Case studies

The Story Buses were initially launched in January 2020. The buses arose from the need to replace the library vehicle fleet and resulted in two Story Buses, named Sam and Nelly by the children, with exciting exterior designs by illustrator Nick Sharratt and interiors with well-designed spaces to sit and read.

Reception Reading Stars is a reading activity to help foster a love of books and reading targeted at parents/carers of children about to enter reception class in September.

The idea of reading to a dog originated in America. Alison Tutill had seen some research carried out by BookTrust and thought it would be something we could offer in libraries.

From Winter 2021 to Spring 2022, Cheshire East Libraries undertook a review of Storytime session provision across all libraries in the authority. The return to in-person activities post COVID-19 made this an excellent time to look at Storytime sessions.

Baby Babble is a programme for parents/carers and their babies. It aims to support early language and communication using stories, rhymes, baby signing and sensory experiences.

A design team came together drawing from staff in CAMHS, education, the voluntary sector and Youth Offending Services from three local authorities. The team examined two local critical cases and identified a need for a primarily solution-focused emotional wellbeing support for children in the 8-13 age range.

Following the relaxation of lockdown restrictions in 2020, there was an increase in antisocial behaviour. The police were seeking criminal behaviour orders against five children.   With summer holidays approaching, the Youth Justice Service (YJS) wanted to put a rapid response in place to prevent further escalation and to address the community’s concerns.

The CAMHS team are implementing systemic, relationship therapy with additional behavioural and CBT programmes as appropriate. Similarly, they use the Assessment Intervention Moving on (AIMS) sexual offending programme with children as part of a wider offer, including systemic or family therapies addressing the complex family trauma.