A secondary school in Chaddesden has installed a vending machine which feeds students’ minds instead of their stomachs.
Lees Brook Academy has just taken delivery of its book vending machine.
Instead of picking their favourite chocolate bar from this machine, they choose a literary title that whets their appetite instead. The books are free and tokens for the machine are awarded to students who have gone above and beyond in their work that week.
The idea came from staff keen to ensure all students have access to books beyond the library, and also get to see reading as a positive, rewarding experience.
Chris Routledge, Assistant Principal for Quality of Education, said: “It is part of our drive to ensure students are ‘reading for pleasure’. We know that since Covid reading and literacy levels have been impacted. In form time learning, students read twice a week; once a week reading a fiction text carefully selected for their year group and then a second time in the week, they read non-fiction extracts linked to what is happening in the news, themes such as Remembrance, linked to careers provision and post-16 options, or assemblies such as positive relationships.
“Lots of themes are covered building spiritual, moral, social and cultural development as well as preparing students for life in modern Britain. We wanted to take this a step further and build a real buzz around students reading for pleasure beyond school too.”
Students are nominated by their subject class teacher for ‘historian of the week, scientist of the week, artist of the week’ etc. The Head of Department then chooses a student to be put forward for that week out of all the nominations in their department and those students receive a free book to keep for their hard work.”
Funding for the machine came from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Collaborative Outreach Partnership which works with teachers, parents and carers to support learners to make informed choices about their future.
Student Kacey-Leigh Fletcher, 16, was one of the first to receive a book token as a reward.
She said: “It was actually really nice to be able to go and select a book from the machine. I chose One of us is Lying and I’m enjoying reading it. I think the vending machine is a really good way of creating a bit of excitement around reading.”
