Welsh headteachers speak out against libraries
James Downs, Mental health campaigner
A Stand Against Literacy
In a bold stand against the creeping menace of literacy, a headteachers’ union has bravely denounced Plaid Cymru’s pledge to put a library in every primary school.
The plan, which would cost the taxpayer a ruinous £1 million over four years (less than a month’s worth of subsidy for Cardiff Airport), has been dismissed as “short-sighted” and a “red herring.” The National Association of Head Teachers Cymru insists that every school already provides “access to books”, and that the money should be directed to more pressing educational concerns than reading.
Libraries Low on the List
The implication is clear: libraries are nice to have, but in the current climate, reading is basically showing off.
Laura Doel of NAHT Cymru said: “There are so many incredibly urgent demands on education funding and school budgets – including rapidly spiralling costs, buildings in disrepair, and sharply increasing additional learning needs – libraries are sadly quite far down the priority list for most schools.”
She added: “Ultimately, the best way to boost literacy is to ensure all pupils have dedicated high-quality teachers and school staff in front of them and the learning support they need.”
Either/Or Education
Of course, everyone agrees Wales needs high-quality teachers, better support for learning needs, and safer buildings. But it’s not clear why investing in books and library spaces should be in direct competition with teachers, staff, or buildings.
It’s a bit like promising every child a free school uniform, but refusing to include the shoes – technically helpful, but lacking foundations.
Back to Basics?
Plaid Cymru, bolstered by strong opinion polling, have remained unwavering in their bold claim that ‘library spaces’ are essential to fostering a culture of reading.
But a fierce debate continues: some say it is about time Wales returned to “back to basics.” Others point out that this slogan was last used by John Major in the 1990s, immediately before a wave of Tory sex scandals – though supporters insist the only thing being fondled here will be a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Meanwhile, the Lib Dems have confirmed they will deliver books to every household in Wales if they win power – plans which have already sparked a fierce backlash from maths teachers, who insist that Lib Dem bar charts belong in creative writing, not statistics.
Watch This Space
With an election just months away, one thing is certain: in Welsh politics, the battle lines are clear. On one side, those who believe children deserve libraries. On the other, those who believe children can only ever have one thing at a time – a teacher or a book, a safe classroom or a library, food or drink.
Perhaps it’s best to wait for Plaid’s full policy programme before we know for sure whether pupils will be permitted to enjoy both words and walls.
James Downs is a mental health campaigner, researcher and expert by experience in eating disorders. He lives in Cardiff and can be contacted at @jamesldowns on X and Instagram, or via his website: jamesdowns.co.uk
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
I can’t believe this. It convinces me that teaching is ideologically driven and has lost the plot. Literacy and numeracy are the main points of education. Acquiring these skills frees the individual to study themselves as they wish to. The library doesn’t have to be a specific room although that’s good. At a pinch it could be shelves at the back of a classroom.
You were already convinced.
I’d agree it doesn’t need to be a specific room necessarily. But education must be in a sorry state if it’s considered too ambitious (or not enough of a priority) to spend £1m on school libraries in Wales!
It is in a sorry state. And glaringly so. Like most things Labour have touched or been in control of. And it will stay like that, and probably get worse if Plaid have anything to do with it.
Literacy is taught by teachers, not libraries. Pay for adequate teachers and classroom support.
Teaching is ideologically driven to value the education of children over and above political posturing. So sorry NAHT weren’t willing to let Plaid buy some votes by pretending to care about education.
It’s not ‘political posturing’ to want to restore school libraries, it’s simple common sense. There is plenty of evidence to show that access to books in early years improves literacy; maybe spend a bit of time reading some of it instead of being blinded by your dislike of Plaid.
Bob (a librarian)
I don’t understand the use of the word “brave” in this opinion piece. The union just criticised the pledge to force a debate. It would have been easier to criticise the pledge for not being more daring. But a library full of books is a sanctity of and for knowledge. The art of seeking knowledge is sadly lost in a Google/ bing search of which I am guilty. But I try to keep my book shelf stocked up with my encyclopedia collection, books on Islam and history and my tintin, asterix, Calvin and Hobbes and dilbert.
Oh, the “brave” is 100% a joke
Libraries are also sanctuaries.
Mr Downs: well done on another amusing and sardonic piece. Last week’s one on the morally confused Cardiff-based Anglican priest was very entertaining too. Keep up the tongue in cheek work, as it adds to Nation.Cymru’s appeal – and is light relief compared with some of the po-faced stuff found here.
Usually most of us who pass comments lack the courage to write an opinion piece and put our name to it. Myself included. So those that do, well done to them.
If I had to side with anyone, I would back the teachers over politicians especially as Naht is a well run organisation.
The article is a curiosity. I would be amazed if any school didn’t have a library. And 0.25m per year is hardly going to have a big impact given education is several billions in Wales alone. Why is plaid perusing such a minor change in funding? And why are head teachers that bothered about the reallocation of £150 per school per year of funding?!
Agreed. Plaid (and the Lib Dems) are resorting to gimmicks. It’s a question of priorities. Give me a competent teacher over a few feet of shelving any day. The NAHT is correct.
A 2 % wealth tax will sort out any questions about priorities. Then what? Would you still shelf the shelves?
So what happens when the 2% runs out? Another 2% or 5 or 10 perhaps? Wealth taxes don’t work.
How would you know? We never had one done in the UK.
Look at the evidence elsewhere. You clearly haven’t.
Like that well-known economically destitute failed state Switzerland?
https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/Switzerland/Individual/Other-taxes
“All cantons levy a net wealth tax based on the balance of the worldwide gross assets minus debts”
They also work in Norway ( the least unequal country in Europe) and Spain, where I would be living now were it not for Brexit imprisoning me on this right little, tight little island. At least I live in Cymru, so I don’t need to suffer the horrors of England.
“NAHT is a well run organisation”…. I take it you’ve haven’t seen any of those Estyn reports? They are a damning indictment of the NAHT, and every other teaching body in Wales.
What a strange comment. Estyn doesn’t report on an association of headteachers. It assesses schools, provides reports etc. NAHT isn’t in any way assessed as part of estyn’s remit
They are a damning indictment of Welsh Labour wrecking our education system over 25 years more like.
Successive governments of the last 4 decades have failed to meet their own teacher recruitment minimums.
How is that NAHT’s fault?
Successive governments have used education as a political football in the media, undermining the profession and respect for teaching. This has led to more and more people taking early retirement, making the recruitment crisis worse.
How is that the fault of any teaching body in Wales or anywhere else?
My local primary school laid off two teachers last summer. Replaced with one graduate teacher, obviously at a lower salary. Barely had a mention in local papers or locally. School funding is disastrous. You can see why the Naht is pointing out the stupidity of this policy and failure of all parties to address real challenges on education sector
It is a disaster. I think my point is that it would be all well and good to decry the library funding if it were the sum total of what’s proposed for the huge problems facing education. I don’t think it is necessarily a reflection of misplaced priorities on the part of Plaid, as we haven’t seen the manifesto… and it is likely an easier thing to announce than the (hopefully) more substantial plans for education as a whole.
Of course to give an accurate view of that, you’ll need to provide us with present and predicted pupil numbers. Don’t worry, I won’t hold my breath, but while still breathing I’ll just point out that there are fewer children than there were, so some schools either close or reduce staff.
Well said Laura doel of the NAHT. The working classes were doing fine before do gooders started forcing all this woke reading nonsense on their kids. Pie in the sky notions like this will just give our happy go lucky street urchins ideas above their station. Those communists in plaid cymru will be saying we should stop sending children up chimneys next!
Any actual headteachers here? It would be good to have this “we don’t need books” view confirmed from the coalface to put to bed any nagging suspicions that this is a politically motivated intervention.
And one more thing. PISA25 is nearly here. Perhaps the NAHT Cymru would be better directing their political energies to coaching schools through this process because these results will be weaponised against Welsh Labour, London Labour, devolution and Wales. Practice, practice, practice.
They have just locked one up forever…makes one recall the morally and politically corrupt sadists from the fifties and the sixties…head teachers !
She didn’t say schools don’t need books. She just said that there are other things that schools need (like teachers and a building that won’t collapse in on the children’s heads) and that throwing this money at creating school libraries sounds impressive but ignores the REAL problems schools are dealing with day to day.
Free school meals could’ve been opposed with the same argument, because that’s also less important than a roof not collapsing. If this policy is genuinely misguided it can be demonstrated with a simple survey of all schools to reveal that 100% already have a dedicated room containing at least 500 books.
There are obviously more important things to do to improve schools, which we have yet to hear about from any of the parties. That doesn’t mean that the library funding plan is a bad one – let it be judged in context, I say. (Also there is a lot of tongue-in-cheek in the “speaks out against libraries” stuff – that’s part of highlighting the unhelpful reduction of such debates to either/or!)
Oh how amusing you are as you laugh at people who spend their own wages on supplies to prop up the lack of availability in their budgets. None of you are spending your own money to educate the children of the people who routinely abuse and criticise you, but sure – mock the ones that do and watch them all quit. There’s been a massive recruitment crisis in education for DECADES because politicians are allowed an opinion when they know nothing about education and look where we are. Nobody is saying that it wouldn’t be lovely for schools to have… Read more »
Let’s see what the whole proposal is in the manifestos. The most important thing in the whole article is that *nothing less* than full resourcing should be seen as good enough for education in Wales. We must avoid such a poverty of ambition, even if it is normalised, as our kids deserve it ALL. I am sure we agree. I.e. There should be no debate as to which is most important – teachers, buildings, libraries, books – it should not even be thinkable that kids would go without ANY of these. Should not be a question. Of course, we are… Read more »
I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t read; I could certainly read by my first day at school, so I didn’t need a teacher to teach reading to me. The most important thing you can do for a child is to allow them their love of books. I say “allow” because I think all children have a natural curiosity which leads them to books, so it is only necessary to make sure they have a clear road to them. Once they are reading, their education follows. In my opinion libraries are at least as important as teachers, as they… Read more »
Read the research Zarah, libraries – both public and school – are central parts of any vaguely sensible national literacy strategy. A library isn’t “lovely”… it’s an essential.
This would be money well spent over 4 Years,The same can’t be said about the One Million Pounds a Month Cardiff Airport White Elephant.
If you’re opposed to investing in critical economic infrastructure then let’s start by removing unprofitable roads.
So primary schools get a bunch of books to start a library. Where are they going to go? Who’s going to curate the collection? Who’s going to chase missing, swapped, lost or stolen books? Who’s going to top the books up from year to year to make sure the books are in good condition and suitable for young people. All this adds up to more money, space, and time that schools don’t have.
All these things cost money James. Maybe writing scathing and snarky comments online, talk to heads, or even teachers. Be curious, not judgmental
Most primary schools have days out visiting their local libraries already. I suppose the rural schools might benefit.