Meet Sandeep and Molly from Blackpool Libraries, who became confident leading storytimes for children aged 0–5, thanks to a collaboration between Blackpool Better Start and BookTrust
Molly Grundy, Library Assistant, sharing one of the BookTrust Storytime books
Library storytimes are a source of support and community for families with young children, and BookTrust’s library partners work hard to make these sessions entertaining and welcoming.
“Some of my strongest memories as a new mum are of Bounce and Rhyme sessions,” says Sandeep McMinn, Library Assistant. “As I didn’t have family nearby, it was so important for me to have community groups like these. There’s this sense of empathy you never forget.
“Storytimes are also a chance for library staff to signpost families to support (like family hubs.) Signposting is a big part of our job, not just issuing books.”
Stepping up to deliver storytime
For some library staff, the performance aspect of these public sessions (doing silly voices or singing rhymes to a crowd of toddlers) is way out of their comfort zone.
“I started doing Bounce and Rhyme on day three or four of being in this job, having never done it before,” says Sandeep.“I was very nervous. It wasn’t something I felt was in my skill set.”
As one of just two staff working atBlackpool’s Revoe Library, Library AssistantMolly Grundywas also faced with the challenge of delivering Bounce and Rhyme sessions.
“When I started in this job I was super shy. I remember sitting with my manager before my first Bounce and Rhyme and being like: ‘I really don’t want to do this.’ I had no clue how to talk to parents, how to talk to children, or interact with babies, let alone all of them together in the same half-hour session!”
Molly Grundy, Library Assistant
Mentoring from Early Years experts in Blackpool
Over the past five years, Blackpool Better Start has supported Blackpool Libraries to expand their services for children aged 0–5, equipped with BookTrust resources.
Sandeep and Molly were among the library staff who received up to eight weeks of specialist support to get their Baby Bounce and Rhyme sessions off the ground. They also benefited from early speech and language training, including information about the Blackpool Super Six strategy.
Through mentoring and ongoing support, the aim was to deepen staff’s knowledge of how to encourage early communication skills in children, as well as increasing their confidence when leading storytelling events and outreach in their community.
“It gave me the confidence that I didn’t have to hold on to the words of the book so tightly, that I could ad lib a little,” says Sandeep. “And that I could bring in more vocabulary and other pictures to engage the children.”
Molly says: “The biology of a child’s brain was explained to me, and how repetition helps. Now, I make sure we sing The Grand Old Duke of York twice at every single Bounce and Rhyme. The beat and the repetition, that iambic pentameter, it’s so good for their brains. I’m not just singing Old MacDonald for the sake of it! We’re building those neural pathways.”
Boosting interaction with BookTrust Storytime
Sandeep McMinn, Library Assistant, with BookTrust Storytime books and resources
During their Blackpool Better Start training, Molly and Sandeep were given BookTrust Storytime resources to use in their future Bounce and Rhyme sessions. These included specially designed resources to bring fun and interactive elements to library storytimes, and five expertly chosen picture books that are perfect for reading out loud, in an extra-large size.
“I love the huge BookTrust Storytime books and so do the children,” says Molly. “They’re so useful. It means everybody in the room can see what’s on the page, not just children at the front.
“I read one of the BookTrust Storytime books each week. Families enjoyed how different all the stories were. They also loved giving their opinion on each book, and they could physically see their opinions on a chart [when voting for the BookTrust Storytime Prize]. And they got to take the little sticker booklet home, which was so nice for them.”
Molly and Sandeep’s storytime success
Now, Blackpool Libraries has increased the scheduling of Bounce and Rhyme sessions across the city – meaning sessions are running five days per week across each of its eight libraries, led by specially trained library staff, equipped with BookTrust resources.
Molly says Bounce and Rhyme is now ‘the favourite part of her week’.
“I can talk to a room full of people now, and I will sing at the top of my lungs,” she says. “The confidence I’ve gained is crazy.”
Meanwhile, Sandeep says: “I had a Bounce and Rhyme family that moved back to India. They told another family they knew in Hyderabad about my Bounce and Rhyme here in Layton. When that family came to Blackpool to work at The Vic hospital, they came into the library and they said: “We’ve all heard about your Bounce and Rhyme sessions on the other side of the world!”
“It might seem like just a handful of songs and stories, but for some families, storytime could be the one thing that gets them out of the house that day.
Sandeep McMinn, Library Assistant
“We’ve had mums approach us who are feeling isolated, or who are suffering from post-natal depression. It’s a real privilege to welcome them. If feels like we’ve become quite central to those families and the community here.”
