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In 2023, 1 in 5 eight to sixteen-year-olds were identified as having a probable mental disorder.

(Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2023  — wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey  — NHS Digital)

Despite these concerning figures, mental health is still not given the attention it deserves. Just over one in three children and young people with a diagnosed mental health condition get access to NHS care and treatment, leaving the majority with little to no support.

Teachers and librarians can play a pivotal role in aiding young people experiencing mental health difficulties, especially because reading literature can be an effective tool to support and improve mental health.

Windows and Mirrors is a brand-new series of 6 engaging and thought-provoking titles that will offer a powerful opportunity to open conversations, challenge bias and prejudice, foster a sense of community, and build resilience. Written by award-winning writer, editor and journalist, Katharine Quarmby, these titles can act as ‘mirrors’, reflecting the reader’s own experiences to help them feel heard and understood, as well as ‘windows’, where students are given an insight into lives different from their own. Set in an inner city school, each book looks at the experience of a student who is going through a difficult time. The books navigate the reader through hardships and signpost how to access, or offer, help. Although the books can be hard-hitting, the subjects examined are expertly and sensitively handled.

We spoke with author Katharine Quarmby about the series:

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your series ‘Windows and Mirrors’? Were there re

The government’s Reading Framework first published in 2021 has now been updated.  A considerable amount of new information has been provided in the 2023 update. The document originally focused on Reception and key stage one, but now contains advice for developing reading in key stage 2 and 3.  The introduction to the document states that its key objective is “to help schools to meet the expectations set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework and the national curriculum.”  At over 170 pages long, it is a lengthy read containing detailed advice divided into thirteen sections. The following overview highlights its key content and implications for the teaching of reading, together with just the right books to help you meet these new requirements.

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Would you like to write a story for our next series? We are currently open to submissions for further titles in our upcoming series WOW! Fiction. Titles in this new series will be thematically matched to titles in our best-selling non-fiction series WOW! Facts.

These will be low-level books for reluctant and struggling readers, with a reading age of 6.5–8 years (book bands white, lime and brown), an interest age of 7–14 years and a word count between 1600–2500 divided into a minimum of six chapters. All books will be edited and levelled by a literacy consultant, so even if you don’t have experience in writing for a specific reading age you can still submit!

No previous book deal is necessary but an engaging voice, relatable content and an excellent standard of written English is essential. Knowledge of children's literature is also key as you need to know good stories to write good stories!

If you are interested in writing for any of these titles, we are invitin

Why is reading in Year 7 important?

Moving from primary school to secondary is a huge change for eleven-year-olds. It is also a pivotal moment in defining their reading habits. With the beginning of secondary school comes new distractions and motivating students to read can become challenging.

Fostering a love of reading has a huge impact on students’ progress and overall socio-economic success in life. The Reading Agency states that “children who read books often at age 10 and more than once a week at age 16 gain higher results in maths, vocabulary and spelling tests at age 16 than those who read less regularly.” Reading regularly also helps concentration levels, improves writing skills, and expands vocabulary.  

But it’s not just about providing students with the crucial ability to read in order to aid fut

The invasion of Ukraine commenced in February 2022, and regrettably, it appears that this conflict is far from reaching a resolution anytime soon. The UK has welcomed almost 200,000 Ukrainian nationals^[1] so far and had offered school places to 20,500 children by the end of September 2022^[2]. Many of these children arrived with limited English and teachers and support staff were understandably looking for appropriate resources to ease their transition into school.

Here, at Badger Learning, we decided to publish a range of six dual language English–Ukrainian eBook PDFs and a simple phrasebook in June 2022 and to offer these for free. We have been taken aback by the response from schools and families with over 13,000 copies downloaded so far from all over the world including in Ukraine. Many of you contacted us to request more resources so we conducted a survey to find out what would be most useful and had an unprecedented number of responses. Of these, 74% requested printed books as well as eBooks, 99% were interested in more fiction titles and 91% more non-fiction. Of the fiction themes, Humour, Action & Adventure were the most widely requested with recurring characters and fantasy elements as the most popular choices.<!

This year we are excited to launch our very own Badger Book Awards, designed to encourage reading for pleasure and champion incredible books. We’ve shortlisted fifty titles from 2022, splitting them into the top 10 titles for Years 7 to 11. 

Each vote submitted gives you a chance to win £500 worth of books for your secondary school! The author of each winning category will also be given £500 worth of books to donate to a UK school of their choice.

VOTING ENDS SOON! 3Oth June 2023

As families across the UK welcome Ukrainian refugees into their homes in response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis, primary and secondary schools are now enrolling pupils from Ukraine into all year groups. Teachers will be looking for appropriate dual language books and resources to support children in learning English and integrating into school life in the UK.

We at Badger Learning have been thinking about what we can do to support children arriving from Ukraine and have decided to translate and publish a range of six dual language English–Ukrainian eBook PDFs for schools and families. We have consulted with our authors and commissioned professional translators to work on these books so we can offer them to schools and families to download free of charge. These are suitable for children in KS2 and KS3 (ages 8–14) and are ideal learning resources to support children in building fluency in reading in English. 

Would you like to write a story for our next series? We are currently open to submissions for our upcoming series WOW! Fiction. Titles in this new series will be thematically matched to titles in our best-selling non-fiction series WOW! Facts.

These will be low-level books for reluctant and struggling readers, with a reading age of 6–6.5 years (book bands turquoise, purple, gold), an interest age of 7–14 years and a word count between 800–1400. All books will be edited and levelled by a literacy consultant, so even if you don’t have experience in writing for a specific reading age you can still submit!

No previous book deal is necessary but an engaging voice, relatable content and an excellent standard of written English is essential. Knowledge of children's literature is also key as you need to know good stories to write good stories!

If you are interested in writing any of these titles, we are inviting authors

As we enter a new year, we once again find ourselves taking on the role of home educators, many of us with only the experience of the previous lockdown to use as a reference point. We all want to do the best for our children. We want to look after their mental health while simultaneously providing the best possible education for them — all within in a climate for which we have never been trained. But we did it in the spring, and we can do it again. You’ll be feeling tired. Possibly daunted. We all are. But this blog is here to remind you of the tools that already exist within you and at your fingertips.

There are a huge number of digital resources out there, and once again, schools will be sharing links with families on what systems they are using to keep children learning their school subjects. While we can rely on the proficiency of our amazing teachers to signpost these resources and direct us in teaching opportunities, there is also a hugely important additional way we can sup