have been supporting teachers and inspiring c

We appreciate that you will probably have much better things to do than read this right now. You'll be focussing on the immediate needs of your pupils and their families, as well as reeling from the changing situation as we all are.

Badger Learning have been supporting teachers and inspiring children for 30 years, and we truly hope to continue supporting you for many more. We whole-heartedly believe that reading is a vital life skill, and we know children that read for pleasure do better in life, have better mental health and bigger aspirations. The ability to escape into a different world full of magic and wonder is certainly one of the coping mechanisms we’re using right now, as well as reminding us that we are not alone.

When things do settle down a bit, and they will, we wanted to let you know we are still here. Our office staff are moving to home working and this will help to allow our warehouse team more space to spread out and use social distancing strategies. We a

 “We need to live in a culture that values, respects, looks up to and idolizes women as much as men.” Emma Watson

Happy International Women’s Day! March the 8^th is a day for celebrating the many achievements of women across the globe. It is also a day to highlight issues that still need to be solved in order to accomplish equality. The #IWD2020 theme is #EachforEqual, calling for each of us to take control of our actions and be held accountable in a world where “we can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women's achievements.”

2019 felt like a mixture of achievements and failures for women’s rights. Whilst Saudi Arabia granted women the right to drive without a male chaperone, Turkey announced the ‘marry-your-rapist’ law. In Finland women dominated the top political spots, including the youngest Prime Minister ever elected, yet the 2020 Sex and Power Index from the Fa

Climate conversations are never simple, with many people finding it hard to visualise a world of climate chaos or simply refusing to do so. That is why discussions through literature are so important – they bring the pandemonium to life and aid in envisaging a ravaged world, unlike anything we have seen before.

It feels like we are approaching the Golden Age of Young Adult ‘cli-fi’ (climate change fiction). Our worldwide news is constantly awash with ecological disasters and the beginning of 2020 has been no different with the devastating bush fires in Australia horrifying people all over the world. Although gaining popularity, very few ‘cli-fi’ novels actually deal directly with climate change but rather discuss the after-effects. Our No Planet B collection strives to raise awareness of the irreversible damage we are causing, a collection to shock but also to inspire – books that act as literary catalysts.

No Planet B contains various ecological dystopias,

FREE PHOTOCOPIABLE GUIDED READING NOTES, one for each year group from Year 1 to Year 6.

If you are looking for resources to send home with pupils these FREE guided reading teacher notes may be a great help. Although originally designed for teachers and teaching assistants, these photocopiable lesson plans are easy to follow and can be used by parents and pupils as a home-learning resource. Available to download now, the Enjoy Guided Reading range of teacher books has earned its reputation for providing quality lessons and positive learning outcomes. These free resources are just a few of our extensive range of individual guided reading lesson plans available to download for just £7.50 per resource. Children will need the original book, which is why our huge range of pick and mix resources is ideal to complement well-known books in home or school libraries.

Each resource includes:

• Chapter-by-chapter

"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."
Gloria Steinem

I want to start this blog post by celebrating all that women have achieved over the past year. 2017 was a big year for activism and speaking out against sexism which has led to powerful movements fuelling change, such as #TimesUp and #MeToo. This has given many women the courage to speak out against sexual misconduct across various industries. 2017 also saw a big push in promoting women in STEM, more female politicians on the world's stage than ever before, as well as F1's banishment of grid girls.
Despite all of this progress, we are still a long way from accomplishing the original aim of IWD, which is to achieve gender equality. Current statistics show that the gender gap will not close until 2186, women are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted than a man, and

Without even working in children’s books, it is obvious to most which books are timeless favourites as their names continuously crop up. You know exactly which books I’m talking about, don’t you? The Hunger Games. Anything by Jacqueline Wilson. The CHERUB series. Diaries of Georgia Nicolson. These are just some of the well-known books that school libraries struggle to keep on the shelf. Their popularity is schoolwide and the interest just doesn’t seem to fade. These books are responsible for getting hundreds of thousands of children to read, a feat which in this day and age is actually rather hard! 

It is that time of the year again for us to climb to the highest point of Badger Towers and to shout out about our very new, and very exciting series. We teach children and young adults to never judge a book by its cover. BUT, for this blog only you can throw that rule away and treat your eyes to these visual delights…